Need a college degree to land SDR/BDR positions?

I dropped out of my industrial engineering degree after my 3rd year (dumb decision but at the time I needed to). I've got about 2 years of B2C experience selling life insurance and sales for a digital marketing agency (lead generation services for financial advisors). Wondering if my experience would be enough to get my foot in the door for some type of B2B, SaaS, AE, sales engineer type position? I know how to knock doors all day and make 1,200 plus phone calls a week so I'm no stranger to busting my ass. This is a totally different world as I've been primarily 1099 last two years so forgive me if my jargon is off lol.

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11
funcoupons
WR Officer
5
👑
You definitely don't need a degree for an entry level BDR/SDR position at a SaaS company. You might have trouble getting an AE role off the hop, but that has to do with the fact that you don't have industry specific experience, not that you don't have a degree.
suhdude
Opinionated
1
Sales Rep
What is the typical promotional timeline from sdr to ae and is there anyway my previous closing experience would accelerate that (beyond just faster learning curve)?

funcoupons
WR Officer
3
👑
Really depends on the organization, but on the lower end in a smaller or mid sized SaaS company/company selling a fairly straightforward product you're probably looking at 6-9 months of SDR/BDR work. Big SaaS company or selling a complex product? Probably closer to 12-15 months. Career trajectory timeline is a great question to ask in your interviews.

If you have closing experience it won't hurt your chances of receiving a promotion sooner than your peers who don't. That said, if they tell you it'll take roughly a year, don't accept the role thinking that if you bust your balls it'll only be 6 months because you'll likely end up disappointed.

Most SaaS companies want to start you off as an SDR so you have an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of their approach, customer base, and product. You can't close deals if you don't understand what you're selling or who you're selling it to, even if you were a top closer in your previous role.
suhdude
Opinionated
1
Sales Rep
That's what I figured. Have to learn all the technical aspects of the products/industry first. Appreciate the insights!

funcoupons
WR Officer
1
👑
No worries! 
Tightquotacrush
Executive
0
Manager
18 months for our org, but they're blood-suckers and dont want to let great BDRs go
JECU
Opinionated
2
Account Manager / Co-Founder
Should have no problem getting SDR role without college degree with your current experience
braintank
Politicker
2
Enterprise Account Executive
You've got experience selling, that's more important than degree
suhdude
Opinionated
1
Sales Rep
Any shot I could leverage my experience to get an AE position or would I need to be an SDR for 6-18 months first?
braintank
Politicker
2
Enterprise Account Executive
I think it's possible. You'd be a shoe-in for SDR, stretch for AE, but if you interview well it's not out of the question. 
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
Everything is possible, just start listening also.
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
Nope. I failed out my 3rd year. No one ever even mentions that my resume doesn’t have a graduation date on it. I just list what classes I took that may be relevant and leave it at that.
suhdude
Opinionated
0
Sales Rep
LinkedIn the place to apply it seems?
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
LinkedIn is usually where you’ll see the most postings. I learned from a recruiter a few years back never apply through LinkedIn though. Always use it to find companies that are hiring, then go to their website and apply. 90% of people don’t actually check LinkedIn posting responses (because they’re usually garbage)
Sunbunny31
Politicker
0
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
It shouldn't be a requirement at BDR/SDR level.   Start looking!
bendandsnack
Politicker
0
Account Exec
Nah you don't need a degree.

If you're struggling & want a foot in the door with SaaS go for a high-level tech certification, like AWS Cloud Practitioner/Google Cloud Digital Leader.  Way more valuable than a degree. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
You don't need one. 
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