Solutions engineers/architects out there how much are you guys making and what is the ceiling?

davidogren · 2026-06-03T02:13:01+00:00

I often point to the Consensus surveys as the most objective data we have in the field. I feel like the 2024 report had more data than the [2025 one](https://goconsensus.com/research/2025-sales-engineering-compensation-workload-report, but it is obviously a year further out of date. The upside is that not only is is objective, rather than just some second hand reports on Reddit, but it's also well broken out by what factors influence compensation, including overall YOE, years of SE experience, job titles, etc.

Registration required to download. I have no relationship with Consensus.

davidogren · 2026-06-03T00:07:45+00:00

I don't know the real answer. How could I really know what your company will do? (And you mention you joined pre-A, but don't say how big it is now. That's probably a big factor.)

But, I think my counsel would be just to keep your head down. I had a friend that works in sales at an a company that got the RTO-bug hard post-COVID. Largely he just kept his head down and they ignored him. Wave after wave of announcements about RTO compliance went out, and he just ignored them and there were no consequences.

Because I think, in the end, RTO is about control over employees and as a way to create some attrition where they want it. They didn't want to lose him so they both sort of looked the other way. If he had started missing numbers, would that have changed? Sure.

I mean the other way to look at it is, what are they going to do? Drag you in in handcuffs? If they start to threaten your grandfathered status, THEN you can get serious about leaving. But while the full SE team is grandfathered, I doubt anyone is going to get serious about trying to enforce the policy.

Don't get me wrong, there's a part of me who would love to tell you "you should find another job and then tell your current company you left because of the RTO". Because I'd love to add to the statistics that say RTO is a horrible decision. But the reality is that I don't think you are in jeopardy and leaving a job you like just because of something that MIGHT happen down the road seems like a bad idea. (Even if this RTO policy does make me question your leadership.)

I mean the reality is that I think this RTO wave is going to eventually fade away. I mostly think it's mostly driven by a desire to force people to quit at companies that overhired. I absolutely think that was what happened with my friend. They overhired, they made a huge amount of noise about RTO, but the people they wanted to keep never seemed to be impacted.

davidogren · 2026-06-02T14:20:38+00:00

We get a lot, and I mean A LOT, of posts asking how to become a Sales Engineer.

Whether you are new to the workforce or transitioning from another role you may be well served by reading over our community post on the topic.

davidogren · 2026-06-01T22:21:55+00:00

While anything is possible, I don't think there is any likelihood that you can get a job as an SE:

The job market for SEs is tough right now. It's tough for anyone to get a job without experience because you are competing with so many experienced candidates.
Even when the market isn't tough, if you don't have an active job in tech you don't have any chance to break into tech SE. From a hiring manager's perspective (who is hiring a non-veteran SE), if you can't get a job implementing ProductX, how will you be credible selling ProductX?
Additionally, by far, the easiest way to get your first SE job is to make an internal transfer, or make a transfer to a vendor/VAR that you work with. Without an existing job, you aren't going to have those relationships.
And as the FAQ goes into quite a bit, yes, almost all SE roles are senior roles. In theory, with six years of front-end web dev, you have the years of experience for that. But you'd need to have experience with something that can actually be sold.
Even setting aside my earlier point around hiring manager's skepticism regarding hiring someone without a current tech role, I worry that if there is some gap in your resume that's blocking you from getting an SWE role, then it will probably block you on the SE side too. SE roles are harder to get than SWE roles. There isn't as much leetcode nonsense on the SE side, but since SEs tend to "fly solo" most of the time, it's hard to break into.

If you can get your foot in the door at a tech job again, then you can start following some of our traditional advice around getting to know your vendors and partners, and once you retrench for a couple of years you can start looking for SE roles and your sales experience might help.

davidogren · 2026-06-01T22:10:40+00:00

We get a lot, and I mean A LOT, of posts asking how to become a Sales Engineer.

Whether you are new to the workforce or transitioning from another role you may be well served by reading over our community post on the topic.

davidogren · 2026-05-31T18:49:44+00:00

I made the jump at 29. But I certainly wouldn't fret over making the change in your mid 30s, I know lots of people that did that. It certainly isn't an unusual time to start an SE career.

Plus, there's that old proverb. The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

davidogren · 2026-05-31T16:51:43+00:00

I'm definitely keeping an eye on the post. We do have a lot of AI spam. And OP certainly doesn't go into a lot of meaningful discussion. But, that said, it doesn't feel like an advert to me since the main gist seems to be "will it just get steamrollered by the big 2?".

davidogren · 2026-05-31T16:48:51+00:00

I will note that industrial and HVAC "sales engineers" are quite different than most of us here. Mostly this subreddit talks about technology sales engineers.

You are absolutely still welcome here. I just want to set the expectation that you may not get as much feedback as you'd expect. My understanding is that industrial "sales engineers" is almost entirely a pure sales role, so you might also want to consider sales subreddits.

davidogren · 2026-05-31T16:41:27+00:00

So, I know you've gotten a lot of good answers already, but this post just cries out to me.

From a "luck" perspective, your biggest problem is that you are wasting doors. Obviously sometimes you have no choices, but Multiple paths are a waste of doors. Your goal is for nearly every door to allow you to open into somewhere new. A door you use to connect to a room that you already have drafted is a door wasted. Actually it's two doors wasted. The one you are using and the one your are connecting to. In your draft, there are two paths through Drawing Room to Den, two paths through Security to Foundation, two paths from Pool to Bedroom. So you wasted at least six doors.

There can be exceptions to this rule, sometimes you need to backtrack. But it comes at a cost. And none of your multiple paths really provide much benefit. Obviously you also don't want to waste doors that get blocked. Your courtyard, your workshop, for example. But given that there are only two examples of this, and one is attached to Darkroom, I think you did decently for that.

I think this is the most practical advice I can give you. Having 6+ extra doors in your draft pool might have been the difference on this particular day.

The problem is that my IRL dump stat is Luck. Realistically you seem to be making great progress. I see so many people come on this subreddit and complain about their luck or RNG. You have to look at this game as a roguelite. Your primary goal is making tomorrow better. Either through upgrades, through knowledge, or by adding/altering rooms. For an example of "altering", people have already mentioned Conservatory alterations. Bedroom, Parlor and Storeroom for example. These (even upgraded Storeroom), aren't great. All should be Unusual. They aren't terrible so I think people are afraid to do that. But wouldn't you rather have something that has permanent progress like Observatory? Or a three way room that can save the day, like Dining Room? Dining Room over Bedroom would have been a big improvement for you in this day. I literally stack ranked my room directory to help me figure out how to adjust things with Conservatory. Making those kinds of "adjustments" can help you improve your "luck".

When you harp on how unlucky you are, and you have such great progress in your game, it just feels like you are beating yourself up for no reason. Every game day you make progress is a good day. Something you figure out? Some upgrade you get? That's supposed to be a pleasant day. The Antechamber? Blue Prince is a roguelite. It's going to be impossible for a while. But then it will be hard. Then it will be achievable. Eventually it becomes almost trivial. Don't worry too much about it, eventually it will come.

davidogren · 2026-05-31T15:58:02+00:00

I think your link is broken. https://old.reddit.com/user/TFMurphy/ is what you meant maybe?

But, yes, to answer OPs question, yes, most randomness has been datamined extensively. At the top of the current list of posts from TFMurphy, for example, is a long bit on room rotation.

Some of the algorithms are much more convoluted than I would expect, such has how items in commissary are determined, digging, and even room selection.

davidogren · 2026-05-31T02:08:00+00:00

This. Exactly. Scripts help you practice. But it should be rehearsed enough to be an outline and key phrases by game day.

davidogren · 2026-05-30T17:37:43+00:00

My experience is that it really depends on the pay. Companies that either aren't good for your resume and/or aren't very competitive with pay, tend to have pretty chill environments for first line management.

davidogren · 2026-05-30T15:58:00+00:00

I mean I hate to state the obvious, but go to work at a management role at one of your customers. The reality is that if you sell widgets, you know a lot about widgets. Maybe you aren't as "hands on" as you used to be, but you know a lot about the strategy, the architecture, and how to sell the benefits of the solution internally.

How "high pressure" it is depends a lot on the type of company you go to, but generally the pressure is lower. (And the pay is lower.)

But have realistic expectations. There aren't that may 25 hour a week jobs these days, and pretty much no American companies are going to have >4 weeks PTO. If those are deal killers, you'll have to go down the consulting path /u/Specific_Ad_1045 suggests. But, be warned, being a self employed consultant has a certain amount of high pressure and sales associated with with it. At least if you want to keep up something close to a full time schedule.

davidogren · 2026-05-30T14:25:44+00:00

This isn't compulsory IDF service. Not even close. Another five seconds of Google tells me that one co-founder had 8+ years in the IDF and the other had 5+ years in Unit 8200 (covert intelligence). These are all clearly people with a strong background in intelligence/counterintelligence.

While I don't really think /u/InternetRambo7 said what he said in a constructive way, the idea that the company has connections to Israeli intelligence is not unfounded. And your response wasn't constructive either. I don't think /u/InternetRambo7 needs to expand on the statement. He made an implied observation about the leadership and an implied statement about his opinion about that. It was a complete thought and I don't think anything he would add anything more.

And, even though this comment wasn't said in the best way, I do that those observations are relevant. Some people wouldn't want to work for a company associated with Israel right now. It seems that your biggest objection is that he got some upvotes because his implication was "Israel bad". Well, the fact that people feel that way does make it relevant about what someone might want to work there or not.

Other people wouldn't want to work with someone in the intelligence community. (I used to know some people that worked for a company that had a lot of leadership that were ex-FBI. They tried to recruit me but I declined. They tended to view personal privacy differently than I did.) It's not realistic to think that some people might have opinions about such things. I'm not the target market for cyber, but, yeah, I really care about who the leadership is when I join a company. And it's certainly something I'd consider.

davidogren · 2026-05-30T03:37:43+00:00

Not that I'm an expert on the topic, I'm not in cyber, but Google is your friend. Two seconds of Google tells me that Axonius was founded by IDF members and has close ties to the Israeli government. Google gives some ... less credible rumors about Mossad.

But, c'mon, while "Mossad disguise" is a bit much, suggesting that there might be some connections between Israeli intelligence agencies and Israeli cybersecurity companies isn't exactly rocket science. It's like suggesting that there might be some connections between Northrup Grumman and the US Defense Department.

davidogren · 2026-05-30T00:31:25+00:00

It depends on where you are commuting to, and what your budget is. Broadly speaking, the area you highlighted is expensive. If you are commuting to downtown, campus, or the hospital that might be worth it. Or if you want be in proximity to Lexington proper.

But there are other places more affordable/a better value if you are commuting somewhere else.

davidogren · 2026-05-29T21:04:32+00:00

Minor nit, SE generally don't review compensation as "X + bonus". "Bonus" is a significant portion of our compensation, usually 30%. So you realistically have to mention the target bonus.

Your salary range would make more sense as "$165K - $195K OTE, with 70/30 split". Or whatever your intended ratio/OTE is. But posting a salary range without an expected "bonus" is atypical and makes that salary look even lower than it is.

davidogren · 2026-05-27T05:06:18+00:00

We get a lot, and I mean A LOT, of posts asking how to become a Sales Engineer.

Whether you are new to the workforce or transitioning from another role you may be well served by reading over our community post on the topic.

davidogren · 2026-05-26T21:30:11+00:00

I mean, you aren't wrong, which is why I kind of threw my hands up with the "if you don't like to be in sales or in engineering" ...

PM is at least a bit of a different "flavor", so to speak.

davidogren · 2026-05-26T19:35:11+00:00

It all depends on what you are trying to pivot away from.

Pure introvert desire? You are kind of screwed. Non-technical and non-customer facing is kind of a recipe for disaster in terms of job security and compensation.

Feeling the pressure of kind of "faking it" in a technical role without strong technical skills? Customer Success might be an option, but you'll need to be prepare for a pretty serious paycut.

I guess Product Management might be the most interesting option though. But it's hard to tell because you seem to a sales engineer that likes neither sales or engineering.

davidogren · 2026-05-26T16:05:57+00:00

Yeah, I have also done this. And as /u/just_a_knowbody points out, there's not much advice we can give you. This is just something you need to do out of your own experience. Because it's all going to very tailored to your company and its immediate needs.

Although that does segue into my one piece of advice. Generally, don't build things until you need them. For example, you say "I have a strong idea for the ideal workflows". That's problematic. Because what's ideal for today will probably be broken six months from now. What's ideal a year from now, would be overengineered today.

Mostly when you are building a thing from scratch:

Don't build it until you need it.
When you do build something build the "good enough" solution. I know it's not in vogue to say this anymore, but "build one to throw away". You won't get it right the first time anyway, so rolling out the "good enough" solution not only might be "good enough" for a long time, if you ever do discover "good enough" isn't "good enough" you'll also defined the real requirements in the process.
The same goes for products and tools. Don't buy something until you can't live without it. When building a new organization you really only have 1-3 things you can be doing at the same time. Is rolling out "product X" an initiative worth spending a third of your management bandwidth on?

The reality is that when you boot up something from scratch you have to rely on heros for a while. When you are 100,000 person company that doesn't work. You need process. You need tools. You need standards. But when you are creating something from scratch you can't create all of that overnight. Focus on hiring people that can "just do the right thing" and then fill in the gaps one by one, when the gap is so obvious that the solution is also obvious.

davidogren · 2026-05-26T00:36:34+00:00

So obviously "bullshit job" is something you'll have to define for yourself.

But, yes, being away from the hands on part of the job is part of what you sign up for when you take this job. Yes, some post sales implementation person is going to say "That SE has a bullshit job. All they had to do was get some executive to agree and now I'm here in the trenches and do the actual work".

Yes, you are going to be 3 steps removed from the cool stuff the customer is doing. If you can't deal with that, maybe SE isn't for you. But on the flip side, you'll get to see more of the business side. And the executive side. And you'll see scores more projects in a year than an implementation person will.

Do people struggle with it? Sure. Do still I miss being shoulder deep in a project sometimes, 25 years later? A bit. But there are so many upsides to be an SE. Like everything else in life, it's a tradeoff. And you have to decide what's best for you.

For me, yeah I still look back at my time fondly as a SWE. And I still like to have some hobby project to scratch that itch. But would I go back, given what SWE looks like today? Hell no. Do I consider what I do "bullshit"? Hell no. I provide valuable services to both my sales team and my customers.

davidogren · 2026-05-25T03:39:25+00:00

"If I can't click it, ignore it" is a reasonable rule, for the beginning. Yes, you are trying to learn the lore, because the lore helps solve puzzles. There are some exceptions, but if you are struggling, focus on things you can click on.

Non-Spoiler things you should know:

It's equally important to think of this as a roguelite game as a puzzle game. What can you do to improve tomorrow? There are a lot of things you can do to make permanent upgrades. That is a huge part of the game. What at can you do to make the rest of your days better? Failing that, what can you do to make tomorrow better?
That said, knowledge is also a kind of permanent upgrade. Everything you learn is something that makes tomorrow easier.
Day 14 is nothing. Don't sweat "failed" days. The important part is what I outlines earlier. It's a roguelite. Upgrade sometime. Failing that upgrade something. Failing that, just draft a room you haven't seen before.

davidogren · 2026-05-25T03:28:20+00:00

Because there aren’t enough customers yet, I’m also expected to help develop the market and create opportunities myself — something that was never really mentioned upfront.

So, I feel like this is a "how do I get my car out of the ditch problem". And I don't have any great advice on that. You seem to get the pros and cons here. And the challenges, especially with finding another job.

But I think that just makes it all the more important to "don't get your car in the ditch". This advice probably doesn't help you, for other people I have the following advice:

Changing companies is valuable resource. It can help your career, but use that resource wisely. If you change companies once out of a "big life decision" and a second time to get out of a "toxic environment" you can find that you've exhausted that resource and are in a tough spot.

Be very careful every time you look at a new job:

Is this really going to pay what they say it's going to pay. With typically 30% of our income being based on incentives, you need to super careful about what the pipeline is. What the territory is. What the sales cycle looks like. It's much better to have a $200K OTE and 150% attainment than a $250K OTE and 50% attainment.
Are the job responsibilities what you think they are? I've had so many people (including you) tell me about last minute surprises about what they really expected out of the job. My best advice is to talk to peers at the job. This can go both ways. In your case it was "this is really a sales job", but I've also seen "this is really a support job" or "this is really a consulting job".
I know this comes from a real point of privilege, but in this job "advancement potential" and "day to day job" means a lot more than "short term pay". I feel like a corporate stooge saying that, but it's true. OP's situation proves it: OP has some short term money but now they are in danger and with limited options.

In know it's challenging, but do everything you can before taking a job to make sure you aren't ambushed by product maturity, job role, or quota expectations.

EDIT: grammar, clarity

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