Post job

Business consultant vs implementation consultant

The differences between business consultants and implementation consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a business consultant and an implementation consultant. Additionally, a business consultant has an average salary of $87,214, which is higher than the $80,195 average annual salary of an implementation consultant.

The top three skills for a business consultant include data analysis, project management and strong analytical. The most important skills for an implementation consultant are technical support, customer service, and erp implementation.

Business consultant vs implementation consultant overview

Business ConsultantImplementation Consultant
Yearly salary$87,214$80,195
Hourly rate$41.93$38.56
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs128,03370,450
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a business consultant do?

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.

What does an implementation consultant do?

An implementation consultant is an individual who travels to various job sites to help clients with the installation of different software and hardware solutions. Implementation consultants must be knowledgeable of the software application so that they can conduct training sessions for internal and external customers. They develop system teaching aids such as training handbooks, demonstration models, and multimedia visual aids. Implementation consultants must also obtain technical certification, particularly on the specific software and hardware they install.

Business consultant vs implementation consultant salary

Business consultants and implementation consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business ConsultantImplementation Consultant
Average salary$87,214$80,195
Salary rangeBetween $64,000 And $117,000Between $59,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateAlaskaNew York
Best paying companyZSMcKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industryTechnologyPharmaceutical

Differences between business consultant and implementation consultant education

There are a few differences between a business consultant and an implementation consultant in terms of educational background:

Business ConsultantImplementation Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Business consultant vs implementation consultant demographics

Here are the differences between business consultants' and implementation consultants' demographics:

Business ConsultantImplementation Consultant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 62.8% Female, 37.2%Male, 53.8% Female, 46.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.5% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between business consultant and implementation consultant duties and responsibilities

Business consultant example responsibilities.

  • Partner with PMO and lead testing effort to ensure completeness of test data sets and to manage risk.
  • Manage requirements gathering, identify KPI s, and oversee design and architecture decisions.
  • Manage various SOX, HIPAA and PCI compliance projects from the planning stages to completion.
  • Apply the specific rules for HIPAA X12, Medicaid manage care requirements and industry best practices for transaction handling.
  • Manage external technology suppliers to assure functional operations and system architecture meet the business needs.
  • Perform successful UAT - good knowledge & experience in SDLC - SQL querying and data analysis.
  • Show more

Implementation consultant example responsibilities.

  • Facilitate teams, working directly with healthcare materials managers and executives to achieve non-salary expense reduction.
  • Utilize extensive payroll and human resource knowledge to coordinate and manage multiple complex implementation projects simultaneously.
  • Leverage industry experience, negotiation skills and communication competency to engage stakeholders to accomplish a trading system upgrade and database conversion.
  • Design and written custom reports and product reports using SQL and iReport report designer.
  • Create and deliver virtual training programs to be deliver via webinar using WebEx technology.
  • Prioritize user feedback and issues after UAT.
  • Show more

Business consultant vs implementation consultant skills

Common business consultant skills
  • Data Analysis, 10%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Strong Analytical, 8%
  • Analytics, 7%
  • Healthcare, 5%
  • Tableau, 5%
Common implementation consultant skills
  • Technical Support, 11%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Erp Implementation, 4%
  • Implementation Process, 4%
  • Client Facing, 4%
  • Project Management, 4%

Browse business and financial jobs