What Most People Don't Understand About Sales Engineering (2025 Career Guide)

Intro

Thinking about becoming a sales engineer? Most people are confused about what the role actually involves—and what it takes to break in. Whether you’re coming from engineering, support, SDR, or another path entirely, this guide will help you make smarter moves toward landing (and thriving in) a sales engineering role.

This post is for aspiring sales engineers, SDRs thinking about transitioning, and engineers looking for a customer-facing role that still leverages their technical skills.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• What sales engineers actually do (and what they don’t)
  
  
• Common misconceptions about the career path
  
  
• How to break into the role from different backgrounds
  
  
• Key differences between tech sales and sales engineering
  
  
• Compensation, lifestyle, and temperament comparisons
  

CONTEXT: WHY THIS MATTERS

Sales engineering is one of the most misunderstood roles in tech. It’s not just about demoing a product—and it’s not an easy “shortcut” into high-paying tech sales jobs. Companies look for different things depending on what they’re selling. If you don’t know the difference between technical and non-technical SE roles, you might waste months applying to the wrong jobs.

Not every sales engineering job is created equal. You can’t just apply to any SE role with any background and expect to break in.

MISCONCEPTION #1: All Sales Engineering Jobs Are the Same

‍Reality:‍

Some sales engineering roles are highly technical, others aren’t. And the requirements vary drastically.

• If the company sells to marketers, HR, or salespeople (e.g. SaaS tools like Gong), you might not need a technical degree. In fact, reps from those teams often transition into SE roles after 12–18 months on the job.
  
• But if the product is sold to engineers, DevOps, or security teams—and requires integration, compliance, or custom environments—you’ll need a much deeper technical foundation.
  

What to do instead:

‍Decide whether you're targeting a low-code/no-code SE role (less technical) or a deep-tech SE role (requires engineering or equivalent experience). Your background needs to match.

MISCONCEPTION #2: There’s a Clear Entry-Level SE Path

‍Reality:‍

There is no universal “entry-level” sales engineering role.

Unlike SDR → AE in tech sales, there’s no automatic path to become a sales engineer. People break in through a range of backgrounds:

• Engineering grads → Support Engineers → Sales Engineers
  
• SDRs → Self-study + internal transition → Sales Engineers
  
• Customer Success → Learn product deeply → SE path
  

Examples:

• Devin, a mechanical engineering grad, became an SDR, told leadership he wanted to be an SE, and made the switch after learning the tech for 18 months (full story here).
  
• In my own career which started in a support engineering role, I saw many peers go SE after 1.5–3 years of experience where they learned about our company's products deeply.
  

Bottom line:‍

You’ll need to signal interest, build skills internally, and position yourself as a technical communicator—not just a product expert.

MISCONCEPTION #3: All You Need to Do Is Demo the Product

‍Reality:‍

Demoing is the bare minimum. The best SEs go far beyond it.

A typical SE is expected to:

• Create custom demonstrations based on unique customer requirements
• Create and execute a trial plan which involves configuring the tool for the customer
• Integrate with customer tools, processes, etc...
  
• Understand compliance and security concerns
  
• Answer deep questions about deployment, usage, and value
  
• Speak to the broader implications of adoption
  

Example from the field:

The top SEs don’t just know their product—they can explain and demonstrate how it affects real customer environments, often times having to quickly build a custom configuration and/or deployment on the fly.

MISCONCEPTION #4: Sales Engineering Is Just Sales for Introverts

‍Reality:‍

SEs and AEs are very different roles—with different risks, rewards, and temperament needs.

Sales Engineering:

• 70–90% salary guaranteed
  
• 10–30% variable comp (commission)
  
• More stability, lower risk
  
• Less direct ownership of quota
  
• Focused on product, architecture, implementation
  

Account Executive:

• Salary Structure: 50% base, 50% variable comp
  
• High upside (can earn $300K–$600K+)
  
• More pressure, more ownership
  
• Responsible for closing revenue
  

I personally chose AE over SE because I wanted more upside and enjoy the hunt of a pure sales role. But if you’re more comfortable with technical depth, fewer variables, and stable income, SE might be a better long-term fit.

WHO SHOULD GO SE VS. AE?

‍Consider Sales Engineering if:

• You have an engineering background but want more customer interaction
  
• You like explaining how things work
  
• You want income stability with solid upside
  
• You prefer depth over breadth
  
• You enjoy solving implementation problems
  

Consider Tech Sales (SDR/AE) if:

• You’re hungry for upside
  
• You’re competitive and love closing
  
• You enjoy managing deals and decision-makers
  
• You’re okay with uncertainty and pressure
  
• You like messaging and positioning more than technical deep dives
  

CAREER TIP: SEs Are Highly Defensible in the Market

One final note: Great SEs are rare—and in high demand.

If you can explain technical systems, write code or scripts, and communicate clearly with sales teams and prospects, you’ll stand out. Companies constantly need SEs who can bridge the gap between engineering and revenue.

FAQ

Q: Do you need a degree to become a sales engineer?
A: For highly technical roles, yes. But many SE roles at SaaS companies don’t require a CS or engineering degree—especially if the product is sold to non-technical buyers.

Q: Can SDRs become sales engineers?
A: Yes. Many reps transition after 12–18 months if they’ve learned the product deeply and communicated their goals internally.

Q: What’s the difference between SE and AE comp?
A: SEs usually have 70–90% guaranteed salary with 10–30% commission. AEs often have 50/50 splits, but much higher upside if they outperform.

Q: Is it easier to break into sales engineering or tech sales?
A: Tech sales is easier to break into for most. SE roles typically require deeper product knowledge or technical experience.

Q: What’s a good first step toward becoming a sales engineer?
A: Get into a support, customer success, or SDR role at a company with SEs. Learn the product, express your goals, and start shadowing the SE team.
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→ Want help breaking into tech sales? Join our free Higher Levels Community or check out Tech Sales Ascension. It’s helped thousands land their first roles—with real results.

TL;DR

• Not all SE jobs are the same—some require deep technical backgrounds, others don’t
  
• There’s no set path to SE—people break in via SDR, support, or CS roles
  
• Demoing is only part of the job—top SEs handle integration, security, and architecture
  
• SEs earn strong comp with more stability, AEs have higher upside with more risk
• Great SEs are rare and highly sought after in the job market