Some sales engineers have large territories and travel extensively. Because sales regions may cover several States, sales engineers may be away from home for several days or even weeks at a time. Others work near their "home base" and travel mostly by automobile. International travel, to secure contracts with foreign customers, is becoming more important.

Although the hours may be long and are often irregular, many sales engineers have the freedom to determine their own schedule. Consequently, they often can arrange their appointments so that they can have time off when they want it. However, most independent sales workers do not earn any income while on vacation.