Outsider Trying to Understand The Industry

I’m having a bit of a career crisis right now and have been deep diving into nearly every industry out there. While most fields seem straightforward to understand, Tech Sales has me completely baffled.

After talking to people in the industry and reading through this subreddit, I feel pulled in two totally different directions:

On one hand, it seems like Tech Sales has a low barrier to entry—companies don’t seem to require extensive prior experience, and the pay sounds phenomenal. Progression from BDR seems relatively fast if you perform well, and the hours don’t seem bad at all. Sure, I get that if you struggle, you might get pushed out quickly, but isn’t that the same with any high-paying role?

On the other hand, every time I scroll through here, I see posts warning people to stay away—that the hours are terrible, the industry is in a bad place, and it’s not worth pursuing.

How is it that people say both “I love this job” and “don’t do it”? How can the work-life balance be described as great by some and awful by others?

It honestly blows my mind that this field, without requiring a specialized technical background, can offer such strong pay and career progression. I would love to better understand the pros and cons of the industry. Can anyone weigh in here?