Sales Job

I'm 29, from Jaipur (Rajasthan), and graduated in Civil Engineering in 2018.

After graduation, I decided to prepare for government exams instead of joining the private sector. Over the years, I appeared for exams like SSC JE, RPSC AEN, and GATE.

A few results:

Qualified GATE twice.

Cleared SSC JE prelims twice.

Cleared RPSC AEN prelims twice.

But I couldn't secure a final rank good enough to get a government job. Because of that, I now have an 8-year career gap and no full-time work experience. I only did two internships during college, both in the Public Works Department (government).

Now I've decided to move on and build a career in the private sector. Sales seems interesting because I've heard performance matters more than experience, and the growth can be good.

A little about me:

Good spoken English and communication skills.

Never worked in sales, but I understand the basics.

Hardworking and willing to relocate anywhere in India.

Ready to work very hard for the next 4-5 years to build my career.

I have a few questions for people who work in sales:

With my background and no experience, what realistic in-hand salary should I expect?

Will moving to cities like Bengaluru or Delhi increase my salary? If yes, by how much, and is it worth the higher cost of living?

How difficult is it to get the first sales job with such a long career gap?

Once I get my first job, how easy or difficult is it to switch to better companies?

People often say sales has a lot of pressure and high attrition. How true is that in reality?

If I perform well, where can I realistically expect to be in 5 years in terms of salary and role?

Is AI likely to reduce opportunities in sales over the next 5 years?

Please be as realistic as possible. I'm not looking for motivation or pep talks—I want honest advice, real numbers, and practical insights from people who have actually worked in sales.