Hello curious American highschooler.

I'm a Territory Manager in the Critical Infrastructure industry (backup power, cooling, life safety, etc). I build relationships with clients in order to keep them doing business with the company I work for. They buy products and services from me and I get a percentage commission off the top of every dollar sold in my territory.

It's like a combination of a salesperson and an account manager.

I cover three states so I drive a lot. I meet a lot of people and see a lot of interesting locations. I get a lot of fresh air and drink way more Starbucks than I should since I'm on the road so much. I get a basic base salary but more than 50% of my earnings are from commission. If I work hard and take care of my customers well, I make $10-15k in a month. Some months are lean, some months are flush with opportunities and cash. The instability sucks and it takes a certain kind of person to work this job and budget effectively for the lean months.

Contrary to what people think, being in sales doesn't mean you have to be a liar, a scumbag, or unethical. You have to be a good listener, put yourself in your customer's shoes to think about solutions that would help them, and above all else you have to pick up the phone and make sure you call them back because everyone hates unresponsive people.

I didn't want this kind of job when I grew up, but I'm pretty good at it and I enjoy the freedom that being on the road affords me. If I want to work from home or work from a Starbucks, I can do that. I don't have the same daily grind that many people have, and I get to do fun social things with clients sometimes.