Also called: Sales Representatives, Technical Products
Sales Representatives (Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products) build persuasion, negotiation and social perceptiveness skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Sales Engineers (88%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sales Engineers | 88% | $124,900 | +19% | None |
| 2 | Sales Managers | 85% | $148,270 | +41% | None |
| 3 | Purchasing Managers | 80% | $148,080 | +41% | None |
| 4 | First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers | 78% | $87,520 | −17% | None |
| 5 | Marketing Managers | 76% | $166,790 | +59% | None |
| 6 | General and Operations Managers | 75% | $105,770 | +1% | None |
| 7 | Fundraising Managers | 75% | $125,470 | +20% | None |
| 8 | Supply Chain Managers | 75% | $107,230Pay for the broader BLS group “Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Personal Financial Advisors | 74% | $105,070 | 0% | None |
| 10 | Financial Managers | 74% | $166,570 | +59% | None |
Compared with Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products, median $104,920. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products) (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
88% skill match · $124,900 · +19% pay
Systems Evaluation · Judgment and Decision Making · Technology Design
85% skill match · $148,270 · +41% pay
Systems Evaluation · Management of Personnel Resources · Instructing
80% skill match · $148,080 · +41% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Troubleshooting · Systems Evaluation
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Sales Engineers (88% skill match, median $124,900), Sales Managers (85% skill match, median $148,270) and Purchasing Managers (80% skill match, median $148,080), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products) at the median. The biggest increases: Marketing Managers (+59%, $166,790), Financial Managers (+59%, $166,570) and Compensation and Benefits Managers (+42%, $149,230).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.