Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between principal consultants and project managers 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 $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a principal consultant include cloud, business development and C #. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Principal Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $116,478 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $56.00 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 143,753 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Principal consultants and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $116,478 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $150,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Pure Storage | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal consultant and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Principal Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between principal consultants' and project managers' demographics:
| Principal Consultant | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |