CCollegeMatcher

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

US occupation · SOC 41-4012

Job titles people report: Account Representative, Customer Account Technician, Inside Salesperson, Outside Sales Representative, Route Sales Representative, Sales Consultant, Sales Professional, Sales Representative (Sales Rep), Salesman, Salesperson

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$72,080
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$50,470 – $99,640
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
1,238,190
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
-0.9%
Shrinking (below 0%)
Openings a year (projected)
99,800
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
High school diploma or equivalent
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.

Main tasks

  • Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
  • Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests.
  • Estimate or quote prices, credit or contract terms, warranties, and delivery dates.
  • Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and to provide ongoing support.
  • Prepare sales contracts and order forms.
  • Provide customers with product samples and catalogs.
  • Monitor market conditions, product innovations, and competitors' products, prices, and sales.
  • Perform administrative duties, such as preparing sales budgets and reports, keeping sales records, and filing expense account reports.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
High school diploma or equivalent
Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 6 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Business

  • Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations, General
  • General Merchandising, Sales, and Related Marketing Operations, Other
  • Fashion Merchandising
  • Apparel and Accessories Marketing Operations
  • Special Products Marketing Operations

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.

Where many students take business

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Agriculture

  • Agricultural/Farm Supplies Retailing and Wholesaling

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Agriculture at the Major step.

Where many students take agriculture

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk