Management consultant vs implementation consultant

The differences between management consultants and implementation consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a management consultant and an implementation consultant. Additionally, a management consultant has an average salary of $99,360, which is higher than the $80,195 average annual salary of an implementation consultant.

The top three skills for a management consultant include healthcare, project management and portfolio. The most important skills for an implementation consultant are technical support, customer service, and erp implementation.

Management consultant vs implementation consultant overview

	Management Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Yearly salary	$99,360	$80,195
Hourly rate	$47.77	$38.56
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	153,045	70,450
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	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 an implementation consultant do?

An implementation consultant is an individual who travels to various job sites to help clients with the installation of different software and hardware solutions. Implementation consultants must be knowledgeable of the software application so that they can conduct training sessions for internal and external customers. They develop system teaching aids such as training handbooks, demonstration models, and multimedia visual aids. Implementation consultants must also obtain technical certification, particularly on the specific software and hardware they install.

Management consultant vs implementation consultant salary

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

	Management Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Average salary	$99,360	$80,195
Salary range	Between $72,000 And $136,000	Between $59,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Jersey City, NJ	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Apple	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Technology	Pharmaceutical

Differences between management consultant and implementation consultant education

There are a few differences between a management consultant and an implementation consultant in terms of educational background:

	Management Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Management consultant vs implementation consultant demographics

Here are the differences between management consultants' and implementation consultants' demographics:

	Management Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 65.9% Female, 34.1%	Male, 53.8% Female, 46.2%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.5% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between management consultant and implementation 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.

Implementation consultant example responsibilities.

Facilitate teams, working directly with healthcare materials managers and executives to achieve non-salary expense reduction.
Utilize extensive payroll and human resource knowledge to coordinate and manage multiple complex implementation projects simultaneously.
Leverage industry experience, negotiation skills and communication competency to engage stakeholders to accomplish a trading system upgrade and database conversion.
Design and written custom reports and product reports using SQL and iReport report designer.
Create and deliver virtual training programs to be deliver via webinar using WebEx technology.
Prioritize user feedback and issues after UAT.

Management consultant vs implementation consultant skills

Common management consultant skills

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

Common implementation consultant skills

Technical Support, 11%
Customer Service, 5%
Erp Implementation, 4%
Implementation Process, 4%
Client Facing, 4%
Project Management, 4%

Management Consultant vs. similar jobs

Management Consultant related careers

Management Consultant related jobs

Management Consultant jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Management Consultant
Management Consultant vs Implementation Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs