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The differences between solutions architects and lead consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a solutions architect has an average salary of $116,327, which is higher than the $103,221 average annual salary of a lead consultant.
The top three skills for a solutions architect include cloud, java and AWS. The most important skills for a lead consultant are customer service, digital transformation, and business process.
| Solutions Architect | Lead Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $116,327 | $103,221 |
| Hourly rate | $55.93 | $49.63 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 107,754 | 78,252 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
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.
The lead consultants oversee the work of a consultant team and are responsible for offering clients their advice and recommendations on the given project. They are multi-focus experts that assist the company in improving its business performance by acting as liaisons between clients and the consultancy team. Their main job is to ensure the daily management of client's projects. They help the client identify and understand their needs together with finding solutions to their difficulties. Additionally, they analyze and review proposals from the team and then provide relevant solutions to the problems.
Solutions architects and lead consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solutions Architect | Lead Consultant | |
| Average salary | $116,327 | $103,221 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $154,000 | Between $80,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a solutions architect and a lead consultant in terms of educational background:
| Solutions Architect | Lead Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between solutions architects' and lead consultants' demographics:
| Solutions Architect | Lead Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4% | Male, 67.9% Female, 32.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 19.5% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |