sales321go

Account Executive

Careers other than sales

hey there savages!

I've been in sales for the last 6 years - switched a few different industries. I think I finally found my place in InfoSec sales, but lately I've been thinking about transitioning out of sales altogether in the next 3-4 years. However, I've talked to some of my friends in project management and customer success and really don't love the idea of what they do. I love the flexibility the sale career has given me and I don't think any other role (except for product and management) gets as much exposure as sales does.

Has anyone else done any similar thinking?

Thoughts on moving to management?

thank you 🙏

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NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

Professional Day Ruiner

I couldn't picture myself ever doing anything besides sales. Too much money, too much freedom, and the adrenaline rush of chasing and closing a deal. Maybe one day I'll want something more "secure", but for now I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Very well put together! I guess those are the reasons why we put up with stress? 😄

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Sales just provides too much money for the amount of time I work. Customer service caps off the amount you can earn, and you're stuck dealing with all the issues around that account. PM work is profoundly different - very fulfilling, but on specific timelines and success tied to milestones. There's a fair amount of money in it, but you lose the autonomy of sales.

Only you can answer the question of whether or not you want to be in management. You'll make less money, but there's a path up the ladder. Do you ultimately want to be a C-level exec? Then maybe management is where you start.

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Yea CS would a such a let down after being sales for so long… project management varies from org to org.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Do you want to be a PM, customer success, or move into management? 3 pretty different careers.

In my opinion customer success distills all the headaches of sales with none of the upside.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Which makes it not worth my while.

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

💯 agreed

peachykeen

Politicker

sae e-commerce

Unless you're in a very high management position or like some c-level something or another, the money probably won't be as good. And will most likely be way more structured, like true 9-5. No thanks.

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Yea. Plus you’d probably be expected to go into the office a lot more frequently and honestly I don’t know if I’ll ever again want to do that.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

I considered success for a minute, not for me.

I do some marketing-y stuff at my current role, which I like (don't come at me too hard, savages), but the majority is sales.

What about sales engineering?

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Good for you jefe. As long a you’re happy.

Actually sales engineering sounds pretty good. But I feel I’d have to spend some time getting another degree? Some extra courses?

butwhy

Politicker

Solutions Engineer

Nah, no degree needed - there are products that don't require much technicality at all for the SE. Our role is more around positioning, understanding the context of the solution for how the company wants to use it and where they need integration, and blaming the Wifi every time your demo doesn't work because there was a product update in the demo instance that no one warned you about.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

ive thought about moving to management.

But every time I think about it....i realize i dont want to sacrifice the time freedom I have. in management you have less control over your time and your income haha

sales321go

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Excellent point. Plus a lot of sales management jobs are player-coach type of thing. Not only that you have to coach people, you often need to sell for multiple territories

Gasty

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sales321go

Careers other than sales

15 comments

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