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Insurance Sales Agents vs Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products: what changes?

Consider Insurance Sales Agents if you want to sell life, property, casualty, health, automotive, or other types of insurance. Consider Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products if you would rather sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Insurance Sales Agents and Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Insurance Sales Agents

National median pay (2025)
$62,280
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
43,100
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Insurance Sales Agents brief

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

National median pay (2025)
$72,080
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
99,800
Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Insurance Sales Agents has the edge on projected growth

Insurance Sales Agents is at 3.3% projected growth, compared with -0.9% projected growth for Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products.

2

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has the edge on median pay

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products is at $72,080, compared with $62,280 for Insurance Sales Agents.

3

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has the edge on annual openings

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products is at 99,800 annual openings, compared with 43,100 annual openings for Insurance Sales Agents.

59.2/ 100

Insurance Sales Agents

vs
56.9/ 100

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Insurance Sales Agents vs Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

DimensionInsurance Sales AgentsSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
Median pay (2025)$62,280$72,080
Pay percentile52.1 percentile62 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)3.3%-0.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)43,10099,800
2025 employment572,6001,279,400
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 4Job Zone 4
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingMore than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Insurance Sales Agents briefRead Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products brief

Try another comparison

Insurance Sales Agents vs Real Estate Agent

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Insurance Sales Agents
$62,280 · 3.3% growth
Real Estate Agent
$52,830 · 1.7% growth
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Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products vs Advertising Sales Agents

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
$72,080 · -0.9% growth
Advertising Sales Agents
$64,820 · -7.2% growth
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