Become a Sales Engineer or stay in Engineering?

[paulney]

At this point I'm kind of getting fed up with being a Soft. Engineer. Coding still could be fun, but even if I move to another company I fear I will get bored really quickly. Right now I have an opportunity to transition into SE position.

Should I do it?

On one hand, you get to travel a bit (and I love travel). On the other, you get to deal with morons a lot more (I can handle that). Money-wise - I am not sure what the impact will be, how the compensation system works.

The only thing that is stopping me, is that if I decide to go back to engineering later, SEs are usually viewed as lesser beings than pure Soft Engs. Would be harder to explain during the interview why I took these steps.

What do you think, ATOT?

 

[LS21]

depends WHERE you sell

 

[spidey07]

The money is in sales and anything having to do with helping sell. You won't want to go back because you'll be making so much more money.

 

[JohnCU]

what the hell is a sales engineer? i didn't see that in any offered curriculum

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
what the hell is a sales engineer? i didn't see that in any offered curriculum

It's also called field services. You take the shit that the engineers wrote and wrap it into a candy wrapper for a particular client. Say, your company has a big-ass reporting engine. But the client says: I'll buy it if it can report on my sales orders. You take the engine, the client's db, put them together and create a custom-tailored product for him. He buys it, you win.

You may also have to work on-site for him and provide support during product rollout, etc.

 

[MetalMat]

Dont let the sales engineer title fool you. That is what I do for a living and it is much more heavy on the sales side than any sort of engineering. Hell there is no engineering, maybe some consulting. I dont know if its different for software sales though.

So the question you need to ask yourself is if you want to go in to sales. There is decent money to be made, but when you say you like to travel you will eventually start to hate it when you travel all the time. My territory is fairly big and I do overnight traveling 3 nights a week on average.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: JohnCU
what the hell is a sales engineer? i didn't see that in any offered curriculum

It's also called field services. You take the shit that the engineers wrote and wrap it into a candy wrapper for a particular client. Say, your company has a big-ass reporting engine. But the client says: I'll buy it if it can report on my sales orders. You take the engine, the client's db, put them together and create a custom-tailored product for him. He buys it, you win.

You may also have to work on-site for him and provide support during product rollout, etc.

:thumbsup:

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Dont let the sales engineer title fool you. That is what I do for a living and it is much more heavy on the sales side than any sort of engineering. Hell there is no engineering, maybe some consulting. I dont know if its different for software sales though.

So the question you need to ask yourself is if you want to go in to sales. There is decent money to be made, but when you say you like to travel you will eventually start to hate it when you travel all the time. My territory is fairly big and I do overnight traveling 3 nights a week on average.

Position advertised has 25% travel in it. I am expecting to be traveling, say, a week every 2-3 months or so. The SEs in the company I currently work for do mostly engineering work, and a bit of sales. Their job is in custom-tailoring the product to particular clients, educating client on how to use the product, etc. This is not bad at all.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Dont let the sales engineer title fool you. That is what I do for a living and it is much more heavy on the sales side than any sort of engineering. Hell there is no engineering, maybe some consulting. I dont know if its different for software sales though.

So the question you need to ask yourself is if you want to go in to sales. There is decent money to be made, but when you say you like to travel you will eventually start to hate it when you travel all the time. My territory is fairly big and I do overnight traveling 3 nights a week on average.

Position advertised has 25% travel in it. I am expecting to be traveling, say, a week every 2-3 months or so. The SEs in the company I currently work for do mostly engineering work, and a bit of sales. Their job is in custom-tailoring the product to particular clients, educating client on how to use the product, etc. This is not bad at all.

Sounds better than my job, I might have to look into that. The 60-70% overnight traveling really gets to me sometimes.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Dont let the sales engineer title fool you. That is what I do for a living and it is much more heavy on the sales side than any sort of engineering. Hell there is no engineering, maybe some consulting. I dont know if its different for software sales though.

So the question you need to ask yourself is if you want to go in to sales. There is decent money to be made, but when you say you like to travel you will eventually start to hate it when you travel all the time. My territory is fairly big and I do overnight traveling 3 nights a week on average.

Position advertised has 25% travel in it. I am expecting to be traveling, say, a week every 2-3 months or so. The SEs in the company I currently work for do mostly engineering work, and a bit of sales. Their job is in custom-tailoring the product to particular clients, educating client on how to use the product, etc. This is not bad at all.

25% travel is more like a week a month, not a week per quarter like you suggest.

Better figure out your travel tolerance vs the job first!

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Dont let the sales engineer title fool you. That is what I do for a living and it is much more heavy on the sales side than any sort of engineering. Hell there is no engineering, maybe some consulting. I dont know if its different for software sales though.

So the question you need to ask yourself is if you want to go in to sales. There is decent money to be made, but when you say you like to travel you will eventually start to hate it when you travel all the time. My territory is fairly big and I do overnight traveling 3 nights a week on average.

Position advertised has 25% travel in it. I am expecting to be traveling, say, a week every 2-3 months or so. The SEs in the company I currently work for do mostly engineering work, and a bit of sales. Their job is in custom-tailoring the product to particular clients, educating client on how to use the product, etc. This is not bad at all.

That sounds waaayy more interesting than staring at a screen and coding for 200-whatever days a year.

 

[edro]

"Sales is where the money's at!"

It they increase your salary by at least 15%, I'd take it.

 

[Patt]

"Implementation Specialist" where I come from.

 

[Safeway]

I have a problem with everyone and their mama calling themselves 'engineers' when they are really just programmers. Real engineers require an engineering degree and an engineering license.

Other than that, take the Sales and Implementation job. Travel is fun while you are young enough to enjoy it.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: Safeway
I have a problem with everyone and their mama calling themselves 'engineers' when they are really just programmers. Real engineers require and engineering degree and an engineering license.

Other than that, take the Sales and Implementation job. Travel is fun while you are young enough to enjoy it.

this annoys me also.

 

[Miramonti]

Ever done sales before? If you're not pretty strong at it, they *will* get rid of you.

 

[chorb]

I work as an EE and deal with Sales people / Reps coming in all the time. When I first started they impressed me with their title of Sales Engineer, they try to become buddy buddy and work up a rapport saying they are engineers too and know all about the product, interested I then asked "what degree did you graduate with?" The reply was dodgy but I think I heard the word "economics", then tried to reassert his credentials by saying "but I went to a engineering seminar when I was hired for this job".

That's why sales engineers are usually looked down upon by engineers who went to school in a technical field. Because most of them aren't actual engineers.

 

[BTA]

Sales Engineers basically just lie for a living.

So if you are okay with pretending to know what you are doing, and lie straight to people's faces that your product can do X, Y, Z when you know damn well it can't....then go for it.

 

[jaha2000]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Safeway
I have a problem with everyone and their mama calling themselves 'engineers' when they are really just programmers. Real engineers require and engineering degree and an engineering license.

Other than that, take the Sales and Implementation job. Travel is fun while you are young enough to enjoy it.

this annoys me also.

Very much annoys me as well....

 

[Analog]

Sales engineer == you can't handle the math. Also, you will make more $$.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
what the hell is a sales engineer? i didn't see that in any offered curriculum

in my company at least, our sales engineers are kinda the go-between between clients and the real engineers and work with both to setup and design solutions for the clients' needs.

(I work for a web hosting company... insert proper terminology where necessary)

why project management can't do what the SE's do... idk. I don't really interact with any of it anymore now that I've moved out of the noc and into storage administration.

 

[Platypus]

Originally posted by: BTA
Sales Engineers basically just lie for a living.

So if you are okay with pretending to know what you are doing, and lie straight to people's faces that your product can do X, Y, Z when you know damn well it can't....then go for it.

 

[LS21]

sales engineers are engineering-background dudes who go into the sales and customer facing roles.... because they know about the products and services... the people who dont are usuallyh account managers...these are the economics background dudes

 

[Gibson486]

I am on the cosulting side, but I am essentialy an applications engineer, which is pretty much a sales engineer, but we already have the business and I am trying to get more money out of them while i try and figure out how to do the job right, but at a low cost.

I will tell you this....travaling gets old after a while. It's fun to get out of the office and it is fun to travel to another state, but it sucks when you travel by car alot. Chances are you will travel by car alot. This means lots of get up at 3 AM and get home at 9PM days.


Another thing, clients. Man, meeting people is awesome, but sometimes clients make you want to kill a kitten.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
I am on the cosulting side, but I am essentialy an applications engineer, which is pretty much a sales engineer, but we already have the business and I am trying to get more money out of them while i try and figure out how to do the job right, but at a low cost.

I will tell you this....travaling gets old after a while. It's fun to get out of the office and it is fun to travel to another state, but it sucks when you travel by car alot. Chances are you will travel by car alot. This means lots of get up at 3 AM and get home at 9PM days.


Another thing, clients. Man, meeting people is awesome, but sometimes clients make you want to kill a kitten.

aren't you EE?