Moving from Engineering to Sales

Jun 27, 2018 11 Comments

Has anyone had a good experience moving from engineering to sales? I’m considering doing it in a couple of years. The big reasons are:

1) totally new skills to explore and I think sales & dealmaking are extremely valuable
2) I’m a good public speaker
3) I’m already tired of Dev work, I’ll be bored out of my mind after a few years
4) I don’t want to do an MBA, seems like a bad deal to me

What are good sales roles to get into for someone with technical background? Would I be able to apply for generic entry-level sales roles or would I require connections to get a decent gig? What are some things to avoid when getting in to sales?

I’d prefer doing sales for a startup or small tech company with growth potential, but really just wherever I can learn the most would be preferred. I’d take a sizeable pay-cut in exchange for personal growth potential, I should have enough saved up in a few years to handle it.

What are you thoughts/advice?

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TOP 11 Comments
  • Amazon / Eng
    Glued

    Go to company page Amazon Eng

    Glued
    TC is gonna drop big time. You got a family ?
    Jun 27, 2018 4
  • New / Sales
    Mooks

    New Sales

    Mooks
    I am a veteran sales guy, who is adding to his technical skills by getting a master of business analytics to move to sales engineering. If you’re great technically and have the mindset to sell, you’ll crush it!

    The world is getting more technical, so if you can break it down for decision makers and have technical credibility, it’s huge.
    Jun 28, 2018 0
  • Would you like to be a Sales Engineer or Solutions Architect? Use your tech skills for sales
    Jun 27, 2018 0
  • Microsoft
    SellStuff

    Go to company page Microsoft

    BIO
    This is my bio.
    SellStuff
    TC can actually be higher in sales when bonuses are accounted for (assuming you're hitting your numbers). TSP or ATS are technical sales roles that may be interesting.
    Jun 27, 2018 0
  • Rakuten / Sales
    doragon

    Go to company page Rakuten Sales

    doragon
    SE role is the way to go. Just make sure your comp is in the 20-30% of your salary.
    Aug 5, 2018 0