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So I have a bit of a dilemma regarding my career right now. I was working full-time as a salesman/telemarketer. Although I loved the company I was at, I had doubts that sales was the right career for me. I had always been introverted by nature and didn't see myself being able to adapt to the qualifications needed to be a full-blown sales account manager - always being available for customers, doing webinars, going to sales shows and displaying the product in person, etc. It wasn't me, or so I thought at the time.
I decided to go back to school full-time to pursue a degree in computer science. When I informed my employer of this, they were generous enough to allow me to stay on part-time in the same department, just fewer hours. However, as time has passed, I have really come to regret my decision. For starters, I wish I had kept the FT job and just done school online or at night for financial reasons. But it's not just that. Part of the problem is, before that sales job, I went years without having a social life because I was home-schooled and long lacked confidence in my social abilities. Although I was able to talk on the phone to people just fine, there was something about the stigma of being a salesperson that seemed contrary to my personality. But going to college and joining some social groups changed that. It helped bring me out of my shell, and I realize that I now actually like interacting with people on a daily basis. Programming is cool, but my issue with it is that it's an isolated job, you work alone in an office and rarely interact with anyone. I feel like I'd be going back to my old lifestyle and throwing away all that progress I made to become less introverted if I took a programming job when I graduate, and I don't want that (I've been giving consideration to switching my major, but I'm not sure what to switch it to right now, so I'm just plugging away at a programming degree until I can decide on something better).
I deeply lament the fact that I didn't give sales a fair chance due to my own social insecurities. My boss was pleased with my progression and saw me eventually becoming an account manager, but my lack of confidence in my social skills caused me to run from that opportunity. I even basically admitted to my boss at the time I went back to school that I didn't feel sales was for me, which makes me kind of surprised he allowed me to stay and work around my school schedule. I regret all of that now that I have become more social. I want to give sales another go, or else I may never truly have peace of mind about it. My regret over my rejection of that job has kept me up at nights. I'm still in school, but honestly, I'm considering going to my boss and asking him if, the next time there's a full-time opening in his sales department (there are no openings right now, and my old job was filled) if he would consider bringing me back on. Even if it's before I graduate from school, that wouldn't matter - I would just take online or night classes, which I wish I had done in the first place instead of this "can't work full-time and go to school" bullcrap I fell for.
I'm not sure how he would react. He's a nice guy and has always seemed to like me, so he could be open to the idea. Or, he could say something like "Sorry, you had your chance". I don't really know. I don't want to run the risk of making things awkward, or having the company think I'm wishy washy and can't make up my mind. But I'll never know unless I ask.
What do you guys think? Go to him and ask, or just cut my losses and decide to either take whatever FT job I can get at this company after I graduate school - even if it's something other than sales - or try a sales job elsewhere?
Tell your boss the story you told here, that you are now a more social person because of college and that you have grown. See what he can recommend to you about what options you have with your company before or after you graduate.
Engineering as you move up the ranks requires team work, it may not be as isolating as you think. Also an engineering degree can open the door to more technical roles on the sales team - ore-sales engineer. For a complex soctware sale, this person helps the customer understand and configure the software in their environment. This person partners with the sales rep who manages the transactional side.
You can also use your programming degree like my colleague - he became a software implementation consultant for salesforce.com projects. He spends about 50% of his time coding and the rest with people. He now does this role at our company. (I did the same, but my path was different). You can also be a project manager for this work which is mostly people time.
There are lots of ways to have a social technical job, if you like the technical stuff.
Programming isn’t as isolated as you think. I’ve always said if you can communicate AND write code the sky is the limit for you in IT. Plus there is a need for computer people.
Sales is an extremely high pressured and being able to BS job. I would go with IT in a heartbeat.
"Newly graduated software engineer with sales experience who is looking to work with a team to solve problems. X years experience in sales and telemarketing, Y months in engineering internships. Looking for a position that will lead to operations or project management to grow a product, division and company."
I think it sounds like you have great potential. Don't think your experience in sales was wasted. It is only wasted if you waste it. I personally would play that up--you're a manager's dream: a technically educated person with people skills and sales experience. Sweet.
I should add that the degree I'm going for now is only an associate's degree from a technical college. I'd like to eventually get a bachelor's, but financial and personal reasons prevent that from being a realistic option right now. Fortunately, the company I work for accepts two-year degrees. In fact, I know several people there in both the programming and IT departments that graduated from this very school, without going on to a university to get their 4-year degree.
As far as programming, I think it's cool, but I'm starting to see it as more of a hobby - something good to know on the side - instead of something I'd like to do professionally. I've been giving some thought to switching to a major such as networking and going into IT if I am indeed forced to move on from sales, but I haven't made a final decision yet.
Also, I wanted to respond directly to this comment:
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeminoleTom
Sales is an extremely high pressured and being able to BS job. I would go with IT in a heartbeat.
It is true that sales is high-pressured, and that it sometimes requires being a BS'er to people (though some of this also depends on the type of sales job and the product being sold, as well as the salesperson him/herself). However, there is some real appreciable value in being a sales/account manager. Not only for the job experience, but also for the professional relationships you develop with clients. As someone who has met some of my company's clients in person, I can say that it's pretty awesome to have someone you're used to only speaking to on the phone come up to introduce themselves and tell you how much they appreciate all that you do for them. It leaves an impression on you that is difficult to forget. Especially for someone such as myself, who has always enjoyed helping others. That is perhaps what I will miss most about sales if I end up moving on from it, and what I will regret most about my decision - that I never had the opportunity to become an account manager and prove myself in that role. But that's the way I've always been, I want to prove my worth and live up to my full potential in everything I try. If I feel I left something on the table and didn't go as far as I would have liked, I'm going to have regrets.
With that said, some very good points have been made by you and others in this thread about using that sales experience down the road in tech jobs. I never really thought of it that way. I'd still like another shot at sales, but that does ease my mind somewhat.
Last edited by openwheel95; 12-30-2017 at 10:27 PM..
Engineering as you move up the ranks requires team work, it may not be as isolating as you think. Also an engineering degree can open the door to more technical roles on the sales team - ore-sales engineer. For a complex soctware sale, this person helps the customer understand and configure the software in their environment. This person partners with the sales rep who manages the transactional side.
You can also use your programming degree like my colleague - he became a software implementation consultant for salesforce.com projects. He spends about 50% of his time coding and the rest with people. He now does this role at our company. (I did the same, but my path was different). You can also be a project manager for this work which is mostly people time.
There are lots of ways to have a social technical job, if you like the technical stuff.
Great post jade. I second this and have first hand experience with interviewing for these positions.
People have such a freaking HUGE misconception about salespeople. People think that because they earn their living by results and not punching in a clock to trade time for money, they believe it is somehow evil, not right. But those people have no problem working for a paycheck but cry about another person trying to earn his/her living.
I know more salespeople than most normal person. Most of them are wonderful people. There a few sleazy people in sales but the majority of people in sales are good, honest, people who wants to do what is best for their customers. A salesperson is nothing more than a Problem Solver. Your clients have a problem and you have the solution. Your goal is to see if they are a fit for your product or service.
If you are good in sales and enjoy it, keep doing it. It's a skill that is extremely transferable to any company, any industry and you are very well compensated for it....assuming you are good at it.
I would also go as far to say that 95%+ of these roles pay $100k+ with many exceeding the $150k mark.
One other thing to note is that they may require extensive travel.
Either way, get the technical degree and continue working on your sales/customer service skills.
Yes! It was a good life decision for me to switch into these roles. Better pay! I didn't travel much when I was consulting. The worst year was when I had a lot of local travel in Bay Area traffic. I did 1-2 short trips a month at my peak of travel.
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