Sales Engineers
Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.
51,790 people do this job in the US. $124,900 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 49%
- 46%
- 5%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 18%. Today's estimate: 23%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 30% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 25%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 35%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Create sales or service contracts for products or services.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | 66%Half by now | |
| Research and identify potential customers for products or services.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 2.5 h25 min to 6.7 h | 29%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Write technical documentation for products.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | 57%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products47% now, 60% by 2028
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel69% now, 88% by 2028
- Architectural and Engineering Managers12% now, 69% by 2028
- Logistics Engineers3% now, 73% by 2028
- Industrial Engineers16% now, 94% by 2028
- Electronics Engineers, Except Computer5% now, 52% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services9,650 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods (4232, 4233, 4235, 4236, 4237, and 4239 only)5,260 people
- Software Publishers3,220 people
- Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers3,000 people
- Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers2,780 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).