Most people chasing a medical device sales career are all looking in the same places.

The reps who built great careers in wound care, urology, opthalmology, and ENT found doors that were wide open, because nobody else was knocking.

THE EDITOR’S NOTE

Over the years of working in this industry, I’ve had the chance to meet some really interesting people and learn about the different companies they represented. 

I remember one rep I met while waiting around in the hospital for a surgery to start. We got talking, and I asked what he did, and he said he sold eyes. I gave him a questioning look, and he reached into his bag, pulled out this nice wooden case about the size of a hardcover book, and opened it up. Sure enough, a full set of artificial eyes. Blue, green, hazel, brown, and a few colors that didn’t fall into any normal category.

Then there was the rep who sold craniomaxillofacial hardware, implants and plates used to reconstruct people’s faces after trauma or surgery. Amazing work when you think about it. And the rep who sold, well... let’s just say an implantable device designed specifically for men. You probably get the idea. 

ENT reps, plastic surgery reps, wound care reps, ocular surgery reps, the list goes on. Every one of them had a story, a specialty, and a patient population that many people outside the industry probably haven’t really thought about. 

That’s the point. While the big, obvious roles get most of the attention, there are plenty of others that are every bit as interesting, and every bit as real as a career. One of them might be calling your name. 

Glad you're here. Let's get into it.

Andy Knapik, Founder

The Modern Med Rep

The medical device industry is enormous, and most of the people trying to break into it are competing for the same handful of roles. If you’re applying for orthopedic or cardiac positions and getting nowhere, it might not be your resume. It might be your search radius.

Here’s a look at five segments that don’t get enough attention, and what you actually need to know about each one.

Wound Care. This is one of the largest and most clinically complex segments in med device, and almost nobody talks about it when they’re starting out. Wound care covers everything from advanced dressings and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) to tissue matrices and biologics used in chronic wound management.

The patient population is real and growing: diabetic foot ulcers, pressure wounds, post-surgical sites, venous leg ulcers. The customers are wound care nurses, surgeons, and hospital supply chain teams. Reps in this space often build extremely strong clinical relationships over time because the products require real education and follow-through.

Key companies: Convatec, Smith+Nephew, 3M (now Solventum), Mölnlycke, Medline.

Urology. BPH, urinary incontinence, kidney stones, bladder cancer, male health. Urology is a wide-open specialty with a growing procedure base and, frankly, not enough reps chasing it. The Zenflow story this issue is a perfect example: a new device, a new distribution deal, and a sales force that will need to be built.

Urology reps often work across office-based procedures, surgery centers, and hospitals. The specialty has a decent mix of capital equipment (lasers, scopes, lithotripsy systems) and disposables, which means you can build long-term account relationships instead of chasing single transactions.

Key companies: Boston Scientific, Olympus, Teleflex, Cook Medical, Zenflow, Coloplast.

Opthalmology. Eye care is one of the most procedure-volume-intensive specialties in all of medicine. Cataract surgery is among the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the U.S. Retinal procedures, glaucoma treatment, refractive surgery: the OR cadence is high, the outcomes are measurable, and patients care deeply about their results.

Ophthalmic reps tend to work closely with surgeons in ASC (ambulatory surgery center) environments. The products range from premium IOLs (intraocular lenses) to surgical platforms, ophthalmic viscoelastics, and diagnostic imaging equipment. This is a technically oriented sale with a clinical learning curve, which is actually a good thing. It creates a moat around good reps.

Key companies: Alcon, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb, ZEISS, Glaukos.

Aesthetics & Plastics. If you have a background in pharma aesthetics (think Allergan/Botox or Revance/Dysport) or are coming from a consumer-facing sales environment, the medical aesthetics device world might be a natural landing spot. This includes energy-based devices (laser, radiofrequency, ultrasound), body contouring systems, injectables, and surgical implants used in plastic surgery.

The customer base is different here: plastic surgeons, dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, med spa medical directors. These buyers think about ROI differently than hospital-based physicians. They’re running a business, and your pitch has to speak to that. The sales cycle can be shorter, but the relationship component is just as important.

Key companies: Galderma, Allergan Aesthetics (AbbVie), Sientra, Mentor (J&J), InMode, Cynosure, Cutera.

ENT (Ears, Nose, Throat) ENT is a busy, high-procedure specialty that most reps walk right past. Sinus surgery, cochlear implants, hearing devices, balloon sinuplasty, laryngology: there’s a lot going on in this space. It’s also a specialty where office-based procedures are increasingly common, which shifts how and where reps spend their time.

Cochlear implants, in particular, are a unique corner of ENT with a strong clinical education component and a meaningful impact on patients’ lives. Companies in this space invest heavily in their field teams and clinical support infrastructure.

Key companies: Medtronic ENT (now Stryker), Acclarent (J&J), Cochlear Limited, MED-EL, Advanced Bionics (Sonova), Natus, Olympus.

If you’ve been applying to the same orthopedic and cardiac rep roles as everyone else and hitting a wall, here’s a different way to think about it.

Every one of the segments in this issue has open roles. Some of them have been open for a while because the hiring manager can’t find anyone who knows what the specialty is, let alone someone who can walk in and sell in it. That gap is an opening.

Track 1: Come in as a Clinical Resource

Many companies in wound care, ophthalmology, and ENT hire Clinical Specialists or Clinical Education roles separately from their territory rep positions. These roles are often easier to land if you have a clinical background (nursing, surgical tech, optometry, audiology) but no sales experience.

The path: land the clinical specialist role, spend 12–18 months learning the product and the customer, then move into a territory rep position. This is a well-worn path and companies often prefer to promote from within.

Track 2: Leverage Your Existing Customer Base

If you already sell into any of these specialties (pharmaceutical reps calling on dermatologists or plastic surgeons, lab reps calling on urologists, pharma reps calling on ophthalmologists), you have more transferable value than you might think.

Lead with access. Tell the hiring manager which physicians you already have relationships with and how long those relationships have been in place. That’s the most valuable thing a company can’t teach.

Track 3: Target Emerging and Startup Companies

Zenflow is a good example: a company with a newly approved device, a new distribution deal, and a commercial team that needs to be built. These companies can’t always compete on base salary with the big players, but they offer equity, upside, and the chance to build something.

Companies like this often take a chance on candidates who show genuine interest, do their homework on the product, and can articulate why they want to be part of the build, not just looking for a steady paycheck.

I’ve thought a lot about why wound care, urology, ophthalmology, aesthetics, and ENT don’t come up more often when people are trying to break into this industry. Part of it is just visibility. You hear about robotic surgery and cardiac devices because those technologies get covered in the mainstream media. Wound care doesn’t make headlines very often. 

But part of it is also how job seekers search. Most people type “medical device sales” into LinkedIn and then filter by the one specialty they’ve heard of. They don’t search for wound care rep or urology specialist because they’ve never thought to. 

Practical things to change about how you search 

Search by company, not just by title. Look up Convatec, Coloplast, Smith+Nephew, Galderma, Alcon, Cook Medical, and Cochlear Limited on LinkedIn and go straight to their jobs pages. You’ll find openings that never show up in a general search because the algorithm doesn’t know you’re interested. 

Search by procedure or disease state. Try terms like “diabetic foot ulcer” or “BPH device” or “cataract surgery rep.” You’ll find job postings and content that will start to build your vocabulary in that specialty quickly. 

Find the specialty societies. Every one of these specialties has a professional society: the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Urological Association, the American Academy of Otolaryngology. Their annual conferences are where companies launch products and reps and clinicians are in the same room. Follow those organizations and watch what comes out of their meetings. 

One more thing: when you reach out to a rep or a hiring manager in one of these specialties, lead with the fact that you know the specialty. “I’ve been following the wound care space and I’m particularly interested in the chronic wound and diabetic foot ulcer market.” That sentence alone puts you ahead of 90% of the people sending generic applications.

This week’s question comes from a rep with four years in pharmaceutical sales, calling on primary care and internal medicine. She’s been talking to hiring managers at wound care companies and keeps hearing the same thing: “We love your background, but do you have device experience?”

Have a question? Reply to this email. The best ones make it into the next issue.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Opportunities are where others see only problems.”

- Peter Drucker