r/cscareerquestions • u/Inner_Ad_4725 • 3d ago
What would the process of switching from software engineer to sales engineer look like?
Software engineer with currently 1.5 years of experience. Current TC ~150k but do miss working with people.
The sales engineer role is really interesting to me. Would I have to take a pay cut to move into a sales engineer role at a tech company? And would I essentially be “restarting” my career? Also curious in which position I might earn more long term.
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3d ago
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u/Natural_Ad_5879 2d ago
I am interviewing for a sales engineer role, 9 years of dev and design exp. I have to prepare slides and do a demo as test hehe, i like the adrenaline rush from trying to sell shit
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u/Dear-Response-7218 2d ago edited 2d ago
*Would you have to take a pay cut Yes
*Would you be restarting your career Yes
*What position would you earn more Swe, senior sales engineer will mostly top out in the 200’s.
It’s a fun job though, another comment listed out some of the things they do. The level of technical difficulty is entirely dependent on the company, some may want you to code out pocs, some you’re just a technical demo monkey. I took a pay cut to get into a more people oriented role and enjoy it.
My path was: SWE -> sorta a fde in Cyber -> cyber Architecture So my role involves research, whitepapers, conferences, and also stepping into the presales side to help SE’s on bigger deals. If you enjoy people it’s a good gig, you can also look into product side roles after you get more experience.
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u/lturanski 5h ago
I dont fully understand this answer. As for paycut, it really depends on performance. Out the gate theyll be confined to base salary which is more than likely lower than 150k but can earn commissions. Are you saying over time SWE earn less than SEs?
As for restarting their career - they have 1.5 yoe their career is just getting started anyway and theres carry over between swe and se.
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u/Dear-Response-7218 3h ago
SE is a nice role and I’m not trying to dissuade OP, but he needs a realistic picture.
OP is currently getting paid close to the same as an SE would get with 6-10 yoe. With the same yoe as a swe, it’s reasonable to be at an l5 level where he would double the money of an SE. Commissions won’t come close to making the difference up, it’s not like being an AE. There are also significantly more SWE jobs.
As for restarting their career, there is some carryover but they are not viewed the same. An SE is a salesman then an engineer. Your job isn’t to code a full blown solution, you show the art of the possible and try to close a sale. If op were to be an se for a few years and tried to switch back to swe, they would not view the se experience the same as if he were to stick with swe.
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u/Gentle_Jerk Student 1d ago
What it’s worth. SE in NA is somewhat future proof as clients in NA wants SE from, guess what, NA who’s fluent in English. This is the only job where I didn’t have anyone with an accent in onboarding cohort, not that it matters. I think this means you need to be a good communicator. My TC is about 200k (somewhat new grad with 140-150k base and 50-60k commission, no RSU, not sure if I’ll get bonus on top of that but I’m not at FAANG). I think SWE still has higher income potential if you can crack the FAANG or high paying company (like OpenAI, LinkedIn, etc.) interviews.
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u/BiggieIsAlive206 3d ago
Does your current company offer shadowing? Maybe you could meet with one and discuss things.
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u/No_Sense_6171 3d ago
Well, you need to start with a frontal lobotomy....