Sales Engineers

Low Risk
38%
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Vote Comments (8)
Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
44%
(Moderate Risk)
POLLING
32%
(Low Risk)
Average: 38%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
6.3%
by year 2033
WAGES
$116,950
or $56.22 per hour
Volume
59,340
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
7.2/10

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Calculated automation risk

44% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

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 44% 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 is 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

Fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Sales Engineers' job openings is expected to rise 6.3% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Sales Engineers' was $116,950, or $56 per hour

'Sales Engineers' were paid 143.3% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 59,340 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

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Comments

Ben Holmes (No chance) 6 months ago
Sales is based on human interaction, it's a job that can be removed in favour of other selling forms like SEO or self service but not something that will ever be replaced by robots.
0 0 Reply
milenial (Uncertain) 1 year ago
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.
1 0 Reply
Samuel 1 month ago
true, I am solution architect as well and I completely agree with the low level work getting automated like filling RFP and compliance.
0 0 Reply
Mauro (Uncertain) 1 year ago
the relation and feeling with a customer is not easy to create from a robot
0 0 Reply
Julian 2 years ago
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.
0 0 Reply
Apryde (No chance) 3 years ago
I've been doing this for more than 20 years and there are too many variables to have an AI do this.
0 0 Reply
Joseph Traynor 5 years ago
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.
0 0 Reply
AHMAD UMAR (Low) 5 years ago
Its a very customized job category with very little repetitious actions.
0 0 Reply

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