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What is a senior development consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Brian Glas,
John Russo

Senior development consultants are tasked with developing plans to ensure that their organizations stay intact and function properly, even during rough periods for the economy. They work in companies of all sizes, to improve business in a variety of ways, and some are hired when a firm is struggling and changes are necessary.

Their duties include developing strategic partnerships with the executive team, HR specialists, and other internal clients to identify and intervene on change management initiatives that foster organization learning and address corporate strategic goals and needs. Moreover, they give advice and develop interventions about impacts resulting from organization change, assess risks associated with various change initiatives, and suggest and implement actions to manage any negative impacts. A minimum of a master's degree in business administration or a related field is required, along with seven years or more of professional work experience in a related field.

The average hourly salary for the position is $50.20, which amounts to $104,415 annually. The career is expected to grow 21% in the following years to come and result in new opportunities emerging across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a senior development consultant?

Brian GlasBrian Glas LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Union University

Build relationships: Different technologies will interest and challenge you, but throughout your career, you'll find that it's the relationships that are the most important. This is harder to grasp earlier in your career, but much easier to understand after 15-20 years.
Gain different perspectives: Spend time with people in other roles that your job interacts with, and gain a solid understanding of how they view things; this is most valuable for career progression and understanding of how your work fits into the big picture.
ScoreSenior Development ConsultantUS Average
Salary
7.7

Avg. Salary $101,842

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
4.0

Growth rate 21%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 30.02%

Black or African American 4.33%

Hispanic or Latino 8.06%

Unknown 4.77%

White 52.65%

Gender

female 29.04%

male 70.96%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress level
4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Senior development consultant career paths

Key steps to become a senior development consultant

  1. Explore senior development consultant education requirements

    Most common senior development consultant degrees

    Bachelor's

    68.0 %

    Master's

    22.8 %

    Associate

    4.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior development consultant skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Java8.87%
    Data Warehouse8.52%
    JavaScript6.02%
    SR4.97%
    Data Analysis4.53%
  3. Complete relevant senior development consultant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior development consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior development consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior development consultant resumes.
  4. Research senior development consultant duties and responsibilities

    • Lead various EDI relate projects for banks, logistic partners, customers.
    • Manage internal, external systems/application of healthcare software within assign areas from inception to successful implementation in private medical practices.
    • Implement identity management web services API in SOA environment.
    • Maintain consistent CSS usage and styles.
  5. Get senior development consultant experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior development consultant. The most common roles before becoming a senior development consultant include senior software engineer, consultant team lead and senior consultant.
  6. Prepare your senior development consultant resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior development consultant resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior development consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior development consultant resume templates

    Build a professional senior development consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior development consultant resume.
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
    Senior Development Consultant Resume
  7. Apply for senior development consultant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior development consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior development consultant job

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Average senior development consultant salary

The average senior development consultant salary in the United States is $101,842 per year or $49 per hour. Senior development consultant salaries range between $78,000 and $132,000 per year.

Average senior development consultant salary
$101,842 Yearly
$48.96 hourly

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How do senior development consultants rate their job?

-/5

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Senior development consultant reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

As it seeks to solve problems in innovative way

Cons

It needs more patience to apply the true solution and satisfy your client


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Cons

I didn't like how technical it could become


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Cons

Stressing and you have to keep always updated

Pros

Improve every day, a good salary, a lot of job opportunities


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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