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Sales

Models

Typically requires No formal educational credential

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
MixedLow uncertainty
top 41% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Decent prospects — -0.5% projected growth, low AI exposure (23/100).

45
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. None = broadly exposed — many of its tasks are automatable and its skills are widely shared. (Exposure ≠ job loss; see the bears below.)

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +High pay — above 81% of careers ($89,990).
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (23% of tasks exposed).
🐻 Bears say
  • Projected to shrink (-0.5%).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +0% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +15.5%. Reality beat the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
-0.5%
Median pay
$89,990
AI exposure
23/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 120 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$33,647
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$27,000
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.2×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Specialized Merchandising, Sales, and Marketing Operations
Selective schools offering these majors
University of Georgia
GA · 38% admit rate
$27,993/yr
$68,726 grad pay
Texas Christian University
TX · 44% admit rate
$76,604/yr
$68,424 grad pay
Baylor University
TX · 51% admit rate
$74,226/yr
$65,793 grad pay
Olivet Nazarene University
IL · 56% admit rate
$51,981/yr
$53,213 grad pay
Marist University
NY · 57% admit rate
$67,574/yr
$77,819 grad pay
Lindenwood University
MO · 57% admit rate
$35,436/yr
$53,278 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

salescommunicationpeople