Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between contractor/consultants and principal consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a principal consultant has an average salary of $116,478, 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 a principal consultant are cloud, business development, and C #.
| Contractor/Consultant | Principal Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $84,811 | $116,478 |
| Hourly rate | $40.77 | $56.00 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 64,573 | 143,753 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A principal consultant is responsible for evaluating business' needs and opportunities, identifying potential leads to create project proposals, and maintaining strong business relationships that would generate revenues and increase the organization's profitability. Principal consultants must be up-to-date with the current market trends to ensure that the business adapts to the industry's changes. They also initiate new product development to expand its brand image, working closely with the marketing team for marketing strategies and promotions.
Contractor/consultants and principal consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Contractor/Consultant | Principal Consultant | |
| Average salary | $84,811 | $116,478 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $123,000 | Between $90,000 And $150,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Cerner | Pure Storage |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a contractor/consultant and a principal consultant in terms of educational background:
| Contractor/Consultant | Principal 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 |
Here are the differences between contractor/consultants' and principal consultants' demographics:
| Contractor/Consultant | Principal Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8% | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% |
| 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% |