Tuesday, April 16th was my one year anniversary at my current sales job! A one year anniversary of employment might not be a big deal in the typical corporate world, but when you’re in sales, its a different story.

There are plenty of perks of being in sales that are often overlooked because of the stigma sales careers get. Not to mention the long hours, constant stress, lack of sleep and sanity that is lost along the way. Sales is NOT for everyone. You don’t choose the sales career, the sales career chooses you. After being employed at a sales job for a year I was able to pick up on a few things that made pursuing sales an excellence career choice.

1. You are your own boss.

Your clients are your clients, and there is no one that can take that from you! Your clients do not belong to your work mom, your bff, your boss,  or the company (unless you quit). You are responsible for making your own money. Therefore, you don’t have anyone breathing down your neck and micromanaging you, unless you’re new and aren’t meeting your numbers.

2. The work-life balance.

Going off of perk #1, being your own boss comes with an excellent work-life balance. Sales jobs typically are fair with getting time off of work because if you’re doing your job and making yourself/the company money, you better believe HR isn’t going to hound you if you’re short on your weekly hour requirement (maybe just my job?). Not to mention the guaranteed 40 sick hours, 3 week vacation (plus rollover), and corporate holidays entitled to you every year!

3. The uncapped earning potential.

Are you good at your sales job? Great. Are you okay at your sales job? Not great, get better. Why you ask? The UN-CAPPED EARNING POTENTIAL!!!

If you are good at what you do and you like making money, don’t get too comfortable! Make sure you stay sharp and retain your talent. Stay true to yourself. Keep making new sales until you don’t know where to put all that extra money on your commission check!

4. The job security.

This may seem a bit unorthodox since sales jobs have the highest turnover rate. But, no one tells you how great things get when you pass that crucial 3-month grace period upon being hired.

Sales talent is extremely difficult to find for even the biggest companies. If you have made yourself a credible revenue-generating machine, you better believe that the company needs you more than you need them. That being said, I’ve witnessed upper management bending over backwards for their best sales reps to keep them happy.

5. The coworkers.

My sales job has blessed me with the most incredible coworkers. Although most of us have big personalities, that is what makes happy hour and meetings much more fun. I’ve made the best and most unspeakable memories with my coworkers (and boss!). Let’s be honest, we’re all fucking crazy so we have a ton in common.