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Professional Sales

Types of Degrees Professional Sales Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Professional Sales can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	67
Associate’s Degree	69
Bachelor’s Degree	506
Master’s Degree	896

What Professional Sales Majors Need to Know

Studies in Professional Sales emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Professional Sales graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Professional Sales emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Professional Sales program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Persuasion — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Professional Sales careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Professional Sales graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Selling or Influencing Others	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.6 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Professional Sales professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Salesforce software	Customer relationship management CRM software	✓
Microsoft Dynamics	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Professional Sales graduates include:

• Sales Specialist
• Sales Consultant
• Sales Coordinator
• Marketing Representative
• Outside Sales Representative
• Inside Sales Representative
• Sales Representative
• Field Marketing Representative
• Field Service Representative
• Shift Supervisor
• Sales Supervisor
• Advertising Consultant
• Advertising Assistant
• Site Promotion Agent
• Radio and Television Time Sales Representative

What Can You Do With a Professional Sales Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Professional Sales commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Advertising Sales Agents	11.9%	$63,488	$51,403–$75,573
Parts Salespersons	7.9%	$27,560	$22,000–$33,343
Travel Agents	-3.5%	$65,314	$53,853–$76,775
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	5.3%	$53,224	$45,316–$61,133
Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors	7.5%	$31,788	$27,320–$36,257
Sales and Related Workers, All Other	3.6%	$60,515	$48,820–$72,210
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	-3.7%	$39,468	$32,450–$46,486
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	4.0%	$28,072	$23,165–$32,979
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel	1.4%	$61,441	$49,542–$73,340

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Professional Sales graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	32.6%
Bachelor’s degree	24.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	18.7%
Some college courses	13.1%
Postsecondary certificate	7.1%
Less than a high school diploma	2.2%
Master’s degree	1.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.0%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Professional Sales?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 45% women and 55% men among Professional Sales graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	705	45.0%
Men	861	55.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Professional Sales graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,153	73.6%
Asian	31	2.0%
Hispanic or Latino	147	9.4%
Black or African American	65	4.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	8	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.3%
Two or More Races	63	4.0%
Race Unknown	42	2.7%
International Students	53	3.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Professional Sales Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Professional Sales graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$52,294
4 years	$56,564
5 years	$66,475

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $66,475 — roughly 27% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Professional Sales Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Professional Sales. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	0
Bachelor’s	5	2
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Professional Sales Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Professional Sales graduates earn a median of $56,564 four years after completion — roughly 49% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	6,171
Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations, General	3,325
Retail Management	1,434
Retailing and Retail Operations	1,000
E-Commerce/Electronic Commerce	467
General Merchandising, Sales, and Related Marketing Operations, Other	223
Special Products Marketing Operations	145
Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations	144
Merchandising and Buying Operations	57
Vehicle and Vehicle Parts and Accessories Marketing Operations	41
Auctioneering	15
Reserved	—

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.