Management consultant vs contractor/consultant

The differences between management consultants and contractor/consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a management consultant has an average salary of $99,360, which is higher than the $84,811 average annual salary of a contractor/consultant.

The top three skills for a management consultant include healthcare, project management and portfolio. The most important skills for a contractor/consultant are healthcare, post implementation, and data analysis.

Management consultant vs contractor/consultant overview

	Management Consultant	Contractor/Consultant
Yearly salary	$99,360	$84,811
Hourly rate	$47.77	$40.77
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	153,045	64,573
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	-

What does a management consultant do?

A management consultant's responsibility focuses on conducting an in-depth analysis of a company or business, including its target market. Through their findings, they can devise strategies that will help the business grow and attain a significant profit. There are also instances when a management consultant must solve particular issues that will require them to investigate the problem, assess damages, identify risks, and recommend the best solutions to take. Furthermore, a management consultant must adhere to the company's vision, mission, and policies at all times.

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.

Management consultant vs contractor/consultant salary

Management consultants and contractor/consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Management Consultant	Contractor/Consultant
Average salary	$99,360	$84,811
Salary range	Between $72,000 And $136,000	Between $58,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	Jersey City, NJ	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Apple	Cerner
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between management consultant and contractor/consultant education

There are a few differences between a management consultant and a contractor/consultant in terms of educational background:

	Management Consultant	Contractor/Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Western Carolina University

Management consultant vs contractor/consultant demographics

Here are the differences between management consultants' and contractor/consultants' demographics:

	Management Consultant	Contractor/Consultant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 65.9% Female, 34.1%	Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.6% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	11%

Differences between management consultant and contractor/consultant duties and responsibilities

Management consultant example responsibilities.

Streamline and program manage operations for end-to-end creation of all assets using Smartsheet.
Lead daily agile scrum meetings towards the end of the development phase of the project.
Monitor and control project schedule for SaaS product to achieve project deliveries in at least 95th percentile.
Lead teams in implementation of value map streaming, ISO 9000 and waste reduction in manufacturing process.
Manage functional design team activities using baseline scope document information and develop process standards in line with SDLC methodologies.
Develop light-weight (fast) proprietary cloud-base licensing engine and UI to manage and track end user subscription licenses.

Contractor/consultant example responsibilities.

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.

Management consultant vs contractor/consultant skills

Common management consultant skills

Healthcare, 9%
Project Management, 7%
Portfolio, 6%
Business Process, 5%
Business Strategy, 5%
Business Development, 4%

Common contractor/consultant skills

Healthcare, 30%
Post Implementation, 25%
Data Analysis, 7%
Project Management, 5%
Financial Statements, 3%
Medicaid, 3%

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Management Consultant
Management Consultant vs Contractor/Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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