Sales Engineers
Sales and Related Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 41-9031.00
Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Very high· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.322
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.51
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Show 18 hidden tasks25 rated tasks · 22 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (88.0%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 30.2) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Diagnose problems with installed equipment.41-9031.00 | 0.420057.5 | 0.150050.0 |
Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.41-9031.00 | 0.120016.4 | 0.01003.3 |
Write technical documentation for products.41-9031.00 | 0.090012.3 | 0.060020.0 |
Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.41-9031.00 | 0.05006.8 | 0.01003.3 |
Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.41-9031.00 | 0.03004.1 | 0.030010.0 |
Research and identify potential customers for products or services.41-9031.00 | 0.01001.4 | 0.040013.3 |
Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets.41-9031.00 | 0.01001.4 | 0.00000.0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Create sales or service contracts for products or services.O*NET Task ID 9690 | 1.0 |
Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines.O*NET Task ID 9693 | 1.0 |
Write technical documentation for products.O*NET Task ID 9695 | 1.0 |
Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers.O*NET Task ID 9698 | 1.0 |
Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.O*NET Task ID 9678 | 0.5 |
Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.O*NET Task ID 9679 | 0.5 |
Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.O*NET Task ID 9680 | 0.5 |
Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.O*NET Task ID 9681 | 0.5 |
Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.O*NET Task ID 9682 | 0.5 |
Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.O*NET Task ID 9683 | 0.5 |
Diagnose problems with installed equipment.O*NET Task ID 9684 | 0.5 |
Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.O*NET Task ID 9685 | 0.5 |
Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.O*NET Task ID 9686 | 0.5 |
Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.O*NET Task ID 9687 | 0.5 |
Research and identify potential customers for products or services.O*NET Task ID 9688 | 0.5 |
Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.O*NET Task ID 9692 | 0.5 |
Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery.O*NET Task ID 9694 | 0.5 |
Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets.O*NET Task ID 9696 | 0.5 |
Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.O*NET Task ID 9697 | 0.5 |
Train team members in the customer applications of technologies.O*NET Task ID 9699 | 0.5 |
Maintain sales forecasting reports.O*NET Task ID 9700 | 0.5 |
Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings.O*NET Task ID 9702 | 0.5 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (25)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs. | Core |
| Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements. | Core |
| Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support. | Core |
| Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery. | Core |
| Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions. | Core |
| Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production. | Core |
| Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers. | Core |
| Research and identify potential customers for products or services. | Core |
| Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages. | Core |
| Create sales or service contracts for products or services. | Core |
| Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment. | Core |
| Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments. | Core |
| Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines. | Core |
| Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets. | Core |
| Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans. | Core |
| Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers. | Core |
| Train team members in the customer applications of technologies. | Core |
| Maintain sales forecasting reports. | Core |
| Attend trade shows and seminars to promote products or to learn about industry developments. | Core |
| Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems. | Supplemental |
| Diagnose problems with installed equipment. | Supplemental |
| Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment. | Supplemental |
| Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery. | Supplemental |
| Write technical documentation for products. | Supplemental |
| Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings. | Supplemental |
0.00/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
None of this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks is classified as a physical task.
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 52K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 53K
- Change (2025–35)
- +2.8%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $124,900
- Typical education needed for entry
- Bachelor's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28432 | 전자 및 통신장비 기술 영업원 | This occupation is broader | confirmed |
| 28435 | 산업용 기계장비 기술 영업원 | This occupation is broader | confirmed |
| 28431 | 자동차 부품 기술 영업원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
| 28434 | 농업용 기계장비 기술 영업원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2434Information and Communications Technology Sales Professionals
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Information and communications technology (ICT) sales professionals sell, at the wholesale level, a range of computer hardware, software and other information and communications technology goods and services including installations and provide specialized information as required.
Tasks
- (a) soliciting orders and selling goods to retail, industrial, wholesale and other establishments;
- (b) selling technical equipment, supplies and related services to business establishments or individuals;
- (c) discussing the needs of new and existing customers and providing specialized information about how particular equipment, supplies and services meet those needs;
- (d) quoting and negotiating prices and credit terms, and completing contracts and recording orders;
- (e) updating customer records and preparing sales reports;
- (f) arranging delivery of goods, installation of equipment and the provision of services;
- (g) reporting customers' reactions and requirements to manufacturers.
Example occupations
Sales representative (communications technology) · Sales representative (computers)
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- sales engineerESCO 2433.4Same scope
Sales engineers provide technical customisation of products based on customers requests and needs (mainly heavy duty), such as building equipment. They take care of business to business contact and assume responsibility for complex repairs and maintenance process.
- technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipmentESCO 2433.6.1This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in agricultural machinery and equipment act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in chemical productsESCO 2433.6.2This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in chemical products act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in electronic and telecommunications equipmentESCO 2434.4This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in electronic and telecommunications equipment act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in hardware, plumbing and heating equipmentESCO 2433.6.3This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in hardware, plumbing and heating equipment act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in machinery and industrial equipmentESCO 2433.6.4This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in machinery and industrial equipment act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in mining and construction machineryESCO 2433.6.5This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in mining and construction machinery act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in office machinery and equipmentESCO 2433.6.6This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in office machinery and equipment act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representative in the textile machinery industryESCO 2433.6.7This occupation is broader
Technical sales representatives in the textile machinery industry act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
- technical sales representativeESCO 2433.6Overlapping, not the same
Technical sales representatives act for a business to sell its merchandise while providing technical insight for customers.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| H1102 | Ingénieur / Ingénieure d'affaires en industrie | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| M1823 | Consultant / Consultante avant-vente | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| D1420 | Cadre Technico-commercial / CadreTechnico-commerciale | Overlapping, not the sameprovisional |
| H1103 | Responsable d'affaires en industrie pharmaceutique | Related, not a match |
| D1407 | Technico-commercial / Technico-commerciale | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2640 | Profesionales de ventas técnicas y médicas (excepto las TIC) | This occupation is narrower |
| 2653 | Profesionales de la venta de tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones | Related, not a match |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 61124 | Berufe im Vertrieb (außer Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 43232 | Berufe im IT-Vertrieb - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| 43233 | Berufe im IT-Vertrieb - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 344 | 機械器具営業職業従事者（通信機械器具を除く） | This occupation is narrower |
| 345 | 通信・システム営業職業従事者 | Related, not a match |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources