Sales Engineers

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
34%
risk level
POLLING
32%
Based on 167 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
5.7%
by year 2032
WAGES
$108,530
or $52.17 per hour
Volume
59,700
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
7.0/10

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Automation risk

34% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Persuasion

  • Social Perceptiveness

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Negotiation

  • Originality

User poll

32% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 34% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Sales Engineers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Sales Engineers' job openings is expected to rise 5.7% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Sales Engineers' was $108,530, or $52 per hour

'Sales Engineers' were paid 134.4% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 59,700 people employed as 'Sales Engineers' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 2 thousand people are employed as 'Sales Engineers'.

Job description

Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.

SOC Code: 41-9031.00

Resources

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Comments

milenial (Uncertain) says
I worked as a solutions engineer (pretty much the same as sales engineer).

In my experience, one of the main keys of this role in order to produce results is to build a relationship with the customer and become a trusted advisor.

You could put a super sophisticated IA consicousness with a real life avatar like in a zoom call, but i think that will take a while. but in the short term, IA can (and should) automate some parts of this role, like filling RFPs and asking questions, implement chatgpt to troubleshoot and assist in technical micro aspects of a deal's poc/pilot, etc. maybe, automating some or most part of this role may lead to the role to evolve itself, but i don't think that any current job can resist a few decades proof of time.

Millenials, centenials and company will have to reinvent ourselves professionally multiple times before we can retire - if we can retire at all.
Jul 15, 2023 at 03:44 AM
Mauro (Uncertain) says
the relation and feeling with a customer is not easy to create from a robot
May 16, 2023 at 04:29 PM
Julian says
Customers in specialties such as process and mining engineering require the capacity to listen to needs and problems, to adapt, and oftentimes make onsite visits. They must be able to summarize and reach conclusions in order to choose the most optimal solution.

There are many aspects that will be automated, such as sending follow-ups and writing repetitive reports. However, in general, lab analysis will be automated first because it is the most repetitive and low-margin aspect of engineering sales.
Oct 04, 2022 at 07:45 PM
Apryde (No chance) says
I've been doing this for more than 20 years and there are too many variables to have an AI do this.
Jun 21, 2021 at 02:25 PM
Joseph Traynor says
Yes, a Sales Engineer needs to know more about technical requirements and often performs complex and intuitive tasks but With AI I can see a Sales Engineer Manager with a few AI Sales Engineers doing some virtual problem-solving. To be honest I would welcome an AI doing the repetitive parts of my Job and allow me to focus on the Human Intuitive part.
Oct 21, 2019 at 10:04 PM
AHMAD UMAR (Low) says
Its a very customized job category with very little repetitious actions.
Aug 18, 2019 at 08:27 AM

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