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The differences between senior implementation consultants and functional consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior implementation consultant and a functional consultant. Additionally, a senior implementation consultant has an average salary of $94,724, which is higher than the $85,317 average annual salary of a functional consultant.
The top three skills for a senior implementation consultant include shared services, client facing and project management. The most important skills for a functional consultant are business process, prototyping, and ERP.
| Senior Implementation Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $94,724 | $85,317 |
| Hourly rate | $45.54 | $41.02 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 74,953 | 51,066 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An implementation consultant is primarily in charge of overseeing large scale projects, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically include identifying and understanding the projects' needs, performing research and analysis to determine the best practices, assessing the existing systems to identify areas needing improvement, and implementing solutions to optimize operations. They must also set goals and objectives, monitor the progress of operations, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, they must manage different teams, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A functional consultant is responsible for supporting a team of business analysts and software engineers in designing and creating a software system and related computer applications, following the specifications of a client on their software needs. Functional consultants analyze different technological approaches, evaluate technical solutions, and utilize the best system method to meet the requirements of a client efficiently. A functional consultant performs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure the optimal performance of the system. They should also have excellent communication skills, especially in coordinating with the clients on updates and adjustments as needed.
Senior implementation consultants and functional consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Implementation Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Average salary | $94,724 | $85,317 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $126,000 | Between $65,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Thomson Reuters | Workday |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior implementation consultant and a functional consultant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Implementation Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between senior implementation consultants' and functional consultants' demographics:
| Senior Implementation Consultant | Functional Consultant | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.8% Female, 41.2% | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 58.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 25.2% White, 51.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |