Medical Sales Representative
Explains and sells medicines, medical devices or lab products to doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and labs, backed by solid product knowledge.
Medical sales representatives work for drug, device and laboratory equipment companies, spending much of the week travelling to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. It suits someone with a science background who likes people, copes well with rejection and wants a job away from the bench.
Also called Pharmaceutical sales representative, Medical device sales representative, Territory manager or Key account manager.
At a glance
- Way in
- Bachelor's degree, often in pharmacology, biomedical science, life sciences, nursing and business
- Pay in the US
- $104,920 a year, the medianFor sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products, 2025
- US outlook
- Slower than average, 2025-2035
- Suits you if
- You like science and people, enjoy travel and are comfortable working to targets.
Pay is a guide: it moves with the country, the employer, the sector and the years in the job. Figures from O*NET OnLine (US) and the National Careers Service (UK); see the sources below.
The work
What does a medical sales representative do?
- Visit clinicians, pharmacists and lab managers to present products and answer questions
- Learn the science, evidence and safety data behind each product in depth
- Plan visits across a territory and keep accurate customer records
- Agree terms, prepare quotes and follow up on orders
- Run demonstrations and training on how a device or test is used
Where they work
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Medical device makers
- Diagnostics and lab equipment firms
- On the road across a territory
Skills
The skills a medical sales representative needs
- Product sciencethe pharmacology or engineering behind each product
- Communicationclear, honest presentations to busy professionals
- Relationship buildinggaining trust over repeat visits
- Organisationmanaging a territory, a diary and customer records
- Resiliencehandling rejection and working to targets
- Rules awarenesspromoting products within industry codes
Route in
How to become a medical sales representative
- Take a degree, ideally in a life science or health subject
- Build sales or customer-facing experience, for example in a pharmacy or retail role
- Join a company as a trainee or junior representative and learn the product range
- Pass any required industry exam and keep up with new evidence
Degrees people take
- Pharmacology
- Biomedical science
- Life sciences
- Nursing
- Business
In the UK, the industry code requires representatives who promote medicines to pass the ABPI exam, or one of the same standard, within two years of starting.
Practise for it
The quizzes and tools that fit
- Pharmacology quizzes
- Medication Administration15 questions
- Psychiatric Medications15 questions
- Common Drug Classes15 questions
- Physiology quizzes
- Exercise Physiology15 questions
- Puberty15 questions
- Blood Clotting15 questions
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Next to it
Careers to weigh against it
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Regulatory Affairs Officer
- Way in
- Bachelor's
- US
- $80,730
Patient care
Pharmacist
- Way in
- Professional degree
- US
- $140,910
- UK
- £40,000–£65,000
Industry
Clinical Research Associate
- Way in
- Bachelor's
Teaching and writing
Medical and Science Writer
- Way in
- Bachelor's
- US
- $90,390
Industry
Biomedical Engineer
- Way in
- Bachelor's
- US
- $109,370
- UK
- £26,000–£75,000
Sources
Where the facts come from
Written for biofideX from these public sources. The pay figures are theirs, copied as published, last read 2026-10-25.
Requirements differ by country and change over time; check with the body that registers the profession where you will work. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.
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