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.
Contractor/consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real contractor/consultant resumes:
- 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.
- Monitor risks to project team, escalate issues and risks for mitigation to PMO.
- Negotiate Medicaid agreements with providers for network expansion projects in the state of Texas for a major carrier.
- Support for AIX UNIX servers at FCW and TRCC sites for the Ethernet conversion and LINUX support for development.
- Advise BP's project managers/leads and other decision makers on project updates, ROI and future plan country releases.
- Perform PC deployments and install peripheral Printer/hardware.
- Maintain and troubleshoot assign district web applications.
- Advise facility on local and federal Medicare guidelines.
- Conduct relocation projects moving telephone and PC equipment.
- Maintain all documentation relating to payroll for audit review.
Contractor/consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Contractor/Consultants are proficient in Healthcare, Post Implementation, and Data Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Contractor/Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 30%
Assist with researching and compiling data and resources for the Community Health Needs Assessments for the 5 entities of Adventist HealthCare
- Post Implementation, 25%
Contract Consultant 2007 - 2009 Facility- Critical Access Facility -Illinois post implementation review of the ADM and BAR applications of MEDITECH.
- Data Analysis, 7%
Performed data analysis/data migration tasks to help data warehouse architects determine the best database structure for different data warehouse elements.
- Project Management, 5%
Served as technical lead/coordinator between application development staff and project management on implementation of major third-party software (MID Allocation).
- Financial Statements, 3%
Prepared parent company and subsidiary bank general ledger consolidation, analyzed critical accounting policies, and compiled month-end financial statements.
- Medicaid, 3%
Expanded Medicare, Medicaid and Workers' Compensation networks statewide involving extensive provider persuasion and negotiations.
Most contractor/consultants use their skills in "healthcare," "post implementation," and "data analysis" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential contractor/consultant responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a contractor/consultant to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." Additionally, a contractor/consultant resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "achieved exceptional customer service recognition through applying professional interpersonal communicative skills successfully exceeded company objectives through applied sales-driven personality"
Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling contractor/consultant duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems." According to a contractor/consultant resume, here's how contractor/consultants can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "post erp system conversion, error troubleshooting, analysis and determining solutions. "
Time-management skills. This is an important skill for contractor/consultants to perform their duties. For an example of how contractor/consultant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a contractor/consultant: "apply strategic planning, prioritization, and project management skills toward consistently achieving key deadlines. ".
Analytical skills. A big part of what contractor/consultants do relies on "analytical skills." You can see how essential it is to contractor/consultant responsibilities because "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical contractor/consultant tasks: "performed required analysis, modifications, conversions, and enhancements for this automotive manufacturer during implementation of their new erp system. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for contractor/consultant responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of contractor/consultants all the time, as "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." An excerpt from a real contractor/consultant resume shows how this skill is central to what a contractor/consultant does: "developed a backup and restore client/server system to interface a rack of telecommunications equipment to a networked windows 95 pc. "
The three companies that hire the most contractor/consultants are:
- Oracle48 contractor/consultants jobs
- FleishmanHillard16 contractor/consultants jobs
- TransPerfect15 contractor/consultants jobs
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Compare different contractor/consultants
Contractor/consultant vs. Analyst
Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a contractor/consultant are more likely to require skills like "healthcare," "post implementation," "medicare," and "opportunity analysis." On the other hand, a job as an analyst requires skills like "customer service," "strong analytical," "digital transformation," and "data entry." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Analysts tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $79,330. In contrast, contractor/consultants make the biggest average salary, $88,122, in the technology industry.The education levels that analysts earn slightly differ from contractor/consultants. In particular, analysts are 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a contractor/consultant. Additionally, they're 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Contractor/consultant vs. Business advisor
Business Advisors are consultants responsible for implementing business strategies to improve financial and operational efficiency. They are involved in preparing financial budgets, recommending a change in the operational process, identifying new business opportunities, evaluating a marketing strategy, and reviewing supplier and labor contracts. Business advisors also help to manage risk by performing risk analysis and consumer behavioral analysis. They are involved in report preparation and work to maintain open communication with different departments to implement change.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, contractor/consultant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "post implementation," "data analysis," "medicaid," and "collective bargaining." Meanwhile, a business advisor has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "business operations," "strong analytical," and "human resources." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Business advisors earn a higher average salary than contractor/consultants. But business advisors earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $92,206. Additionally, contractor/consultants earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $88,122 annually.business advisors earn similar levels of education than contractor/consultants in general. They're 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for contractor/consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Brian Simmons
Associate Provost, Columbia International University
Contractor/consultant vs. Operations specialist
An operations specialist is responsible for optimizing the business' daily operations, ensuring smooth process flow to provide the best services to clients. Operations specialists' duties include analyzing business procedures, identifying opportunities for business improvement, tracking the department's metrics and activities, providing assistance to colleagues, suggesting strategies for operations efficiency, and managing customer's inquiries and complaints. An operations specialist must be an excellent team player and detail-oriented, as well as proven time-management and decision-making skills to meet clients' needs and support the business' objectives.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from contractor/consultant resumes include skills like "healthcare," "post implementation," "project management," and "financial statements," whereas an operations specialist is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "logistics," "basic math," and "powerpoint. "
Operations specialists make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $65,446. On the other hand, contractor/consultants are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $88,122.When it comes to education, operations specialists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to contractor/consultants. In fact, they're 9.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Contractor/consultant vs. Senior consultant, information technology
A senior consultant of information technology is primarily responsible for developing strategies and procedures to optimize a company's information technology systems and infrastructure. It is their duty to assess existing networks and systems to identify their strengths and weaknesses, develop solutions in problem areas, perform risk assessments, and provide advice on how to achieve the best information technology practices. Furthermore, as a senior consultant, it is essential to lead the efforts and serve as a role model for the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of contractor/consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
