How to Land a $300K Tech Sales Job (Realistic Timeline and Career Path)

This blog outlines the realistic path to a $300K tech sales job, breaking down each role, promotion timeline, and salary benchmark from SDR (Sales Development Representative) to Enterprise Account Executive.

INTRO

Tech sales is exploding for a reason. It's one of the few careers where performance matters more than pedigree and you can reach $300K compensation in a few years. This blog walks through the exact steps to get there. Whether you’re just starting out or already in sales, use this roadmap to plan your next move.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

The full career path to $300K earnings in tech sales
Salary expectations at each stage, from SDR to Enterprise AE
How long it takes to get promoted and what performance is required
Why this path outpaces other careers financially
What to focus on if you want to move up faster

CONTEXT: WHY THIS MATTERS

There’s a lot of misleading hype about tech sales. Some videos claim you can earn $200K or more in your first year. That’s not reality. But if you stick with it, this is one of the highest earning potential careers that does not require a degree.

I took a pay cut to leave engineering, broke into sales, and ended up quadrupling my income in less than four years.

STARTING POINT: SALES DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE (SDR)

Nearly everyone starts as an SDR. This is the role where you learn to prospect, cold call, and generate pipeline for the sales team. It’s not glamorous, but it’s where you build the skills and grit to move up.

Typical compensation:

Base salary around $50,000
On-target earnings (OTE) between $70,000 and $90,000
Base pay is paid out like a normal paycheck, commissions are usually paid out monthly based on performance
Your commission as an SDR is usually dependent on how many meetings you book

You’ll usually stay in this role for roughly 12 to 24 months, depending on performance and company size.

NEXT STEP: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (SMB OR MID-MARKET, SOMETIMES CALLED 'CORPORATE' AE)

In my opinion, your goal should be to become an AE as fast as possible. This is the first closing role, and the earnings and career leverage jump significantly.

SMB Account Executive:

OTE from $100,000 to $170,000
Higher volume, transactional deals

Mid-Market Account Executive:

OTE from $160,000 to $230,000
Fewer, more complex deals
Most people get here after 18 to 24 months as an AE

"My first SMB AE role had a $110,000 OTE. I hit quota and pulled in over $160,000."

FINAL STEP: ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (THE $300K JOB)

This is where you reach the $300,000 target. Enterprise AEs work fewer but much larger deals with some of the largest companies in the world. You either promote internally or move to another company after success in mid-market as an AE.

Timeline to get here is usually around year 4 or 5.

Typical Enterprise AE compensation:

OTE from $250,000 to $350,000
Top performers can exceed $500,000 with accelerators
I've had single paychecks that were more than my $65,000/year engineering salary.

Compare that to traditional paths where even high performers might get a 10 percent raise after two years. Tech sales rewards performance fast, but it is dependent on your performance.

Just as a datapoint of comparison, I worked for almost 2 years as an engineer before I was given a raise. That raise was 2.7%. Less than $3,000.

After 2 years in tech sales, I 4X'd my income.

CAREER PATH TIMELINE

A realistic progression looks like this:

Year 1 to 2: SDR (OTE $70,000 to $90,000)
Year 2 to 3.5: AE (OTE $110,000 to $170,000)
Year 3.5 to 5: Mid-Market AE (OTE $175,000 to $230,000)
Year 4 to 6: Enterprise AE (OTE $300,000 and up)

This timeline depends on how well you perform. But it’s achievable for anyone willing to do the work.

FAQ

Q: How long does it take to make $300K in tech sales?
A: Most reps get there in year 4 to 6 by reaching an Enterprise AE role.

Q: Do you need a degree to work in tech sales?
A: No. Many top reps never graduated from college. Companies care more about performance than education.

Q: Can you earn $200K in your first year?
A: Not realistically. Most first-year SDRs earn between $70K and $90K.

Q: What’s the fastest way to get promoted?
A: Hit quota consistently and build strong internal relationships. The key is to move from SDR to AE as fast as possible.
‍
→ If you’re serious about breaking into tech sales or leveling up your current role, check out Tech Sales Ascension. This program gives you resume help, live coaching, and a proven path to get promoted faster.