Software engineer -> sales engineer?
Hi everyone! I'm a swe thinking about moving into sales engineering. Has anyone on here made the switch? How did it go?
Yep. Better work life balance, coworkers, and obviously the big driver: the money is hard to beat. Not for everyone, you will likely miss building stuff if you don't take it up as a hobby.
mind if I pm u?
Same here, mind giving a referal ?
Back when I dealt in network services I moved from the field to being an SE. Best move I ever made although being a field guy is not as lucrative as an SWE. I love the customer interaction and yes the work-life is the best. (Except when we hit bugs that engineering takes too long to fix, then it sucks because your hands are tied)
Nice :) are u still a SE? Mind if I pm u?
If you are good at it you can make a lot more money with sales commissions.
One of the best decisions I have ever made. Made me realize the rain makers are in sales. Gives you customer perspective and you learn the sales process. Big benefits if you start your own company. You also learn how to present and handle objectives. Opened up way more opportunities for me. A bit of full circle now since I’m in engineering leadership role now.
Wow congrats!! How long did you work as a SE?
Still one. Going on 10 years
Isn’t it the case that most SE roles require travel?
It depends on the role and the customer base. Some only require local travel. Some more extensive
Best decision I ever made too. I went from working at a desk everyday to traveling the world. Some days I’d be pitching to a group of executives or presenting at a conference, other days I’d be writing code to support a POC. I believe the skills I learned along the way set me up well. I would say that the role isn’t for everyone. You’ll need to be comfortable carrying a quota and have the drive to sell.
Could you share what’s your total comp, to put things in perspective? I’m trying to understand how common it is for a sales eng to beat a traditional total comp for a senior swe at a big4 in the valley, let’s say 400k/y. Without comparing work quality, that is.
I don't think SE comp is close to $400k OTE. Half that is the median, I'd guess. I don't think I've heard of $300k OTE.
It’s hard to compare because it all comes down to your quota and whether you have accelerators for overachieving. I’ve had years in the past where you’ll get $160k-$180k base then $50k commission... others years you may get several hundred k commission. Just depends on how the year goes. Compensation does vary though... with some companies offering higher base and lower commission etc.
Thanks for your reply. It seems like it doesn’t necessarily make a better choice from a financial point of view then, on average. When it comes to sales engineering, what companies are the respective Google/FB? In other words, companies that are well known for paying top of the market commissions and such.
Correct, from my experience you’re probably not going to beat the $400k package on an average year. As for which companies pay the most I’m not sure...but if you find out let me know 🙂
Interesting. I’ve never actually heard of this position before. I’ll definitely look into it now. Seems like a natural move for me since I was in sales before i started my engineering career.
I was a dev early in my career, then a consultant, then moved into an SE role. I love it. I get to travel, meet with people, and get compensated well.
What was your SE salary starting out? Currently Considering an SE position
But why?
Because I like building relationships and interacting with customers. I'm sick of being a code monkey and I want a new set of challenges