Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between market research consultants and project consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a market research consultant, becoming a project consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a project consultant has an average salary of $86,654, which is higher than the $85,073 average annual salary of a market research consultant.
The top three skills for a market research consultant include client facing, risk management and powerpoint. The most important skills for a project consultant are customer service, project management, and client facing.
| Market Research Consultant | Project Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $85,073 | $86,654 |
| Hourly rate | $40.90 | $41.66 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 76,424 | 113,013 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A market research consultant specializes in developing and recommending strategies to optimize a company's marketing operations. They perform extensive market research and analysis, gather and analyze client feedback, spearhead surveys and studies to determine how the current marketing projects affect the consumers, and develop social media techniques to raise brand awareness and public interest. Using their research findings, a market research consultant develops conclusions and recommendations that adhere to the company's goals. Moreover, there are instances when a market research consultant participates in planning and creating marketing programs and materials.
A project consultant is responsible for communicating with the clients for their specific needs, develop strategic plans, and determine project resources to achieve their business goals and objectives. Project consultants are employed across various industries, offering their knowledge and expertise to facilitate clients' requests and propositions. They also collaborate with different development teams to discuss project parameters and analyze opportunities to improve plans and progress efficiency. A project consultant must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills, responding to clients' inquiries and concerns, and providing recommendations to ensure successful project completion.
Market research consultants and project consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Market Research Consultant | Project Consultant | |
| Average salary | $85,073 | $86,654 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $132,000 | Between $59,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Renton, WA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Invesco | Dell |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a market research consultant and a project consultant in terms of educational background:
| Market Research Consultant | Project Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between market research consultants' and project consultants' demographics:
| Market Research Consultant | Project Consultant | |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% | Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.4% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 12% |