Sales

Types of Degrees Sales Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many professional sales graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	622
Bachelor’s Degree	483
Undergraduate Certificate	60
Graduate Certificate	57
Associate Degree	45

What Sales Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, sales majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Sales Majors

Sales majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Sales Majors

sales majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Sales Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a sales student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Sales Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with sales:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Energy Brokers	9.7%	$54,550
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	4.9%	$73,390
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
Parts Salespersons	5.0%	$30,430
Sales and Related Workers	10.6%	$33,220
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products	5.2%	$79,680
Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors	5.2%	$79,680

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Sales?

This major attracts more men than women. About 70% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of sales majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	15
Hispanic or Latino	31
White	386
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	34

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Sales, too. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Sales

Some degrees associated with sales may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for sales careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.9%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	29.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	7.1%
Some College Courses	15.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	13.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.1%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.0%
Master’s Degree	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	0.0%

Online Sales Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	17	4
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	22	3
Bachelor’s Degree	6	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Sales

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sales.

Major	Number of Grads
General Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations	3,378
Retailing and Retail Operations	960
Other General Merchandising, Sales, and Related Marketing Operations	226
Merchandising and Buying Operations	134

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Nick Nijhuis under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.