Contractor/consultant vs operations consultant

The differences between contractor/consultants and operations consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operations consultant has an average salary of $87,229, which is higher than the $84,811 average annual salary of a contractor/consultant.

The top three skills for a contractor/consultant include healthcare, post implementation and data analysis. The most important skills for an operations consultant are risk management, strong analytical, and business process.

Contractor/consultant vs operations consultant overview

	Contractor/Consultant	Operations Consultant
Yearly salary	$84,811	$87,229
Hourly rate	$40.77	$41.94
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	64,573	122,880
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

What does a contractor/consultant do?

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.

What does an operations consultant do?

The duties of an operations consultant may vary in one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around working with clients to determine a business's strengths and weaknesses, identifying areas needing focus and development, and utilizing expertise in devising cost-effective strategies for improvement. Moreover, an operations consultant must produce evaluation and progress reports, facilitate budget coordination and training activities, and introduce new technologies. It is also essential to implement the company's policies and regulations, all while adhering to their vision and mission.

Contractor/consultant vs operations consultant salary

Contractor/consultants and operations consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Contractor/Consultant	Operations Consultant
Average salary	$84,811	$87,229
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $123,000	Between $65,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	Cerner	eBay
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between contractor/consultant and operations consultant education

There are a few differences between a contractor/consultant and an operations consultant in terms of educational background:

	Contractor/Consultant	Operations Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	Western Carolina University

Contractor/consultant vs operations consultant demographics

Here are the differences between contractor/consultants' and operations consultants' demographics:

	Contractor/Consultant	Operations Consultant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%	Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%
Race ratio	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%	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	11%	11%

Differences between contractor/consultant and operations consultant duties and responsibilities

Contractor/consultant example responsibilities.

Manage design and development of cloud-base billing application for streamlining payroll and invoicing, as well as offering real-time business analytics.
Assist PMO in defining project scope, task and budget, collaborating closely with developers.
Bill and provide appropriate documentation to submit reimbursement for services to appropriate insurance to include Medicaid, Medicare, etc.
Motivate and ensure SME team member engagement in projects.
Provide Linux server setup, documentation, and internal support.
Develop and implement SQL store procedures and DTS packages to process client billing data.

Operations consultant example responsibilities.

Lead the design and implementation of a new customer income verification tool using SharePoint and InfoPath.
Manage a team to leverage demand planning, supply , 6 sigma strategic sourcing processes, and negotiate vendor pricing.
Program initiatives include case management, commercial / manage care / government dispute management, appeals, and retro authorizations.
Manage departmental Sarbanes-Oxley compliance activities.
Manage system security and hardware encryption.
Revise and manage quality assurance procedures within PMO.

Contractor/consultant vs operations consultant skills

Common contractor/consultant skills

Healthcare, 30%
Post Implementation, 25%
Data Analysis, 7%
Project Management, 5%
Financial Statements, 3%
Medicaid, 3%

Common operations consultant skills

Risk Management, 13%
Strong Analytical, 13%
Business Process, 10%
Operational Risk, 9%
Project Management, 3%
Internal Controls, 3%

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Contractor/Consultant
Contractor/Consultant vs Operations Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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