How To Become A Career Development Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a career development consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Shelley Sadin,

William (Bill) Gentry Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a career development consultant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.36 an hour? That's $44,432 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a career development consultant?

Shelley Sadin

Associate Dean of Professional and Career Development, Quinnipiac University

Communicating clearly, both orally and in writing.
It is identifying and analyzing legal and factual issues with an open, thoughtful, and creative mind.
Working collaboratively with clients, colleagues, opponents, and others involved in a case to solve problems.
Being meticulously ethical and professional in all interactions. This includes treating everyone involved in a matter with respect, recognizing, and honoring their different backgrounds and perspectives.
Being self-disciplined, motivated, resilient, courageous, kind, and flexible.

ScoreCareer Development ConsultantUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,432

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 71.79%

male 28.21%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a career development consultant

Explore career development consultant education requirements

Most common career development consultant degrees

Bachelor's

68.8 %

Master's

23.8 %

Associate

7.5 %

Start to develop specific career development consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Cover Letters	34.60%
Career Planning	27.45%
Career Fairs	9.62%
Career Development Workshops	7.10%
Career Exploration	6.87%

Complete relevant career development consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New career development consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a career development consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real career development consultant resumes.

Research career development consultant duties and responsibilities

Establish agendas for workshops and meetings using MSWord and PowerPoint.
Obtain positive customer satisfaction with both WIA customers and employers tensure positive outcome for all WIA standards.
Develop and facilitate outplacement programs across healthcare, scientific research and higher education sectors.
Assist sailors with training opportunities, educational opportunities, and employment opportunities.

Apply for career development consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a career development consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do career development consultants rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Career development consultant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Pros

Helping students (and others) make meaningful connections to careers.

Cons

The burocracy and silos in higher education.