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The differences between business consultants and contractor/consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a business consultant has an average salary of $87,214, which is higher than the $84,811 average annual salary of a contractor/consultant.
The top three skills for a business consultant include data analysis, project management and strong analytical. The most important skills for a contractor/consultant are healthcare, post implementation, and data analysis.
| Business Consultant | Contractor/Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $87,214 | $84,811 |
| Hourly rate | $41.93 | $40.77 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 128,033 | 64,573 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A business consultant is an individual who works directly with business owners on developing a business plan and identifying their marketing needs. Business consultants offer business owners a wide range of services, such as supplementing existing staff, provide expertise in a specific market, and influencing other people. To increase revenue in business, business consultants should have experience success with the previous business owners. Business consultants must also have a bachelor's degree in business management and received years of field training.
A contractor is a self-employed businessperson who agrees to work for a fixed price. His/her job involves the evaluation of clients' needs and actual performance of work. On the other hand, a consultant is a skilled independent businessperson who provides expert teaching and training in a specific market by assisting existing staff for the improvement of operations, problem-solving, and development of strategies. His/her role is to assess clients' needs and provide expert advice and opinion. However, both individuals are not employees, since they came from outside of the organization to perform such services.
Business consultants and contractor/consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Consultant | Contractor/Consultant | |
| Average salary | $87,214 | $84,811 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $117,000 | Between $58,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | ZS | Cerner |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a business consultant and a contractor/consultant in terms of educational background:
| Business Consultant | Contractor/Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between business consultants' and contractor/consultants' demographics:
| Business Consultant | Contractor/Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.8% Female, 37.2% | Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.4% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 11% |