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Sales Managers

Management · SOC 11-2022

4.3% AI Exposure — Medium
$148,270
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
39,000
Proj. Annual Openings
637,080
Employment (OEWS 2025)
+7.9%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
96/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 11-2022 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
4.3%
Medium · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
51/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$148,270
H-1B offered wage $149,469; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
39,000
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +4.7%.
Observed/proxy demand
638
FY2025 certified LCAs; 71,669 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

PersuasionActive ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical Thinking
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure4.3%
AI Resiliency96/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure13.2%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

47.7%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic4.3%
AI capability · OpenAI45%
AI ability · AIOE93.8%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne1.3%

AI could do ~45% of this role but only ~4.3% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.

Top Skills

1.Persuasion
2.Active Listening
3.Speaking
4.Reading Comprehension
5.Critical Thinking

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

5,093
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
638
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$149,469
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#77 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.

Common titles: District Sales Manager, Fractional Sales Executive, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Sales and Marketing VP (Sales and Marketing Vice President), Sales Director

Representative Tasks

  • Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
  • Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
  • Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
  • Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
  • Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Supervise employees.
  • Resolve customer complaints or problems.
  • Conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments.
  • Advise customers on technical or procedural issues.
  • Analyze financial records or reports to determine state of operations.

Tools & Technologies

Salesforce software · hotEclipse IDE · hotMicrosoft Azure software · hotMicrosoft SQL Server · hotMicrosoft Visual Basic · hotMicrosoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA · hotOracle Database · hotOracle PeopleSoft · hotSAP software · hotTableau · hot

Related Occupations

Marketing Managers · BrightSales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel · BrightMarket Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists · BrightAdvertising and Promotions ManagersWholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products · Bright

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
12.0%
Avg AI Exposure
10
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 11-2022: 2019 — employment: 402,600, median wage: $126,640; 2020 — employment: 390,170, median wage: $132,290; 2021 — employment: 453,800, median wage: $127,490; 2022 — employment: 536,390, median wage: $130,600; 2023 — employment: 575,880, median wage: $135,160; 2025 — employment: 637,080, median wage: $148,270.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure4.3%13.2%
OutlookAverage40% Bright
Median Salary$148,270N/A
AI Resiliency96/100N/A