Although currently, with my aspirations and desires, I do not really see myself transitioning into either marketing or sales after completing my biomedical engineering degree, if it truly came down to it and I were to transition into one of the roles, I find myself leaning more towards marketing. The main reason being is that marketing involves more strategy, research, and communication than sales, while also allowing for creativity in shaping how products are presented to the market. Throughout my academic journey I have always found myself leaning towards courses that push my creativity and force me to think outside of the norm. While marketing is certainly a different type of creativity than I am used to seeing in my engineering courses, it still combines technical knowledge with strategic thinking. Furthermore, marketing also plays a key role in aligning engineering innovations with customer needs and opportunities, which something I think I would find fulfilling given my engineering background. That is not to say that sales does not have fulfilling characteristics as well, but I feel as though I would enjoy the factors that marketing offers more. Additionally, I feel as though marketing provides a broader range of skills development, from market analysis to product positioning, which can be useful for long-term career growth in product management or executive roles.
Though I'd much prefer to work in product development than sales or marketing, I can see the allure of transitioning to a sales or marketing position after working as an engineer. Once you know the ins and outs of a product, it could be rewarding to really get out on the "front lines" and sell it. If I had to choose between sales and marketing, I'd rather work in marketing because it seems to still have involvement with the product. Part of marketing is market research and product management, where you have to keep up with how the product is doing on the market and note points of improvement. This could mean improving the product itself or the sales strategy. I do not see myself as the biggest "people person" or extrovert, so I don't think I would thrive as a salesperson. Thus, if I had to choose between the two I would work in marketing.
I think I would definitely try it out if I ever have a chance. It must be harder for something changing from sale to engineer role because of the technical background, which counts as hard knowledge. On the other hand, switching from engineering position to sale/marketing requires little to none of the technical background and it is more of soft skills where you learn to communicate with customers, learn different strategies (this is where your creativity can come in), and start practicing in real life how to become better in sale/marketing. When I think of sale/marketing, I honestly think that everyone can pick it up easily as a soft skills, but to be happy with it being your main job, it depends on your personality as well as your preferences of ideal working environment
If I were to transition from an engineering role, I would likely choose marketing over sales, particularly in an upstream capacity. Marketing allows for a more strategic approach, where I could use my technical background to better understand the product, the market, and customer needs, and then help shape messaging and positioning that aligns with both. My engineering experience would give me a unique perspective on the technical aspects of a product, which could be especially valuable in creating campaigns, educational content, or market research that resonates with technically minded customers or decision-makers. While sales is important for directly driving revenue, I feel that marketing offers a broader impact on how a product is perceived and can influence the market at scale. It also allows for a blend of creativity and analytical thinking, which appeals to my skill set as an engineer. Overall, I would choose upstream marketing because it leverages my technical expertise while providing an opportunity to shape strategy and long-term brand growth.
Engineers working in different organizations decide to enter sales or marketing roles when they want to advance their careers past their technical expertise. It’s less common to see the reverse, since engineering requires specific technical qualifications, while sales and marketing rely more on communication, strategy, and understanding customer needs.
If I had to choose, I’d go for marketing, especially upstream marketing. It combines analytical and strategic thinking with technical insight. Engineers already possess knowledge about product operations which guides their decisions regarding product development through market research and customer feedback. The project direction takes precedence over work assignment execution in this objective.
Sales professionals need to learn relationship management and persuasion methods which generate revenue and lead to fast success for those who excel at direct communication.
I would select marketing because it enables me to maintain my connection to innovation while developing business strategy skills which unite technical and creative aspects of growth.
If I were to change career paths but stay in the same industry, I would definitely go into medical sales. Although marketing is appealing, it is not as interactive in terms of company-consumer interactions and I believe, from what I have heard and experienced, sales is a much more fun job especially with traveling. I do love engineering, and I do not see myself switching to medical sales until I get a lot of background experience in the industry I want to work in (pharmaceuticals). I know one thing is that even for medical sales, knowing the industry inside-out is crucial to actually selling products or gaining interest from consumers and other companies that may be interested in your products. In my previous internship I talked to sales reps, and they had immense knowledge about the industry (industrial chemicals but still applies the same way) and they were actually previously PhDs or master's in chemical or related engineering. Since you already have a technical background coming from engineering, I think sales would not be as hard to get into, especially since you can develop skills like pitching ideas, public speaking, presenting a topic, etc. I also enjoy speaking with people and learning things from different viewpoints and sales gives you that opportunity to grow (although it is very competitive), but it would still be an interesting experience to eventually transition into that career path after spending a good amount of time doing engineering roles.
