It’s no secret that sales jobs within the medical industry including the pharmaceutical industry are well-paying. A recent MedReps’ pharmaceutical sales salary report confirmed just that, further citing that the average pharmaceutical sales salary in 2015 is almost 5% over the 2014 average. Currently, the average pharmaceutical sales salary is $116,334 and the average specialty pharmaceutical salary is $134,414, for a combined average of $124,622. Obviously, pharma sales jobs continue to be highly sought-after, not simply because of the money and attractive perks, or as a way to break into medical sales, but as a solid career opportunity with plenty of room for growth as well.
Finding a Job
If you’ve decided on a career in pharmaceutical sales, where do you look? What regions, and more specifically, what states and cities offer the most opportunities? A good place to start is the detailed job search database found on MedReps.com. Once there, you can access thousands of available jobs and specify your individual preferences for location, job category, job primary function, salary structure, and more. Utilizing that resource, a simple search by location reveals where the most pharmaceutical sales jobs are within the United States.
The states that consistently have the most pharmaceutical sales opportunities are typically the ones with the highest populations including those with the largest metropolitan areas. California, Texas, and New York offer the most jobs and major cities within those states such as San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, and New York City are big reasons for it.
In addition to city and state search, MedReps offers a job search by region feature. Areas within the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest are all represented here. This feature is great if you are looking for a job in a non-specific area or if you don’t mind traveling within that region for work.
As a bonus, the International job search shows results for medical and pharmaceutical sales rep jobs outside of the U.S. and is extremely helpful for those who are looking for jobs in Canada or other bordering regions or territories, like Puerto Rico.
Location, Location, Location
Contrary to most jobs, the specific location doesn’t matter as much, meaning it doesn’t matter if you’re living in Los Angeles or Louisiana, your total salary will most likely be very similar. According to the aforementioned pharmaceutical salary report, states with the largest number of respondents (California, Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania) reported average incomes that mirrored the overall average – ranging from $122,000 to $126,000 per year. While a few states reported significantly higher averages (Kansas, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, South Dakota), they represented a low sample size and were typically skewed by 1 or 2 respondents with a management job title.
What’s more, the more pharmaceutical sales reps travel, the more money they earn, with the highest earners saying they travel overnight at least 75% of the time. In the end, location appears to be rather inconsequential and what really it boils down to is the simple fact that sales reps who work harder are rewarded for it.
