Strategic consultant vs implementation consultant

The differences between strategic consultants and implementation 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 strategic consultant and an implementation consultant. Additionally, a strategic consultant has an average salary of $104,820, which is higher than the $80,195 average annual salary of an implementation consultant.

The top three skills for a strategic consultant include project management, strategic sourcing and process improvement. The most important skills for an implementation consultant are technical support, customer service, and erp implementation.

Strategic consultant vs implementation consultant overview

	Strategic Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Yearly salary	$104,820	$80,195
Hourly rate	$50.39	$38.56
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	68,479	70,450
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a strategic consultant do?

A strategic consultant is responsible for assessing business management procedures and identifying opportunities to enhance project processes for business solutions and requirements. Strategic consultants develop services that would help the company increase revenues and profits by conducting data and statistical analysis and analyzing the current market trends. They also review quality control procedures to manage inconsistencies and establish techniques to maximize the staff's productivity and efficiency. A strategic consultant must have excellent communication and critical-thinking skills to support the business in achieving its long-term goals and objectives.

What does an implementation consultant do?

An implementation consultant is an individual who travels to various job sites to help clients with the installation of different software and hardware solutions. Implementation consultants must be knowledgeable of the software application so that they can conduct training sessions for internal and external customers. They develop system teaching aids such as training handbooks, demonstration models, and multimedia visual aids. Implementation consultants must also obtain technical certification, particularly on the specific software and hardware they install.

Strategic consultant vs implementation consultant salary

Strategic consultants and implementation consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Strategic Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Average salary	$104,820	$80,195
Salary range	Between $80,000 And $136,000	Between $59,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Texas	New York
Best paying company	Google	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	Media	Pharmaceutical

Differences between strategic consultant and implementation consultant education

There are a few differences between a strategic consultant and an implementation consultant in terms of educational background:

	Strategic Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Strategic consultant vs implementation consultant demographics

Here are the differences between strategic consultants' and implementation consultants' demographics:

	Strategic Consultant	Implementation Consultant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%	Male, 53.8% Female, 46.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.5% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between strategic consultant and implementation consultant duties and responsibilities

Strategic consultant example responsibilities.

Manage CSR budget and agency and provide social media monitoring reporting and analysis to business on corporate reputation and brand issues.
Prepare and submit monthly operational reserves in accordance with GAAP.
Train and educate new and current employees on the MDS process.
Determine where resources have and can be most efficient, maximizing future ROI of stakeholder engagements.
Assist in the installation & training of CRM solutions for DealerSocket, a leading auto CRM solutions provider
Research innovative ways to use new technology to fundamentally change the data protection methods of EMC environments.

Implementation consultant example responsibilities.

Facilitate teams, working directly with healthcare materials managers and executives to achieve non-salary expense reduction.
Utilize extensive payroll and human resource knowledge to coordinate and manage multiple complex implementation projects simultaneously.
Leverage industry experience, negotiation skills and communication competency to engage stakeholders to accomplish a trading system upgrade and database conversion.
Design and written custom reports and product reports using SQL and iReport report designer.
Create and deliver virtual training programs to be deliver via webinar using WebEx technology.
Prioritize user feedback and issues after UAT.

Strategic consultant vs implementation consultant skills

Common strategic consultant skills

Project Management, 11%
Strategic Sourcing, 9%
Process Improvement, 8%
Cloud, 6%
Cost Savings, 6%
Business Strategy, 4%

Common implementation consultant skills

Technical Support, 11%
Customer Service, 5%
Erp Implementation, 4%
Implementation Process, 4%
Client Facing, 4%
Project Management, 4%

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Strategic Consultant vs Implementation Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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