Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Do
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of postsecondary education.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 2.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.4/5
- Sales and Marketingimportance 4.3/5
- English Languageimportance 3.7/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.2/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.2/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.1/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.0/5
- Administrativeimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Telephone Conversations5.0/5
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.7/5
- Frequency of Decision Making4.7/5
- Contact With Others4.6/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Advertising Sales Agents97% skill match
- Health Education Specialists96% skill match
- Fundraisers96% skill match
- Interior Designers95% skill match
- Sales Managers95% skill match
- Farm and Home Management Educators95% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers95% skill match
- Sales Engineers94% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Persuasionimportance 4.3/5
- Negotiationimportance 4.0/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.8/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- AMG Teleran SalesInSync
- Act!
- ActionWare
- AdTrack Customer Acquisition Management CAM
- Cegedim Target Software Target SFA Pharmaceutical Suite
- Citrix cloud computing software
- Enterprise application integration EAI software
- FileMaker Pro
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Perseverance
- Social Orientation
- Self-Confidence
- Achievement Orientation
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Initiative
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalHigh
- InvestigativeMedium
- SocialMedium
- RealisticLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Harrisonburg, VA3.66× national avg
- 2Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX3.64× national avg
- 3Durham-Chapel Hill, NC3.04× national avg
- 4Raleigh-Cary, NC2.61× national avg
- 5Sioux Falls, SD-MN2.15× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Sales EngineersLateral Move
- Sales ManagersCareer Change
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsLateral Move
- Marketing ManagersCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Selling Skills and Sales Operations
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$120,018
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$76,565
- Texas A&M University-College Station (College Station, TX)grads earn ~$93,141
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$82,081
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (West Chester, PA)