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The differences between professional consultants and associate 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 professional consultant and an associate consultant. Additionally, a professional consultant has an average salary of $80,770, which is higher than the $73,340 average annual salary of an associate consultant.
The top three skills for a professional consultant include customer satisfaction, customer service and C #. The most important skills for an associate consultant are healthcare, customer service, and project management.
| Professional Consultant | Associate Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $80,770 | $73,340 |
| Hourly rate | $38.83 | $35.26 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 100,996 | 94,983 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Professional consultants provide their expert advice to organizations and businesses. This professional advice helps the organization to improve its business performance in terms of management, operation, and strategy. Their main tasks are to detect issues and find ways to resolve them, conduct surveys and research an understanding of the business, and assess the pros and cons of possible strategies. Professional consultants must have good numerical, teamwork, and interpersonal skills to succeed. Also, they must have commercial awareness, self-motivation, and good attention to detail.
An associate consultant is responsible for evaluating the project requirements based on clients' specifications, ensuring that the team meets project deliverables efficiently. Associate consultants test system applications and network infrastructure to recommend possible modifications for optimal performance and flawless navigation. They also identify cost-efficient business opportunities to gain more clients and improve overall project management procedures. An associate consultant may also facilitate training programs for the staff to maximize their productivity and hone their potential.
Professional consultants and associate consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Consultant | Associate Consultant | |
| Average salary | $80,770 | $73,340 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $93,000 | Between $60,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Rafael, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Citi | Practice Fusion |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a professional consultant and an associate consultant in terms of educational background:
| Professional Consultant | Associate Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between professional consultants' and associate consultants' demographics:
| Professional Consultant | Associate Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.7% Female, 43.3% | Male, 55.5% Female, 44.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.2% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 14.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |