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The differences between professional services consultants and 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 professional services consultant, becoming a consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a professional services consultant has an average salary of $110,145, which is higher than the $78,912 average annual salary of a consultant.
The top three skills for a professional services consultant include professional services, architecture and cloud. The most important skills for a consultant are customer service, strong analytical, and project management.
| Professional Services Consultant | Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $110,145 | $78,912 |
| Hourly rate | $52.95 | $37.94 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 156,160 | 171,733 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A professional services consultant supports their employer achieved short-term and long-term business needs. They provide beneficial information and analysis for upper management to use in decision making. Generally, professional services consultants may offer help in a variety of areas depending on their area of expertise. For example, a consultant with business strategy expertise may help to implement new techniques for greater cost-saving efficiency. Other professional services consultants may also assist other related businesses, such as financial planning and legal issues. Moreover, this position is mostly full time and in an office setting.
Consultants are individuals who were tapped by a company or an organization to work on a specific activity, depending on their field of expertise. They act as guides for the organization in undertaking projects that are related to their field. Consultants would usually assist organizations in planning, often giving advice when the need arises. They would, at times, take the lead in activities that involve data gathering and interpretation of data gathering results so that they can provide solid recommendations on actions that the organization may undertake. They may also guide the organization in implementing any changes brought about by their consultancy and in evaluating the effectiveness of the changes.
Professional services consultants and consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Services Consultant | Consultant | |
| Average salary | $110,145 | $78,912 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $148,000 | Between $58,000 And $107,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | L.E.K. Consulting |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a professional services consultant and a consultant in terms of educational background:
| Professional Services Consultant | Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between professional services consultants' and consultants' demographics:
| Professional Services Consultant | Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.3% Female, 30.7% | Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 14.6% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 13.8% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 12% |