I got promoted to AE at my company at the start of this year after being an SDR for almost 2 years (a great manager kept me sane and kept me going). Unfortunately, I am finding that the AE role here is probably worse than most other AE roles for the following reasons: My base did not change from my time as an SDR and I make significantly less on base than my friends who recently got promoted to AEs at other companies We are asked to do renewals and account management (upsell and cross-sell) except it is for our bottom tier accounts that can barely afford us (so not as much opportunities) We got acquired last year and there have been a few random layoffs since My manager is hardly present and has even ghosted our 1 on 1s sometimes Culturally, unlike the SDR team, the AE team is a heavy bros club and bro culture personified I've been in the role for about 4 months now and wonder if I would even be able to get a good AE role externally given how little experience I have had. At the same time, I hate waking up for work every day and am having to force myself to get out of bed. I know I have the drive it takes to succeed in an AE role but I feel like I need a much better environment. How much longer should I stick it out here?

You need zero experience. You need a hiring manager who believes you can do it.

You'll never know until you try. Apply to a few places on the down low and see what happens. Report back.

As others have said, start looking. Don't tell anyone at your current company you are looking, but get those feelers and resumes out there and start the process of looking for another opportunity as you continue to make what you can of where you are.

I went through something similar. Id say try to hit a year first or it looks like you werent performing and got fired. When I hit the 14 month mark I was getting hit up by recruiters like crazy.

BitcoinAddict

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How much AE experience do you need to be competitive for an external AE role?

I got promoted to AE at my company at the start of this year after being an SDR for almost 2 years (a great manager kept me sane and kept me going). Unfortunately, I am finding that the AE role here is probably worse than most other AE roles for the following reasons:

My base did not change from my time as an SDR and I make significantly less on base than my friends who recently got promoted to AEs at other companies
We are asked to do renewals and account management (upsell and cross-sell) except it is for our bottom tier accounts that can barely afford us (so not as much opportunities)
We got acquired last year and there have been a few random layoffs since
My manager is hardly present and has even ghosted our 1 on 1s sometimes
Culturally, unlike the SDR team, the AE team is a heavy bros club and bro culture personified

I've been in the role for about 4 months now and wonder if I would even be able to get a good AE role externally given how little experience I have had. At the same time, I hate waking up for work every day and am having to force myself to get out of bed.

I know I have the drive it takes to succeed in an AE role but I feel like I need a much better environment.

How much longer should I stick it out here?

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BitcoinAddict

How much AE experience do you need to be competitive for an external AE role?

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