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Policy advisor vs principal consultant

The differences between policy advisors and principal consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a principal consultant has an average salary of $116,478, which is higher than the $98,220 average annual salary of a policy advisor.

The top three skills for a policy advisor include public policy, policy issues and policy development. The most important skills for a principal consultant are cloud, business development, and C #.

Policy advisor vs principal consultant overview

Policy AdvisorPrincipal Consultant
Yearly salary$98,220$116,478
Hourly rate$47.22$56.00
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs39,659143,753
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a policy advisor do?

Policy advisors are professionals who are involved in activities related to policymaking while communicating with policy analysts about various issues. These advisors must assist policy analysts in creating policies and look at ways to implement them after they have been approved by upper management or government officials. They must analyze international and foreign policy issues so that they can devise effective advocacy and program strategies. Policy advisors must also attend congressional hearings to propose regulations and changes to existing regulations.

What does a principal consultant do?

A principal consultant is responsible for evaluating business' needs and opportunities, identifying potential leads to create project proposals, and maintaining strong business relationships that would generate revenues and increase the organization's profitability. Principal consultants must be up-to-date with the current market trends to ensure that the business adapts to the industry's changes. They also initiate new product development to expand its brand image, working closely with the marketing team for marketing strategies and promotions.

Policy advisor vs principal consultant salary

Policy advisors and principal consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Policy AdvisorPrincipal Consultant
Average salary$98,220$116,478
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $141,000Between $90,000 And $150,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsOregon
Best paying companyNAICPure Storage
Best paying industryGovernmentFinance

Differences between policy advisor and principal consultant education

There are a few differences between a policy advisor and a principal consultant in terms of educational background:

Policy AdvisorPrincipal Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 58%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorPolitical ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaWestern Carolina University

Policy advisor vs principal consultant demographics

Here are the differences between policy advisors' and principal consultants' demographics:

Policy AdvisorPrincipal Consultant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 59.7% Female, 40.3%Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between policy advisor and principal consultant duties and responsibilities

Policy advisor example responsibilities.

  • Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
  • Work over the phone troubleshooting wireless devices, mobile and computers including windows and macs.
  • Facilitate and participate in departmental policy meetings concerning healthcare, Medicaid, social services, telemedicine, grant opportunities and budgeting.
  • Construct business system infrastructure providing the pathway to grow executive, mid-management, and customer facing staff for management consulting firm.
  • Serve as a principle author and key personnel on the successful $25 million DHS contract proposal.
  • Provide technical advice on Medicare including, payment and reimbursement models, and statutory requirements.

Principal consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage project risks and issues throughout the SDLC phases, report project/program statuses to steering committee along with financial information.
  • Provide PMO office support including improving governance processes to achieve expect results.
  • Manage numerous engagements that are either custom development or package software (ERP) implementations and integration.
  • Project leadership, strategy and health information management consulting services to healthcare and manage care organizations and health information technology companies.
  • Design database and business objects using XML schema.
  • Create XMLType view to generate xml output from a SQL query.
  • Show more

Policy advisor vs principal consultant skills

Common policy advisor skills
  • Public Policy, 10%
  • Policy Issues, 8%
  • Policy Development, 8%
  • Policy Recommendations, 5%
  • Policy Analysis, 4%
  • Government Officials, 4%
Common principal consultant skills
  • Cloud, 11%
  • Business Development, 10%
  • C #, 7%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%
  • Java, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%

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