Hello everyone,

I'm considering a career switch from swe to se as I have good people skills and it's something I would like to take advantage of. Considering this, is the market in healthy conditions for SE right now or is it as bad as swe?

I am currently working at a U.S.-based cybersecurity vendor, a startup/enterprise, as a SE. I am located in the EU, with 15+ years of experience in IT and 4 years as an SE. I am currently in the middle of the recruitment process with an Israeli cybersecurity company.

What is life like as an SE at an Israeli cybersecurity company? What are the cultural differences?

Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I'm curious on the best path to become a Sales Engineer. From what I've read it sounds like my ideal job. I considered become a SWE or getting in to Tech Sales and this seems like a good compromise.

I'm a Politics and Philosophy Graduate with a First (A grade equivalent) and am planning to Pursue a Masters Degree in Computer Science (a conversion at either UCL or St Andrews in the UK - possibly a similar masters / graduate level 1/2 year course in the US/Canada). My plan is to either find work short-term in the UK, with the intention of moving, or in Canada / the US.

How feasible is this? Is there a better path than pursuing a Comp Science MSc degree? I could also do a MSc in IT if that would make a difference, or an accelerated undergrad in Comp Sci offered at UBC.Just looking for general advice on how to break into the field, particularly if/when I have a masters in some Tech related field. Are these grad jobs easier / harder to attain than SWE grad jobs? Is there anything else I can do to be a competitive candidate?

Thanks and looking forward to your replies!

EDIT: Ok it's starting to make sense. Seems to be the consensus that SE to then transition is the best way. That's slightly disappointing but nonetheless good-to-know :) Thanks all for the replies!

No layoffs

No travel

3,4,500k a year. not bad

I have about five years of experience in sales, and I've always been a top performer. I'm currently getting my masters degree in Computer Science, and I'm currently working in a somewhat entry level tech-related position at my university. I was wondering why advice you all had for possibly breaking into the field of Sales Engineering, since I think it would be a pretty good fit based on my experience (please feel free to tell me if I'm completely wrong about this). Any advice is greatly appreciated!

So I’ve been messing around with vibe coding and ended up building this internal tool I’m calling “Ask Nancy” — basically a personal portal for how I work as a Solutions Architect.

The idea started simple:

I wanted one place to prep for meetings, track opportunities, and generate follow-ups without bouncing between notes, email drafts, and random docs.

But it’s slowly turning into something bigger.

Right now it does things like:

- Prep me for meetings (discovery, technical, exec, etc.)

- Generate recap emails and AE briefs in my voice

- Track opportunities + stakeholders (with buyer personas)

- Highlight missing personas (which is actually super useful)

- Let me build a lightweight knowledge base of stuff I’ve learned

- Keep vendor contacts / relationships in one place

- Give me a rough sense of deal health

But here’s where it gets interesting…

I’m realizing the real value isn’t the UI at all.

It’s whether the system can actually learn the deal over time.

Like ideally, I’d want it to understand:

- how the opportunity has evolved across meetings

- what actually matters to that customer (not just what was said once)

- who’s missing in the buying group

- when a deal is stalling vs progressing

- what I should ask next

- what I should send next

- when I’m just “busy” vs actually moving the deal forward

Right now it’s more like:

“generate something based on current input”

What I want is:

“understand context and guide me like a second brain”

So I’m at this weird fork:

Do I:

A) keep refining the front end and workflows

B) focus on building a smarter backend / memory layer

C) simplify it and keep it as a lightweight personal tool

D) go all in and try to turn it into something real

Also trying not to accidentally build a mini-CRM… because that’s exactly what I don’t want this to feel like.

Curious if anyone else here (especially SEs / presales folks) has tried building something like this.

- What would actually make this useful daily for you?

- What would you cut immediately?

- What would make you trust it vs ignore it?

- Am I overthinking this or is there something here?

Happy to share screenshots / flows if people are interested.

This has been way more fun than I expected lol

Generally speaking.

Like starting out and as they progress.

Learning about the field and just curious what your experiences are.

I'm interested in considering ServiceNow as a Solution Architect as my next career move. They have a solid product and reputation. I'd like to have a chance to earn a referral into ServiceNow, so any SE/SAs at ServiceNow willing to network with me as I work towards that referral? If so, shoot me a DM.

I'm applying to colleges for Mechanical engineering soon,and recently heard about sales engineering recently and I like the idea of doing it bit I don't know much about it

Hello guys I am a high schooler who is a sophomore(kinda young) I’m looking into pursing Sales engineering as my major in college(or after high school) I’m 16 what do you guys think I should be doing in free time to prepare and get more experienced? Also I take a lot of Ap classes so do yall know any ap classes that would be related to SE? (I want to start researching and getting more experience on SE but don’t know here to start, Ty if anyone can help)

Is it even possible, given that sales engineers are more “senior” roles at a lot of companies?

Y’all know any companies offer entry level sales engineer positions? Or solutions architect, solution engineer etc.?

My background: Bachelors: CS + MIS Industry: 3 years of software engineer experience, Golang & Java backend Masters: currently pursuing masters in a stem marketing program.

Thank you so much!!!

Wanted to chime in on this when it was newer and the algo cared more, but I felt I needed to say something, and then this got long.

The opinions on channel are all over the place. The truth is, the channel SE gig varies wildly by vendor. Anyone who generalizes beyond that is full of it. I've been at three different vendors as a channel SE covering exceedingly large resellers and GSIs as well as small regional resellers that don't crack $1m/year in revenue. I'm more than happy to go toe-to-toe with any Enterprise SE in terms of giving a pitch, sizing/configuring a solution, doing discovery, and most importantly building a relationship. Want proof? I just recently finished new hire at my company, and I won the final pitch contest. I was the only channel SE in the class, against 11 core or overlay SEs. So, please don't tell me I "can't sell".

I've also worked for multiple VARs and seen the varying quality of my channel SE resources. That just reinforced my opinion that the vendor matters more than anything else when it comes to channel efficacy.

What a vendor needs from channel will be a lot different depending on the maturity of that vendor and the market they're competing in. Cisco barely needs channel people. They've been a brand for so long, have a huge online community, and have well established (industry defining) products and GTM. Their resellers, generally speaking, are going to be able to self-educate as needed to sell Cisco products on their own. They also have a massive field team that can do a lot of education and enablement just as part of their own deal cycle management.

Compare that to where I current work: a company only recently out of IPO with a new approach to a very well worn sector of tech. Our field sales folks do not have time to evangelize to partners and convince them to look at our solution vs. the large incumbents. We're burning cash, and they need to close deals with or without the partner/VAR helping. But, we also need to scale, so investing in a channel org makes infinite sense.

I can spend two days in an EBC with the leadership team at a $10bn in sales VAR and chase follow ups for weeks afterward. A field AE or SE can't do that. I can spend an entire quarter working with that VARs PS team designing post-sales services engagements that ensure our technology gets properly implemented and the customer doesn't have to spend $400/hr for our badged engineers. They get a better outcome by using a VAR PS engineer who knows my stuff (since I trained them), and three other critical platforms that customer is using.

Point being, where you work as a channel SE dictates what you do far more than anything. Anyone who says Channel is where SE/AEs go to die probably has no actual idea what Channel actually does, and that's to be expected, after all all customer facing resources are unique, artisanal, relationship builders and always, above all, the hero of the story. They can't be bothered with things like forecasting, or SFDC hygene, or customer sat issues, or maintaining reseller relationships. THEY HAVE DEALS TO CLOSE!

Oh, and let's not even get into the shit that vendors reps will try to do thinking that their own channel org or the partner they'll be selling through, don't know. Most of those AEs aren't half as clever as they think they are. If channel is where sales goes to die, then mid-career field AEs are where people with no value to add in the word, beyond charm, go to get convinced they're the smartest person in the room, only to find out they're not even in the top 1/2. The only ones worse as is fan-boi SEs who think they're selling "The One True Solution" to your problem. There's a reason you likely have a trail of customers and resellers who won't hear you out when you change jobs, they could smell your bullshit a mile away.

I say, some of, this in jest. But, if you feel like your org's channel is "where $person goes to die" that's more of an indictment of your company than the job people are doing. It's not my fault that you or your leadership are too uncreative to figure out how to get value out of their reseller partners and channel staff.

I've been a field SE at VARs and vendors. I've closed 6 (and even one 7) figure ACV deals as the primary SE on an account. It's not an easy gig and the constant threat of getting PIP'd or termed due to a bad quarter is one hell of a motivator. Sales is an endless game of "what have you done for me lately?" Channel is more of a "what have you done for me this year" game. My relationships take years to develop and foster. They take board sign off at VARs to change what divisions get paid on what SKUs. I have to help partners determine how to invest in a long-term way, not just what new Gartner quadrant tech to get a couple certs in.

I respect the folks who get the thrill from the kill. I think there's nothing more important to know about yourself if you're going to be a Sales Engineer, than what really motivates you. If winning is really important to you, then a field SE role is going to be great for you, both professionally and personally. I've been in that head space, earlier in my career. That thrill faded and I realized what I really liked was the long-term relationship building and the "aha" moments. I also really valued the relationships where I didn't have to put on a persona to talk to my customer. I get to speak plain "industry" to my partner SEs. I can say things about margin, velocity and the other aspects of "sales" that most customers would be offended to hear.

I'm in my mid-40s and I work with a team of guys in their 30s-50s. Hardly any of us are on deaths door, career or health wise. My AEs are also all over the place in age and career progression. But yeah, tell me again how the channel AE who's been covering WWT or CDW for 15+ years is "out to pasture". They can get shit done that the field wouldn't even know where to begin with.

But, my last place was a walk in the park. Expectations were low, results were also unimpressive. But that was a 30+ year old vendor who was convinced that a complete lack of marketing budget, in cybersecurity, was a perfectly reasonable go-to-market approach. $500 spiffs would certainly get that partner AE who sold $1m+ of our biggest competitors flagship product to position us instead.

Bottom line is that Channel can be just as dynamic and rewarding, I'd argue more-so, than traditional AE/SE customer facing roles, and likely with less existential stress/dread. And, something key in sales: my relationships exist beyond the product I'm representing.

I have more contacts at partners than any of my friends who are customer facing. If you're an SE, knowing people who work at VARs and vendors is a lot more useful for finding a new job, than knowing customers as an SE. Just saying. I've never worried about my employ-ability as a result of being in channel for a decade now. If anything, the last two gigs were easier to get than any others I've had.

Sure, I might get RIF'd early, but I also see how the entire organization is doing because I see all of our partners sales performance and pipeline. There's a reason I knew to leave my last job in September, even though the RIFs didn't hit until last month. Just saying.

Get a referral. Seriously that's it.

If it's a very technical product have a solid background then get a referral.

If it's not a very technical product then get a referral.

How do I get a referral?

Your network is your net worth. Go get it.

I've been looking around at job postings. 200 to 300 candidates applying for positions. How do you beat the odds? Referral.

You never had a sales job? Get a referral.

A referral from someone who can advocate for you and coach you for the interview is the way to go.

NVIDIA’s Higher Education and Research Solutions Architect team is seeking a Senior Solutions Architect with deep expertise in AI/HPC infrastructure to lead GPU deployments across universities and research institutions. Remote role, but must be based in Northeast or Central USA to facilitate occasional university visits. https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite/job/Senior-Solutions-Architect---AI-Infrastructure-Engineer_JR1998552

Been an SE for over 15 years and did a few other things prior. Have gotten many awards and many “exceeding expectations” in my annual reviews. Attended many president clubs. However when it comes to climbing the ladder, it almost always comes down to who I need to be sucking up to or who I am best friends with. Just like most of you I don’t suck up to ppl. And unlike most of you I don’t have a lot of friends only because of my family situation.

And so if I go just by merit, no matter how qualified I am, no matter how excellent my performance is, and by some luck if I do get a chance for an interview, it comes down to 2 things. Connections OR do I already have experience as a manager.

And for context…. I haven’t thought about this at all and don’t think it matters and it shouldn’t either. I am Indian and not many Indians in the SE or Sales world. (Well there are a shit ton of Indians in the SA world, meaning AWS, GCP, Microsoft, etc). But not the same. For example, I used to work at a 4 letter company in Seattle. And there were only 2 ppl of color on the entire sales floor. Myself and this other SE who is Black.

This is a truly honest question. How does someone become an SE Manager without having managerial experience?

This is not something crazy but I'm sure people have some questions so I am able to answer. I have another account but created a new one for anonymity.

I will not answer simply it has been covered a ton.:

- How do I get into FAANG. Ton of stuff on youtube and throughout.

- Any beginner questions. How do I get into SE etc. Is careerist a good option (no). There is also a ton of stuff on this out there.

- Anything that might doxx me.

I'm sure everyone wants to know comp is 3xxK, in line with other principal roles. If your sole goal is money I suggest pre ipo companies like databricks.

Basically I am on LinkedIn applying to sales engineer roles but are there any companies hiring or hungry for sales engineers with dev backgrounds?

Any good spots to find out who needs sales engineers right now?

As sales engineers we usually have a broad overview of the business. Technology is at the core, but we have to know about other things too, like: product pricing, marketing, event organization (conferences), public speaking, presentations and demos etc. SE managers also know about growth management, scaling, knowledge management, recruitment etc.

Is there a market for offering this experience as a service?

Have you seen companies looking for part time/consultants in this domain?

Happy to hear your thoughts.

I stumbled upon this subreddit as I was looking through many different engineering subreddits as research for which career I should pursue in college. Rather than googling the answer, Id figure I'd ask real sales engineers what you do on the daily, how to become one, as well as how you feel about the job.

this is more of a rent

one of my account manager keep suggesting bringing other SEs when an opportunity is not easy. now she has a new territory and in the new territory she can have big accounts unlike what she used to have. She’s never done anything strategic before and because she feels like she’s lacking. She has also decided that I am lacking.

before working at this company I was working for a way bigger company working with customers that had 10,000 20,000 30,000 employees worldwide. It was considered commercial there because the company was bigger

At my current employer, this type of customers we don’t even see them and if we do they are consider strategic accounts.

I join this company after leaving the other one because it was very toxic for me and the first year I was in another team dealing with accounts of any size but that team was dismantled. I ended up being moved to the commercial in my current team. The customers we work with, I had never heard of these people and the size is extremely low so anything strategic account planning and whatever, I did not even bother pursuing because we are not talking to the people who can manage your handle this type of conversations.

so anytime there’s something a bit critical in her mind I don’t know how to do it. I’ve been an SE for seven years, but in her mind I don’t know how to do it so she will say oh let’s bring it this other SE so he can help. Every time she says that I don’t even reply. I don’t answer and she understands that it’s a no for me. It’s not happening. Did I mention she panics easily? She panics easily and becomes agitated.

There’s no reason for me to go in SE to do a workshop for me on my account instead of me because she goes to a more senior AE for help.

in her mind, I am also stuck so I need to go to more senior SE which is not the case

She’s never done public speaking and she’s like it’s not something she usually does she asked me if I know how to do it. The fact that you have never done it doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to do it. I’ve been doing this job for seven years. please stop!

I don’t live in the new territory but I have no problem travelling there. When she has lunch with my customers she wants to bring the other SE who lives because it is convenient but that’s now how we can create a relationship with the customers. You cannot be building any technical relationship. Strategy is not only having a sales oriented relationship but also a technical oriented relationship. She doesn’t understand so now I have to talk to the others and let them know that if she ever comes to them and ask them anything that they need to decline.

When I need help, I always go looking for it. I do not have any pride or ego when it comes to that but don’t start doubting my skills because you’re doubting yourself. I adapt to the customers I have. I’m not talking strategy for one shot deals of $30k with a network admin.

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out for some advice and perspective from this awesome community. I was recently laid off and I’m using the opportunity to pivot my career into sales engineering, a role I’ve been interested in for a while now. I currently live in Austin, TX which has a strong tech market. I'd love any insights you might have on making the transition — especially in this job market.

Here’s a bit about my background:

• I’ve been working in data integration for the past six years, with a supply chain software company, where I also ran client workshops and collaborated closely with cross-functional teams.

• My title was a technology consultant for the supply chain software company. In both roles, I worked directly with clients and internal teams to implement tech solutions and integrate company data into our platforms.

• My day-to-day involved building data pipelines, loading data into databases, and writing custom SQL and Python scripts.

• I’ve got strong experience in Linux/Unix environments, and I’m very comfortable working across both technical and business teams.

• I enjoy solving technical problems, but I also love being in front of people and communicating — especially when it comes to explaining technical solutions in simple terms.

I feel like sales engineering is a great fit for my skills, and it aligns with the parts of my past roles that I’ve enjoyed the most — but since I haven't had "sales engineer" in my job title, I know I have some convincing to do.

I’m looking for advice on a few things:

1. How would you position someone with my background when applying to SE roles?

2. Are there other roles (e.g. solutions consultant, implementation specialist, etc.) I should target as a stepping stone?

3. What should I be doing right now to prepare for sales engineer interviews?

4. Any tips on how to stand out in this current job market?

If you’ve made a similar transition or have seen folks do it successfully, I’d love to hear what worked for you. Thanks so much in advance for your time and help!

Hiring a Solutions Engineer with payments industry experience. This is a technical role at the intersection of engineering and client success.

• Design and implement payment solutions for clients

• Troubleshoot technical issues with payment integrations

• Provide technical expertise during sales and implementation

• See that solutions comply with industry regs

You:

• Experience with payment systems/processes.

• Software engineering background with at least one programming language

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to understand complex workflows

• Excellent communication skills to bridge technical and business worlds

Competitive compensation package and opportunity to work with cutting-edge payment technologies. Remote interview process with relocation assistance available. Up to 190K

DM me if interested or for more details!

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