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The differences between functional consultants and product owners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a functional consultant, becoming a product owner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product owner has an average salary of $97,070, which is higher than the $85,317 average annual salary of a functional consultant.
The top three skills for a functional consultant include business process, prototyping and ERP. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Functional Consultant | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $85,317 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $41.02 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 51,066 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A functional consultant is responsible for supporting a team of business analysts and software engineers in designing and creating a software system and related computer applications, following the specifications of a client on their software needs. Functional consultants analyze different technological approaches, evaluate technical solutions, and utilize the best system method to meet the requirements of a client efficiently. A functional consultant performs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure the optimal performance of the system. They should also have excellent communication skills, especially in coordinating with the clients on updates and adjustments as needed.
Product owners are at the forefront of an organization's development cycle. They have various duties and responsibilities, which include ensuring that the value of products created by the development team is maximized, creating a vision and defining the goals for development projects, and working closely with all stakeholders. As the product owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the development team maintains a consistent vision and overseeing the product backlog. You are also expected to supervise the actual product development stages and anticipate the needs of clients.
Functional consultants and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Consultant | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $85,317 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $110,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Workday | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a functional consultant and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Functional Consultant | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between functional consultants' and product owners' demographics:
| Functional Consultant | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 25.2% White, 51.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |