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The differences between functional leads and technical consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a functional lead and a technical consultant. Additionally, a functional lead has an average salary of $113,422, which is higher than the $89,290 average annual salary of a technical consultant.
The top three skills for a functional lead include ERP, client facing and enterprise solutions. The most important skills for a technical consultant are java, database, and customer service.
| Functional Lead | Technical Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $113,422 | $89,290 |
| Hourly rate | $54.53 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 33,917 | 173,374 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Functional leads are professionals who analyze business requirements and provide system design while implementing system solutions for various business initiatives. These professionals must work with clients and internal stakeholders to identify and understand the functional or business requirements. They must analyze and solve complex system problems so that they can improve the organization's overall Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) development and support process. Functional leads must also facilitate a team to design document control procedures that can significantly reduce process cycle time and cost.
A technical consultant is an individual who provides technical support and performs troubleshooting functions for the company's product or application. A consultant should be highly knowledgeable about the product or application so that he/she can assist users and clients with whatever issues they may be facing. A bachelor's degree is required to work as a technical consultant, particularly a degree in Computer Science or Engineering. Also, a consultant should conduct training sessions and therefore, must possess excellent communication skills.
Functional leads and technical consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Lead | Technical Consultant | |
| Average salary | $113,422 | $89,290 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $149,000 | Between $67,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Professional |
There are a few differences between a functional lead and a technical consultant in terms of educational background:
| Functional Lead | Technical Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between functional leads' and technical consultants' demographics:
| Functional Lead | Technical Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9% | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 24.9% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 15.3% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |