Sales and Related

Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Sell services to individuals or businesses.

Median pay
$69,990
Growth to 2035
+2.7%
Openings a year
115,700
Typical entry
High school

The median pay for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel is $69,990 a year ($33.65/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 2.7% through 2035, with about 115,700 openings a year (BLS EP, 2025–2035). Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent.

  • SOC 41-3091
  • Sales and Related
  • Last updated October 9, 2026

At a glance

Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel in four numbers

Median pay
$69,990a year, or $33.65/hr
Lowest 10% $38KTop 10% $149K

US median, all jobs: $50,980

BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected growth
+2.7%About as fast as average
This career
+2.7%
All jobs
+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
This career+2.7%
All jobs+3.5%
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Openings a year
115,7001,272,700 jobs today
  • Jobs in 20251.3M
  • Projected 20351.3M
Employment, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Jobs in 20251.3M
Projected 20351.3M
BLS EP, 2025–2035
Typical education
High schoolneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET

Also advertised as: National Sales Executive, Sales Representative (Sales Rep).

Pay

How much do Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel make?

Annual pay, lowest-paid to highest-paid

Every sales representative of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel in the US, by percentile of annual wage

Median

$69,990

Middle half earn $47,670 to $100,480

10th
$37,980
25th
$47,670
75th
$100,480
90th
$148,840

All US occupations: $50,980

Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel annual wages
PercentileValue
10th$37,980
25th$47,670
Median$69,990
75th$100,480
90th$148,840
All US occupations$50,980

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Median annual wage
$69,990
Median hourly wage
$33.65/hr
Mean annual wage
$82,430
People employed
1,256,010

Versus all US occupations

At $69,990, Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel earn 37% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $19,010 a year.

Versus sales and related occupations

Inside the Sales and Related group, where the middle occupation pays $73,220, this is 4% below the group median.

Pay range

The top 10% earn $148,840 or more while the bottom 10% earn $37,980, a gap of 3.9×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.

Rank in the bank

This median pays more than 45% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.

Highest-paying state

New York pays the most at $92,190, and still leads at $85,424 once local prices are taken into account.

Pay by state

Which states pay Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel the most?

State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.

Top 10 states by median annual wage for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
StateMedianCOL-adjustedEmployed
1New York$92,190$85,42480,510
2Massachusetts$83,760$79,20032,300
3Rhode Island$81,450$79,634N/A
4California$80,850$73,022156,110
5Washington$79,920$74,68318,950
6Colorado$79,810$77,44637,810
7New Jersey$79,200$72,79144,980
8Vermont$77,530$79,1461,130
9Connecticut$76,940$74,25911,420
10District of Columbia$76,770$69,8543,120
See all 54 states, sortable, with cost-of-living adjustments

Job outlook

Is Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel a growing career?

Projected change in jobs

Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation

Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
+2.7%
All US occupations
+3.5%

About as fast as average. +2.7% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.

Projected employment change, 2025–2035
ItemValue
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel+2.7%
All US occupations+3.5%

Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035

About as fast as average

BLS projects employment of Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel to change 2.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 33,900 more jobs.

Annual openings

About 115,700 openings are projected each year, 9.1% of the 1,272,700 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.

Getting in

How to become a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel

  1. 1

    Typical entry-level education

    High school diploma or equivalent

  2. 2

    Work experience in a related occupation

    None

  3. 3

    Typical on-the-job training

    Moderate-term on-the-job training

  4. 4

    Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)

    Little or no preparation

BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.

The work

What does a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel do?

Sell services to individuals or businesses. May describe options or resolve client problems.

Day-to-day tasks

  1. Answer customers' questions about services, prices, availability, or credit terms.
  2. Contact prospective or existing customers to discuss how services can meet their needs.
  3. Emphasize or recommend service features based on knowledge of customers' needs and vendor capabilities and limitations.
  4. Quote prices, credit terms, contract terms, or fulfillment dates for services.
  5. Identify prospective customers using business directories, leads from clients, or information from conferences or trade shows.
  6. Maintain customer records using automated systems.
  7. Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and provide ongoing support.
  8. Inform customers of contracts or other information pertaining to purchased services.

O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.

Working conditions and hours

Where the work happens

  • Indoors, climate-controlled

    NeverEvery day
  • Outdoors in all weather

    NeverEvery day

Physical demands

  • Sitting

    NeverAlmost all the time

    Seated for more than half the working day.

  • Standing

    NeverAlmost all the time
  • Bending or twisting

    NeverAlmost all the time

Working with people

  • Contact with other people

    NoneConstant

    Constant contact with other people.

  • Face-to-face discussions

    NeverEvery day
  • Dealing with the public

    Not importantExtremely important

    Dealing with customers or the public is very important.

Pressure and stakes

  • Strict deadlines

    NeverEvery day
  • Conflict situations

    NeverEvery day
  • Cost of a mistake

    Not seriousExtremely serious

Autonomy

  • Freedom to decide

    NoneA lot

    A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.

Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.

Core skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Active Listening3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Reading Comprehension3.6
  • Writing3.4
  • Critical Thinking3.4
  • Active Learning3.4
  • Monitoring3.1
  • Mathematics2.6
Core skills for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
ItemValue
Active Listening3.9
Speaking3.9
Reading Comprehension3.6
Writing3.4
Critical Thinking3.4
Active Learning3.4
Monitoring3.1
Mathematics2.6

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Transferable skills

O*NET importance, 1 to 5

  • Social Perceptiveness3.4
  • Persuasion3.4
  • Negotiation3.4
  • Service Orientation3.4
  • Time Management3.4
  • Complex Problem Solving3.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.0
  • Coordination2.9
Transferable skills for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
ItemValue
Social Perceptiveness3.4
Persuasion3.4
Negotiation3.4
Service Orientation3.4
Time Management3.4
Complex Problem Solving3.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.0
Coordination2.9

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

Tools and software

  • Analytical or scientific software · in demand
  • Customer relationship management CRM software · in demand
  • Electronic mail software · in demand
  • Office suite software · in demand
  • Operating system software · in demand
  • Presentation software · in demand
  • Project management software · in demand
  • Sales and marketing software · in demand
  • Spreadsheet software · in demand
  • Word processing software · in demand
  • Enterprise application integration software
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software

“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.

Personality fit

What personality type suits a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel?

Interest profile

O*NET Occupational Interests (RIASEC), scored 1 to 7

Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Realistic: 1Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Investigative: 2Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Artistic: 1Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Social: 4Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Enterprising: 7Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · Conventional: 5
Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel interest profile
AxisSales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
Realistic1
Investigative2
Artistic1
Social4
Enterprising7
Conventional5

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database

What the work is built around

Day to day this is work built around leading, persuading, selling and making decisions, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.

  • Enterprising6.7
  • Conventional5.1
  • Social3.8
  • Investigative1.9
  • Artistic1.4
  • Realistic1.1

Closest MBTI types

NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.

Questions

Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel: frequently asked questions

How much do Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel make?

Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel earn a median of $69,990 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 37% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $33.65/hr. The middle half earn between $47,670 and $100,480. The top 10% earn $148,840 or more.

Do you need a degree to become a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel?

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training.

Is Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel a growing career?

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.7% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 115,700 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

What does a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel do?

Sell services to individuals or businesses. A core O*NET task: answer customers' questions about services, prices, availability, or credit terms. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Customer relationship management CRM software, Electronic mail software.

Which states pay Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel the most?

The highest state medians for Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel are New York ($92,190), Massachusetts ($83,760), Rhode Island ($81,450) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

What personality type suits a Sales Representative of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel?

O*NET scores Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel highest on the Enterprising, Conventional and Social interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESFJ, ESTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.