When I first spoke with Nicholas Centrella, what stood out to me was how clearly he understood why he wanted to change careers.  At 29 years old, he had no medical device sales experience, but he knew he wanted a career that could support the family he was building while still allowing him to make an impact.

Just five weeks after joining our program, Nicholas landed a six-figure role as a full-line sales rep at one of the largest medical device companies. 

His story is a great example of what can happen when preparation, self-awareness, and a strong reason for making a change all come together.

From Strength and Conditioning to Sales

Nicholas was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, and played sports throughout his life.

He attended college in Ohio on a football scholarship for one year before returning home and graduating from UCF with a degree in exercise science. He then spent about seven years in strength and conditioning, eventually focusing heavily on post-op return-to-play work and rehabilitation protocols.

He loved helping people, but the schedule was demanding. He described working from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. 

As Nicholas started thinking about having a family, he realized he wanted a different career path.

Taking a Risk on a New Career

One of Nicholas’s clients helped him get an interview with Health Track.

After a three- to four-month interview process, Nicholas packed his car, drove 16 hours to central Illinois, and started over.

That decision launched his sales career.

At Health Track, he quickly adapted to his role and earned a promotion within 10 months. But he knew he wanted to keep growing, and medical device sales made sense because it connected his sales experience with his background in anatomy, rehabilitation, and healthcare.

Nicholas had spent years helping people after surgeons had operated on them. Now, he wanted to become part of the work happening on the other side of that process.

Figuring Out What Was Missing

Before we started working together, Nicholas had already been trying to break into medical device sales for about seven months.

He could see people entering the industry with less sales experience, less clinical knowledge, or even without a college degree.

That forced him to ask a difficult question: What am I doing wrong?

Instead of continuing with the same approach, Nicholas decided to get help.

That willingness to look honestly at what was not working became an important part of his progress.

Learning How to Communicate His Value

One of Nicholas’s biggest lessons was learning that telling your story is not enough.

An interviewer needs to know more than just who you are. They need to understand why your experience prepares you to do the job.

Nicholas learned how to connect his previous experience to the role and communicate his value more confidently.

Instead of worrying about who else was interviewing, his focus became simple: How can I show them the best version of Nick and prove that I can do this job?

That shift mattered, especially because he was interviewing for a full-line sales rep role without previous medical device sales experience.

Preparation Became His Advantage

Nicholas did not rely on motivation alone.

He sometimes spent one to two hours preparing for individual networking calls. He researched the people he spoke with and asked thoughtful, detailed questions instead of relying on the same basic questions other candidates were asking.

He also studied the territory, surgeons, products, procedures, and information he could gather from people already working in the industry.

At the time, he was working two jobs and often sleeping only four to five hours a night.

He knew that level of effort was temporary, but he was determined to do what it took to earn the opportunity. 

One Person Believing in You Can Matter

Nicholas also talked about the importance of having people around you who believe in what you are trying to accomplish.

His wife supported the decision from the beginning, even knowing the next few weeks could mean less time together while he prepared.

For Nicholas, the goal went beyond getting another job.

He wanted to provide for his family, prepare for the arrival of their daughter, give his wife the option to stay home, and build a career where he could continue helping people.

Five weeks later, he had the offer.

Final Thoughts

What I took away from Nicholas Centrella’s journey is that breaking into medical device sales was not about one lucky interview or simply believing in himself. He had already spent months trying to break in before he stopped and looked honestly at what needed to change. Once he had a clearer strategy, he prepared relentlessly, asked better questions, learned how to communicate his value, and treated every conversation as an opportunity to improve. Most importantly, he knew exactly why he wanted the career change. If you want to break into medical device sales, Nicholas’s story is a reminder that confidence matters, but confidence backed by preparation, self-awareness, and consistent action is what gives you the chance to create a different result.

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All the best,

Jacob McLaughlin

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