Because these companies are introducing new technologies, they need a solid network of technical services professionals to work with their customers and sales reps. If you enjoy working with others and like the immediate satisfaction of seeing your contributions benefit someone else, then a technical services role with a supplier company may be right for you. If you dislike travel, you may even be able to find an inside position in which you counsel client scientists on technical matters strictly over the phone. Sales and marketing are among the most sought-after careers by those who don't want to do bench science all their lives. Unfortunately, they are also the most difficult to break into.
Great rewards are possible in sales, but success there, as anywhere else, demands excellence.
And sales managers are extraordinarily discriminating about whom they bring into the fold. These factors combine to make this a tough transition. Running out to get an MBA is no assurance of a high-paying sales job. Lots and lots of technical people, frustrated by their lack of progress in the laboratory, have gone on to formal business education. They expect to graduate to a wealth of opportunities.