Entry-Level Medical Device Sales Salary: What to Expect
Entry-level medical device sales pays roughly $50,000 to $130,000, averaging around $105,000. Here's how base and commission split, what specialties pay, and whether to negotiate.
Anthony Giglia
· 2 min read
Entry-level pay ranges from $50,000 to about $130,000, with the average around $105,000 annually. This is usually a combination of base pay and commission.
Because you’re just beginning your career and have a huge learning curve, the company normally won’t expect you to do much selling right away. You’ll spend more time shadowing and learning. That usually means the majority of your compensation will come from your base salary, with the rest coming from commission.
For example, you might have a $75,000 base salary with $30,000 in commission at your on-target earnings.
On top of your on-target earnings, you’ll normally receive compensation in other areas. Oftentimes, you’ll get a company car or a stipend of up to $1,000 a month. You may also receive stock, equity, and health insurance benefits, which increase your overall compensation package.
The same is true for clinical specialists, although they usually have higher base salaries and lower commissions. Clinical specialists have less pressure to sell. They’re covering cases, doing product in-services, and babysitting accounts. That frees up the rep, whom the company is paying multiple six figures, to go generate revenue. (Clinical specialist roles are a common path for nurses and surgical techs.)
Does the specialty affect your pay?
Generally speaking, orthopedic roles don’t pay as much, while specialties like vascular, neurovascular, and spine tend to pay more. That being said, you can make a lot of money in any medical device specialty.
In years two and three, you can normally expect several raises. I recommend assessing your situation at that point. If you don’t see significant growth after two years and you’re on target for earnings, it usually makes sense to look at new positions. There are companies that will pay you significantly more for your experience. Here’s what pay can look like later in your career.
Of course, you have to assess your own situation and make a game-time decision.
Should you negotiate your first offer?
I get asked this a lot. Honestly, it’s a personal question and a question of risk.
A majority of the time, you can negotiate and ask whether the company would be willing to come up on its offer. However, there’s a small but real chance you rub the hiring manager the wrong way. I’ve seen people have their offers rescinded because of it.
In my opinion, breaking into medical sales is hard enough. In a few years, you’re going to be making more than enough money. I don’t think it’s worth potentially losing your first offer just to negotiate a few thousand dollars.
