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The differences between computer consultants and software engineers-consultant can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a computer consultant, becoming a software engineer-consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a software engineer-consultant has an average salary of $113,987, which is higher than the $94,331 average annual salary of a computer consultant.
The top three skills for a computer consultant include technical support, database and linux. The most important skills for a software engineer-consultant are java, python, and architecture.
| Computer Consultant | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $94,331 | $113,987 |
| Hourly rate | $45.35 | $54.80 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 79,263 | 317,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Computer Consultants assist a company's staff with computer system usage and issues. Computer consultants can be software programmers, hardware system installers, networking specialists, database specialists, and others.
A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.
Computer consultants and software engineers-consultant have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Computer Consultant | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average salary | $94,331 | $113,987 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $131,000 | Between $85,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Foster City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Novartis | Advent Software |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a computer consultant and a software engineer-consultant in terms of educational background:
| Computer Consultant | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between computer consultants' and software engineers-consultant' demographics:
| Computer Consultant | Software Engineer-Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 13.2% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |