Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become an application consultant. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in an application consultant.
Most companies require a application consultant to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as business or computer science.
It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 4-6 years in related fields.
Common job titles before becoming an application consultant include consultant, software engineer, and programmer analyst.
Hiring managers expect an application consultant to have soft skills such as creativity, analytical skills, and communication skills.
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of 6-12 months of job training to become an application consultant.
Getting a certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) will help you to earn more as an application consultant.
We found that 70.2% of application consultants have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 17.6% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most application consultants have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every nine application consultants were not college graduates.
Those application consultants who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or computer science degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for application consultants include accounting degrees or electrical engineering degrees.
If you're interested in becoming an application consultant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.2% of application consultants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.6% of application consultants have master's degrees. Even though most application consultants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an application consultant. When we researched the most common majors for an application consultant, we found that they most commonly have business, computer science and accounting.
| Application Consultant Major | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Business | 22.20% |
| Computer Science | 15.00% |
| Accounting | 7.70% |
| Electrical Engineering | 7.40% |
| Other Degrees | 47.80% |
It'll be a good idea to develop application consultant skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in application consultant job descriptions:
| Skills | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Client Facing | 10.50% |
| Java | 6.39% |
| CRM | 5.46% |
| Business Process | 5.35% |
| Troubleshoot | 5.18% |
Application consultants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new application consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as an application consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real application consultant resumes.
When you decide to become an application consultant, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most application consultant jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Yes, you can become an application consultant without a degree. One way to gain the necessary skills is to take a comprehensive course. Additionally, you can also gain experience by working on relevant projects or volunteering as a junior application consultant. Networking and building relationships with other professionals in the field are also great ways to break into the industry.
Here are courses we recommend for application consultants at the beginning of their career paths.
1. Software Engineering Immersive (Full-time)
Online
40 hours; 12 weeks, Full-time
Meet the global demand for technical problem-solvers by developing your coding skills to create full-stack web applications across multiple frameworks, incorporating functionality from third-party APIs, executing software engineering projects in an Agile development workflow, and more...
2. Data Analysis Immersive (Full-time)
Online
40 hours; 12 weeks, Full-time
Learn to problem solve, and effectively communicate, like an analyst. This course teaches you to use industry-standard tools to make ethical, data-driven decisions. Experience hands-on training to master SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python – tools listed in virtually every data analytics job posting across industries...
3. Intro to Algorithms
Ever played the Kevin Bacon game? This class will show you how it works by giving you an introduction to the design and analysis of algorithms, enabling you to discover how individuals are connected...
4. Intro to Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field that has a long history but is still constantly and actively growing and changing. In this course, you'll learn the basics of modern AI as well as some of...
5. Developing Applications with SQL, Databases, and Django
The essentials of application development are accessing, processing, and presenting data. Data is stored in various databases, either on-premise or on the cloud, and developers will need to learn how to talk to them via...
6. PL/SQL by Example - Beginner to Advanced PL/SQL
Learn to become a PL/SQL developer in just four weeks. This fast, easy and effective course will take you from zero PL/SQL writing skills to being able to write efficient programs to process data. PL/SQL...
7. Retail for Business Analysts and Management Consultants
What is the aim of this course? Retail has become very competitive. We have the rise of e-commerce and multichannel, buyers' behavior has also changed drastically. This leads to lower margins. As a Business Analyst...
8. Data Science Immersive (Full-time)
Online
40 hours; 12 weeks, Full-time
Harness the power of data science to solve the world’s most challenging problems by developing your skills in predictive modeling, pattern recognition, data visualization, wrangling massive data sets, forecasting trends, and informing strategy across diverse industries like public policy, robotics, and FinTech...
9. Data Analytics (Part Time)
Online
20 hours; 10 weeks, Part-time
Harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to drive powerful analysis and insights. Build confidence and credibility to apply this versatile skill set to countless jobs. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
10. Intro to Statistics
Statistics is about extracting meaning from data. In this class, we will introduce techniques for visualizing relationships in data and systematic techniques for understanding the relationships using mathematics...
11. Intro to Statistics
Statistics is about extracting meaning from data. In this class, we will introduce techniques for visualizing relationships in data and systematic techniques for understanding the relationships using mathematics...
12. Practical Project Management for Management Consultants
What is the aim of this course? Managing Consulting Projects is extremely difficult. You work in a hostile environment, long hours on difficult things. On top of that, the bill for your services for the...
13. Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Certification Course
The Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Certification demonstrates that you can implement the Salesforce Lightning Service Console, design service solutions on the Salesforce platform, and can implement OmniChannel, create Macros, and create custom apps to deliver...
14. Data Science (Part Time)
Online
20 hours; 10 weeks, Part-time
Create robust predictive models with statistics and Python programming. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex machine learning problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
15. Python Programming (Part Time)
Online
20 hours; 10 weeks, Part-time
Gain fluency in Python — the world's fastest-growing major programming language — and start leveraging its versatile capabilities to build web and data science applications. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
16. Data Visualization with Tableau
Learn the fundamentals of data visualization and practice communicating with data. This course covers how to apply design principles, human perception, color theory, and effective storytelling with data. If you present data to others, aspire...
17. Introduction to Python Programming
In this course, you'll learn the fundamentals of the Python programming language, along with programming best practices. You'll learn to represent and store data using Python data types and variables, and use conditionals and loops...
18. Performance Improvement Projects for Management Consultants
What is the aim of this course?One of the projects you will participate in during your work in management consulting is the Performance Improvement Project. You will be hired by the owner or the Board...
19. Oracle E-Business Suite (R12.1.3) Technical RICEW
Introduction to ERPDefinition of ERP, Overview of popular ERP'SComparison of Oracle Apps with other ERP'STypes of RolesTypes of Projects (4)Upgrade, Implementation, Support, RolloutAIM documentation standards (OUM Oracle Unified Method)Oracle Application Architecture. Database structure of OAUsing...
20. Intro to Data Analytics
Online
2 hours; 1 week, 2 hours live
Discover if data is a career fit for you Regardless of your industry or role, fluency in the language of data analytics will allow you to contribute to data driven decision making. In this free, two-hour livestream, you’ll learn to understand, analyze, and interpret data so you too can join the data conversation. We’ll cover how to ask the right questions of your data and basic analytic functionality. Then you’ll apply your new found data analytic skills to a real-world dataset, allowing you to develop recommendations based on your findings. All in real time, taught by an industry professional...
