Any field application engineers (FAE) out there?

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

*For those of you that don't know, FAEs are kind of like sales engineers, they pitch a product to a company, support the product, and assist in integrating customer feedback into new product lines.

I've been talking with the VP of a company that produces FPGA high speed network adapters about their FAE position. My skill set matched up pretty well with what they are looking for, so the VP wanted to set up a "meeting."

I really want this job, but from what I've heard from my friends, everyone blows their first interview.

How many of you folks got the first job you interviewed for?

Any FAE curve balls I should expect?

 

[Eeezee]

No, I hate how people are putting "engineer" on the end of every damn job description

A Sales Engineer is nothing more than a good salesman, since a good salesman will know how his products work. A GREAT salesman will be able to make the sale without knowing anything about the product.

A "field application engineer" sounds like a sales rep on the corporate scale.

 

[MetalMat]

I just got a job as a sales engineer. Remember that they are looking for someone who is outgoing, passionate about making sales, and is very personable. You dont need to know the ins and outs of what they sell yet, just the basics. Talk to them in terms of how you would sell something to a customer, and think of things like "dollar impact", "Return on Interest", and "customer service. Remember that the ultimate goal is to take costs out of the customer's organization.

Also, remeber to ask questions at the end of the interview and take notes on it. For instance; who are their top performers in sales, who are the clients the sell to (in general, and give a specific area), who is the competition, are they focused more on cost cutting or feature benefits, etc.... This will show you really want the job if you take detailed notes on questions you have about the company.

Remember that this is not like interviewing for an engineering job, its different. Worry about more of how and why you are gonna sell, not what. Remember that you want to create win-win situations for you and the customer.

 

[KillerCharlie]

What kind of engineering degree do you have? I'm just curious... I know some places have "sales engineers" that are actual engineers, but most of the time they aren't.

If ABET says you're not an engineer, then you're not an engineer.

 

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

ABET says I'm an engineer. Computer Engineer with an emphasis in Systems. I was the lead designer in UC Santa Cruz's campus shuttle tracking system.

Edit:

I also may have oversimplified or skewed what an apps engineer does. It's not all about sales. If you've ever read a datasheet or app notes for any kind of IC, more than likely an applications engineer wrote it. Design engineers build things, apps engineers figure out what to do with them.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
What kind of engineering degree do you have? I'm just curious... I know some places have "sales engineers" that are actual engineers, but most of the time they aren't.

If ABET says you're not an engineer, then you're not an engineer.

I have an eece. You dont "have" to have an engineering degree to be a sales engineer, but most of the time they will hire someone with one because they obviously have the ablility to learn what they are selling.