Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between benefits consultants and compensation consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a benefits consultant and a compensation consultant. Additionally, a compensation consultant has an average salary of $90,436, which is higher than the $79,068 average annual salary of a benefits consultant.
The top three skills for a benefits consultant include HR, customer service and life insurance. The most important skills for a compensation consultant are human resources, project management, and data analysis.
| Benefits Consultant | Compensation Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $79,068 | $90,436 |
| Hourly rate | $38.01 | $43.48 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 19,308 | 11,745 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Benefits consultants are executives who carry out many services for individuals and businesses. The consultants draft and organize policies within the organization. They handle vendors and manage the renewal of negotiations of HMO plans. It is their job to establish agency relationships with marketing representatives. They coordinate programs that involve self-funded or administered long-term and short-term disability, life insurance, and a cafeteria plan. Also, they prepare enterprises to meet health care law changes.
A compensation consultant is responsible for supporting the human resources department's operations by reviewing the organization's compensation policies and programs, ensuring that the guidelines adhere to state regulations and requirements. Compensation consultants conduct market research analysis to identify salary grades according to job positions and financial stability. They also study benefit plans and facilitate the dissemination of information by organizing orientations and utilizing the company's media platforms. A compensation consultant should have excellent knowledge of the payroll processes to respond to employees' inquiries and concerns and settle salary discrepancies.
Benefits consultants and compensation consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Benefits Consultant | Compensation Consultant | |
| Average salary | $79,068 | $90,436 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $121,000 | Between $65,000 And $124,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | BMO Capital Markets | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a benefits consultant and a compensation consultant in terms of educational background:
| Benefits Consultant | Compensation Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between benefits consultants' and compensation consultants' demographics:
| Benefits Consultant | Compensation Consultant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% | Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 8.4% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 35% | 35% |