From Test To Sales

The career of Field Applications Engineer has its own entry on Wikipedia. Also known as an applications engineer or sales engineer, they are usually a liaison between the customer and engineering. They must have a technical background and a good understanding of the product, but they must also be able to communicate well with the customer. After all, they are part of the sales department.

I was a field apps engineer for two years, and I did it part time for a year with a different company. Furthermore, I've met several other apps engineers who transitioned from test engineering. Granted this is purely anecdotal evidence, but is there a good career path from one to the other?

Let's look at why a test engineer might do well in this position

• He has a solid technical background.
• If the company has multiple product lines, he probably has written tests or helped to test those products, so he has a breadth of knowledge.
• A test engineer who has seen various product failures can help customers who may have similar problems.
  
• A test engineer has seen the negatives of the product (i.e. - failures) but is still focused on the product (making it work right by correcting failures, or at least weeding out bad products). With this attitude a field applications engineer can build a layer of trust with the customer while at the same time help to sell him on the product.
  

But in the end it all still depends on the person.