# Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products

US SOC code 41-4011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/41-4011

Also called: Technical sales representative, Scientific sales representative, Technical sales specialist, Technical account executive, Field sales engineer.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **284,800** US sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products, with median pay of **$104,920** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **415,120**, in May 2008. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://toddcaponi.com/sales-history-the-sales-drummer-and-bagmen/) of **8,000** from 1865, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Revenue intelligence + call analytics, 2018 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 1.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-4011&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **57%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1865
- Latest US employment: 284,800 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $104,920 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +1.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [26]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 62100)
  - Employment, 2020: 50,240. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [6]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 62100 Technical sales specialists - wholesale trade, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$94,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [12]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 62100 Technical sales specialists - wholesale trade, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1865 | 8,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Todd Caponi [1] |
| 1885 | 90,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Todd Caponi [1] |
| 1920 | 1,400,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Harvard Business School [2] |
| 1956 | n/a | $5,800 (estimate) | Est., Estimated median annual earnings for a… [7] |
| 1973 | 320,000 (estimate) | $18,500 (estimate) | Est., PharmExec [3] |
| 2000 | 373,630 | $52,620 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 390,080 | $57,120 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 378,080 | $58,580 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 379,890 | $60,760 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 390,280 | $64,440 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 403,320 | $68,270 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 415,120 | $70,200 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 406,140 | $71,340 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 381,080 | $73,710 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 375,500 | $74,750 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 364,830 | $74,970 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 352,830 | $74,520 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 335,540 | $75,140 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 334,010 | $76,190 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 328,370 | $78,980 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 327,190 | $78,830 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 312,980 | $79,680 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 306,980 | $81,020 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 288,150 | $86,650 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 266,160 | $94,840 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 290,830 | $97,710 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 311,780 | $99,710 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 293,930 | $100,070 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 284,800 | $104,920 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (88)

### Employment series

1. [Todd Caponi — "Sales History: The Sales Drummer and Bagmen" (drummers post-Civil War, 8,000 to 90,000 growth)](https://toddcaponi.com/sales-history-the-sales-drummer-and-bagmen/), Todd Caponi / Sales History
2. [Harvard Business School, Working Knowledge — 'Birth of the American Salesman' (sales occupations ~5% of U.S. workforce by 1920; figure derived as ~5% of the 1920 labor force)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School (Working Knowledge)
3. [PharmExec — "The Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Sales Representative" (1973 baseline: large pharmaceutical companies, ~40 major firms, one tenured rep per territory)](https://www.pharmexec.com/view/evolution-pharmaceutical-sales-representative), Pharmaceutical Executive
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

7. [Estimated median annual earnings for a manufacturers'/technical sales representative, circa 1956 (derived from BLS 1950s sales-occupation earnings via the University of Missouri Libraries prices-and-wages index)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), Derived estimate (BLS 1950s sales earnings, secondary index)
8. [PharmExec — "The Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Sales Representative" (1973 career context: Parke-Davis rep compensation and territory structure)](https://www.pharmexec.com/view/evolution-pharmaceutical-sales-representative), Pharmaceutical Executive
9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

13. [Todd Caponi — "Sales History: The Sales Drummer and Bagmen" (sample-case and order-book era)](https://toddcaponi.com/sales-history-the-sales-drummer-and-bagmen/), Todd Caponi / Sales History
14. [Harvard Business School Working Knowledge — "Birth of the American Salesman" (professionalization of sales forces 1880s-1908)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School / Working Knowledge
15. [Cambridge Core / Business History Review — "John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922"](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/abs/john-h-patterson-and-the-sales-strategy-of-the-national-cash-register-company-1884-to-1922/0CA6F483DBC1E965907582EF219134FB), Cambridge University Press / Business History Review
16. [PharmExec — "The Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Sales Representative" (1973: detail-man model, ~5 physician visits/day, 5-15 minute interactions)](https://www.pharmexec.com/view/evolution-pharmaceutical-sales-representative), Pharmaceutical Executive
17. [Wikipedia — Fax (history: commercial adoption late 1970s, ubiquitous in business by mid-1980s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax), Wikipedia
18. [Wikipedia — Act! LLC (history: first released 1 April 1987, pioneered contact-management/CRM software for sales professionals)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act!_LLC), Wikipedia
19. [Wikipedia — Siebel Systems (founded 1993, enterprise CRM for pharmaceutical and field sales forces)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siebel_Systems), Wikipedia
20. [Wikipedia — Salesforce (company history: founded 1999, pioneered cloud CRM, broad field-sales adoption by mid-2000s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce), Wikipedia
21. [Gong — Revenue AI Platform (company history: founded 2015, enterprise adoption; AI call recording and coaching for B2B sales)](https://www.gong.io/platform/revenue-ai), Gong
22. [McKinsey — "An unconstrained future: How generative AI could reshape B2B sales" (80% call-prep reduction, 50% more customer-facing time; Sep 2024)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/an-unconstrained-future-how-generative-ai-could-reshape-b2b-sales), McKinsey
23. [Salesforce — "State of Sales 2025-2026": 85% of reps with AI agents say AI frees them for higher-value work; high performers 1.7x more likely to use AI agents](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/state-of-sales-report-announcement-2026/), Salesforce
24. [Gong via VentureBeat — "Sales teams using AI revenue intelligence generate 77% more revenue per rep" (2025)](https://venturebeat.com/ai/gong-study-sales-teams-using-ai-generate-77-more-revenue-per-rep), Gong / VentureBeat
25. [Salesforce press release: "Salesforce's Agentforce Is Here: Trusted, Autonomous AI Agents to Scale Your Workforce" (October 29, 2024): general availability of Agentforce](https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2024/10/29/agentforce-general-availability-announcement/), Salesforce

### Forecasts and exposure studies

26. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 41-4011 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products (2025: 292.0 thousand; 2035: 295.5 thousand; +1.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-4011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 41-4011.00, human-rated β 0.57)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

28. [Todd Caponi — "Sales History: The Sales Drummer and Bagmen" (post-Civil War: ~8,000 drummers)](https://toddcaponi.com/sales-history-the-sales-drummer-and-bagmen/), Todd Caponi / Sales History
29. [Business History Review / Cambridge Core — "John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922"](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/abs/john-h-patterson-and-the-sales-strategy-of-the-national-cash-register-company-1884-to-1922/0CA6F483DBC1E965907582EF219134FB), Cambridge University Press / Business History Review
30. [PharmExec — "The Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Sales Representative" (post-war detail-man model)](https://www.pharmexec.com/view/evolution-pharmaceutical-sales-representative), Pharmaceutical Executive
31. [Wikipedia — Salesforce (company history: founded 1999, cloud CRM disruption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce), Wikipedia
32. [Salesforce — "State of Sales 2025-2026": 28% of reps hit quota (lowest in six years); 85% with AI agents report higher-value work](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/state-of-sales-report-announcement-2026/), Salesforce

### Predecessors & successors

33. [Todd Caponi — "Sales History: The Sales Drummer and Bagmen" (drummers as precursors to the specialized technical rep)](https://toddcaponi.com/sales-history-the-sales-drummer-and-bagmen/), Todd Caponi / Sales History

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-03
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products (41-4011.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-4011.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives: 303,200 jobs, median $100,070/yr, 1% growth 2024-2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm), accessed 2026-06-03
- [McKinsey — "An unconstrained future: How generative AI could reshape B2B sales": 80% reduction in call prep time, 50% increase in customer-facing time (Sep 2024)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/an-unconstrained-future-how-generative-ai-could-reshape-b2b-sales), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Salesforce — "State of Sales 2025-2026": 85% of reps with AI agents say AI frees them for higher-value work; high performers 1.7x more likely to use prospecting agents](https://www.salesforce.com/en-us/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/documents/reports/sales/salesforce-state-of-sales-report-2026.pdf), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Gong via VentureBeat — Sales teams using AI revenue intelligence generate 77% more revenue per rep (2025)](https://venturebeat.com/ai/gong-study-sales-teams-using-ai-generate-77-more-revenue-per-rep), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Clari — "AI Workflows" release: enterprise customers closing new-logo deals 20% faster with AI-guided pipeline management (Mar 2025)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250306651469/en/Clari-Unveils-New-AI-Workflows-to-Guide-Seller-Productivity-and-Drive-Predictable-Enterprise-Revenue-Growth), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Seismic-Highspot merger announcement — combined AI sales enablement platform (Feb 2026)](https://www.highspot.com/blog/highspot-announces-intent-to-merge-with-seismic/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [HBR — "Why Some Sales Teams Are Actually Growing Alongside AI": human expertise remains crucial for complex, high-stakes B2B purchases where salespeople help buyers navigate ambiguity (Sep 2025)](https://hbr.org/2025/09/why-some-sales-teams-are-actually-growing-alongside-ai), accessed 2026-06-21
- [ZoomInfo — Copilot Spring 2025 update: 50k+ users, 60% more demos booked, 90% email response-rate improvement](https://www.zoominfo.com/newsroom/press-releases/zoominfo-copilot-spring-2025-updates), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Salesforce Agentforce — Pipeline Management Agent: auto-updates CRM fields and recommends next steps from sales activity](https://www.salesforce.com/sales/ai-sales-agent/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Seismic — Aura Copilot: AI-generated customized technical decks and proposal content from approved asset library](https://www.seismic.com/platform/aura/), accessed 2026-06-03

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.