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The differences between lead consultants and functional 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 lead consultant and a functional consultant. Additionally, a lead consultant has an average salary of $103,221, which is higher than the $85,317 average annual salary of a functional consultant.
The top three skills for a lead consultant include customer service, digital transformation and business process. The most important skills for a functional consultant are business process, prototyping, and ERP.
| Lead Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $103,221 | $85,317 |
| Hourly rate | $49.63 | $41.02 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 78,252 | 51,066 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
The lead consultants oversee the work of a consultant team and are responsible for offering clients their advice and recommendations on the given project. They are multi-focus experts that assist the company in improving its business performance by acting as liaisons between clients and the consultancy team. Their main job is to ensure the daily management of client's projects. They help the client identify and understand their needs together with finding solutions to their difficulties. Additionally, they analyze and review proposals from the team and then provide relevant solutions to the problems.
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.
Lead consultants and functional consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Average salary | $103,221 | $85,317 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $132,000 | Between $65,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | Workday | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a lead consultant and a functional consultant in terms of educational background:
| Lead Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between lead consultants' and functional consultants' demographics:
| Lead Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.9% Female, 32.1% | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 19.5% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |