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The differences between business consultants and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, which is higher than the $87,214 average annual salary of a business consultant.
The top three skills for a business consultant include data analysis, project management and strong analytical. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Business Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $87,214 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $41.93 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 128,033 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| 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.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Business consultants and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $87,214 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $117,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | ZS | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a business consultant and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Business Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between business consultants' and project managers' demographics:
| Business Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.8% Female, 37.2% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |