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The differences between principal consultants and solutions architects 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 $116,327 average annual salary of a solutions architect.
The top three skills for a principal consultant include cloud, business development and C #. The most important skills for a solutions architect are cloud, java, and AWS.
| Principal Consultant | Solutions Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $116,478 | $116,327 |
| Hourly rate | $56.00 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 143,753 | 107,754 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| 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.
A solutions architect specializes in creating and implementing software systems that improve business operations and resolve network issues. They are primarily responsible for conducting research and analysis to assess the business's needs, develop specific designs for the company, provide solutions should there be any system issues, and keep company officials informed with all changes and updates. Furthermore, a solutions architect must lead and encourage development teams, stay up to date with the newest trends to continue innovations within the systems, and implement its policies and guidelines.
Principal consultants and solutions architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Consultant | Solutions Architect | |
| Average salary | $116,478 | $116,327 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $150,000 | Between $87,000 And $154,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Pure Storage | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a principal consultant and a solutions architect in terms of educational background:
| Principal Consultant | Solutions Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between principal consultants' and solutions architects' demographics:
| Principal Consultant | Solutions Architect | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% | Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |