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

What is a corporate consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Robin Cormier

Also known as a business consultant, a corporate consultant serves as an outside pair of eyes that provides expert advice to companies trying to resolve their business problems. Corporate consultants help solve issues like low productivity, poor company culture, slow growth, and insufficient revenue, among many others.

The duties of a corporate consultant revolve around analyzing the business' current practices, gathering information, identifying root causes of issues, and offering strategies or solutions to help companies resolve their issues. Moreover, they also usually assist with the implementation of these strategies and help companies evaluate the efficacy.

It takes a high level of education and a lot of industry experience to become a corporate consultant. Most corporate consultants have put in five or more years in their field, with some even having decades under their belt. Generally, the more experience and education you have, the more reputable you are as a business expert.

Given the qualifications and demands of this role, the salary of a corporate consultant averages at $122,000 per year!

What general advice would you give to a corporate consultant?

Robin Cormier

Assistant Professor, Montana State University - Billings

While college graduates begin to launch their careers, they also face uncertainty about job opportunities. This can be a daunting time in their life. First and foremost, they should be proud of their achievements. There are many steps they can take to prepare for a future career, such as developing a network and building a strong resume. However, in my opinion, the most important advice I would offer new graduates is to pursue their passion. When you are passionate about your career, your life is more fulfilling, and you are more determined to achieve success. Passion shows through how you communicate, develop working relationships, and your level of career investment.

ScoreCorporate ConsultantUS Average

Salary

8.3

Avg. Salary $127,275

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 11.23%

Black or African American 8.43%

Hispanic or Latino 9.15%

Unknown 4.53%

White 66.50%

Gender

female 45.70%

male 54.30%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a corporate consultant

Explore corporate consultant education requirements

Most common corporate consultant degrees

Bachelor's

66.4 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

7.4 %

Start to develop specific corporate consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	13.96%
PowerPoint	11.62%
Financial Statements	9.42%
Business Processes	6.29%
Real Estate	5.95%

Complete relevant corporate consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New corporate 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 corporate consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real corporate consultant resumes.

Research corporate consultant duties and responsibilities

Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Assist with and edit government PowerPoint presentations, speeches, official forms, and emails.
Chair leadership committee, develop detailed project plan, tag lines, creative, ROI, communications.
Conduct nutritional assessment audits, care plan audits, last progress note to ensure compliance and attend QA meetings monthly.

Apply for corporate consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a corporate 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 corporate consultants rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Corporate consultant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

As it seeks to solve problems in innovative way

Cons

It needs more patience to apply the true solution and satisfy your client