As of 2022, there are more than half a million IT consultant businesses operating throughout the U.S. This represents an increase of about 3% compared to 2021.
Do you think that you have what it takes to work as a consultant in IT? If so, you should make sure that you know everything about an IT consultant job prior to pursuing this career path.
So, what is an IT consultant? What does one do on a daily basis? And maybe most importantly, what is an IT consultant salary?
We’re going to set out to answer all of these questions (and more!) so that you can be the best consultant you can be if you ultimately decide that becoming an one is the right option for you.
Keep reading to get the inside scoop.
What Is an IT Consultant?
An IT consultant is someone who works with companies to help them take care of all of their IT needs. In some cases, they might be hired by a company to work full-time for them. But more often than not, they will only work with a company when they call on the consultant for assistance.
Many consultants like this arrangement because it allows them to earn a larger salary when they have multiple clients. It also keeps their jobs interesting since they’re always being asked to do different things by different companies.
If you’re someone who likes to work on something new every day, you’ll enjoy working as a consultant in the IT field. No two days will ever be the same for you, which should keep things exciting.
What Does a Consultant in IT Do?
The average IT consultant is expected to do a little bit of everything while working with clients. If a client has any IT needs at all, they’ll be able to run them by a consultant and get the assistance they need.
In some situations, this will mean that a consultant will be asked how a company can fix a computer or another piece of IT equipment. A lot of the calls that a consultant will take from a company will involve routine IT maintenance.
But the thing that sets IT consultants apart from other IT professionals is that consultants will be asked to help companies strategize when it comes to IT. From figuring out which computers a company should buy next to coming up with a solution to a data breach, a consultant will often be called on to help with big-picture issues.
What Skills Do You Need to Work as an IT Consultant?
If you’re going to work as an IT consultant, you’ll obviously need to know a whole lot about computers, networks, and other IT-related things. But in addition to knowing all about IT, a consultant will also need to have a certain set of skills that will enable them to do their job.
What kinds of skills? Well, to start, they will need to have great attention to detail. They’ll often be asked to work on IT projects that will require them to sit and focus on a task at hand for hours on end.
A consultant is also going to need to be both a creative thinker and a problem solver. Companies turn to consultants to fix problems for them in many cases, and it’s going to be hard to do that if you don’t know how to think outside the box and act fast.
Additionally, you’ll need to be an excellent communicator to make it as a consultant. You’re going to have to speak with companies on the phone and through email to get to the bottom of what they need from you, so you’ll need to know how to communicate with others clearly.
Do You Need a Degree to Become a Consultant in IT?
Technically, you could carve out a career as an IT consultant if you really wanted to without a degree. You can start your own IT consulting firm and offer your services to companies without having to worry about them asking for your educational background.
But it can be difficult to convince companies to work with you when you’re just starting an IT consulting company. It’s why most consultants will work for someone else at first to build up their resumes and show companies that they can be trusted. They’ll also do this to network so that they’re able to meet potential clients.
In this case, you won’t be able to get away with not having a degree to work as a consultant. The company that you work for will want to see that you have a degree in the IT field that you can put to good use while working with them.
How Can You Become a Consultant in IT?
At this point, are you still interested in the idea of becoming an IT consultant? If you are, you will need to know which steps you’ll have to take to launch your career as a consultant.
As we just mentioned, you’ll need to begin by getting your hands on a bachelor’s degree in a field related to IT. But that isn’t all you’ll have to do to work as a consultant. From there, you’ll also need to:
- Gain work experience by working at a company as an IT professional
- Find other companies that could benefit from your IT experience
- Build a network of companies that trust you to handle their IT needs
- Consider launching your own IT consulting company
- Begin providing IT consulting services to as many companies as you can
To be a consultant in almost any field, the most important thing that you’ll need is experience. The more that you’re able to see in your specific field, the more people and companies will trust you to assist them with their needs.
The IT field is no different. You probably aren’t going to be able to work as a consultant fresh out of college. But as you gain more experience in the field, you’ll find that it’ll be so much easier for you to convince companies to hire you to be their consultant.
What Is an IT Consultant Salary?
There is a reason why there are so many consultants working in IT throughout the country right now. There is a huge demand for consultants, and as a result, the IT consultant salary is on the higher side.
The exact consultant salary that you stand to make is going to vary. It’ll depend on everything from your experience level to the companies that you work with. Working with larger companies will usually help you make more money than working with smaller ones.
But on average, a consultant is going to make around $81,000. There is also a chance that you could make well over $100,000 as you gain experience and take on more clients.
You shouldn’t just become a consultant because of the high salary. But it’ll be one of the nice perks of working in the IT field as a consultant.
What Are the Benefits of Working as an IT Consultant?
The IT consultant salary will be the first big benefit of working as a consultant. You’ll love how much money you’re able to bring in over the years when you get your career as a consultant off the ground.
But guess what? This is far from the only benefit that you’ll get to enjoy when you’re working as a consultant. There are also other benefits that will come along with the job including:
- You will often be able to set your own work hours once you have your own IT consulting company
- You will get the opportunity to work with a wide range of different companies
- You will feel good about the help that you’re able to provide to companies
- You will be able to make advancements in your career by doing a great job for companies
- You will almost never have trouble finding work since there is such a big demand for consultants in IT
There are always companies out there looking to find an IT consultant to assist them. You’ll love being able to come through in the clutch for them.
Are There Any Drawbacks of Becoming an IT Consultant?
We’ve spent a ton of time talking about all the great things that will come along with working as an IT consultant and rightfully so. Carving out a career as a consultant will be so beneficial for you in a variety of ways.
But we should also mention that there might be a few drawbacks that you’ll need to deal with when you begin working as a consultant. Here are a few of them:
- You may need to be ready to help companies outside of normal business hours when they experience emergency IT problems
- You will need to continue to learn about IT so that you don’t fall behind in the field
- You might end up working with some companies that won’t always give you a warm welcome and treat you like an employee
- You will have a big responsibility on your hands when you’re asked to assist companies with important IT issues
Working as a consultant can be very challenging at times. And while most people don’t mind this since it gets the juices flowing, there will be times when you’ll feel frustrated as a consultant in IT. It’s important to know this going in so that you don’t get too overwhelmed by the job and stress yourself out.
How Can You Turn Yourself Into the Best IT Consultant Possible?
If you’re going to work as an IT consultant, you don’t want to be just any consultant. You want to be the best consultant that you can possibly be.
So, how can you work to set yourself apart from all the other consultants out there? It won’t be easy, but you should be able to do it by taking these steps:
- Get as much experience in the IT field as you can before breaking out and becoming a consultant
- Hone the skills that you’ll need to work as a consultant
- Learn how to communicate with people who might not know much about IT while working as a consultant
- Search for ways to gain more knowledge on IT-related topics
- Take the right approach to providing great customer service to those who call on you to be their consultant
You won’t be able to transform yourself into the best consultant you can be overnight. It’s going to take years for you to assume this role since it’ll take time to get things moving in the right direction at the start.
But you should be able to become the best consultant eventually. And when you do, you’ll be rewarded with an even higher salary than you would normally be able to collect. It’ll make all the extra time and effort that you put into being a consultant worth it.
Look Into Becoming an IT Consultant Today
If you love working with computers and other IT equipment, becoming an IT consultant would be a great move for you to make. You’ll love being able to take on all kinds of different IT tasks on a daily basis.
You’ll also love the IT consultant salary that you’ll be able to make. Your whole job will leave you feeling fulfilled while also helping you make an honest living.
Learn more about what your life will be like as an IT professional by checking out some of our other blog articles.
