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Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Marketing cluster Professional Sales pathway.

Insider Info

Additional Information

The days when a person could be trained on the job for pharmaceutical sales are gone. A college degree is a must. Many employers want at least some graduate-level study.

Joe Willis is a sales training and development associate for an international pharmaceutical company. He says school is not the key to becoming a successful sales rep. "Of greater importance are interpersonal skills."

Your course selection should include chemistry, biology, biophysics, public speaking, English, chemistry and finance. And your education will continue on the job -- you must know your products as well as the competitor's goods.

"You can teach a salesperson the science, but it's more difficult to teach a scientist to sell," says sales rep Scott Berghoff. "Communications skills are a must."

A bachelor's degree in marketing, business, biology or pharmacy is a good idea.

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

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