IT Consultant Salary: The Ultimate 2022 Guide to Know Your Pay

How much does an IT consultant get paid in the United States?

You might be thinking about it if you want to make a career in the IT field.

IT consulting has grown exponentially in the last few decades, with Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) floating around 2.5%. According to reports, global IT consulting will be valued at $383 billion by 2026. It hints that the career scope of an IT professional is immense.

Since the IT industry is rapidly expanding, the IT consultant is paid handsomely. Here we will try to give an in-depth idea about IT consultant salary by answering the frequently asked questions related to IT consultant salary.

• What does the IT consultant do?
• How much do top IT consultants make?
• What is the detailed breakdown of the IT consultant salary?
• What factors affect IT consultant salary?
• How much does an entry-level IT consultant make?
• What is the pay by experience level for Information Technology (IT) consultants?
• How can I increase my IT Consultant Salary?
• What are some top IT Consultant salary provider firms in the US?
• Which are the highest paying cities for IT Consultants in the United States?

What Does the IT Consultant Do?

The IT consultants offer technological solutions and collaborate with in-house technical staff to support new technology implementations. The digitized experience that we enjoy from most of the products has contributions from IT consultants.

IT Consultant Roles and Responsibilities

Some common roles and responsibilities of an IT consultant are mentioned below:

• Analyzing the IT system and infrastructure of an organization.
• Implementing the most incredible technology solution to satisfy the company's demands.
• Monitoring and analyzing security threats while diagnosing issues of IT systems.
• Collaborating with the in-house technical staff and providing strategic advice.
• Implementing new or better IT systems to improve productivity.

How Much Do Consultants Make?

An IT consultant job is a well-paid job. Since businesses worldwide rely on IT consultants to keep up with technological advancements in a cost-effective way, the pay matrix of IT Consultants is high due to their technical skills.

• According to Payscale.com, the salary of an IT consultant is $80,909 per year.
• Indeed.com says the salary of an IT consultant is $106,025 per year.
• According to Salary.com, the salary of an IT consultant is between $84,905 to $99,924 per year.
• Salaryexpert.com mentions that the average base pay of an IT consultant is $130,806 per year.

Also Read: How to draft an eye-catching IT Consultant resume?

What Is the Detailed Breakdown of the IT Consultant's Salary?

IT consultants are one of the most trending and highest-paying career options in the United States. A detailed breakdown of the IT consultant salary, including the base pay, cash bonus, and hourly salary according to Payscale, is given below.

Factors Affecting IT Consultant Salary

The IT consultant's salary also depends upon whether you are an entry level employee or have years of experience. It also relies on the skills, geography, experience, and company size you possess. Let us look at each one of them.

Skills Required to Become an IT Consultant

Besides a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or a related field, you also need some IT skills. These skills will help you stand out from the crowd and make the hiring managers notice you when you apply for the job.

Some common IT consultant skills include:

• Proficiency with the database language
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical skills
• Time management
• Organizational skills

Certain skills can affect IT consultant salaries. Below are the most popular skills and their impact on an IT Consultant’s salary.

Also Read: How to write skills section in resume in 2022?

Geography

The salary of IT consultants largely depends upon the location where they are working. For example, the chances are high that big cities will pay more than their counterparts. IT consultants in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Salt Lake City will earn more than Tulsa, Tempe, and Lansing.

Experience

With experience comes expertise. As per Payscale, while an entry level IT consultant’s salary is $64,743 annually, a senior IT consultant with 10+ years of experience earns $102,210 per year. It is thus evident that the pay of an experienced IT consultant will be more than a novice.

Company size

The IT consultant salary also varies depending on the company size. It is imperative that the big companies will pay more than the small ones.

• Enterprise-level companies pay their employees $250-$850 per hour.
• Large-sized consulting companies pay $200-$300 hourly to their IT consultants.
• Medium-sized companies pay $125-$175 per hour.
• Small companies pay IT consultants $75-$175 per hour.

Education

Education plays a vital role in getting a high salary for IT consultants. The minimum qualification required to become an IT consultant is a bachelor’s degree in information technology or any relevant field. If you have completed it from a reputed university, you stand a better chance to work for a top organization and get well paid.

Entry level IT Consultant Salary

An entry-level IT Consultant does not have much experience in the IT field; therefore, the salary that they would receive would be around $64,743 annually, according to Payscale. An entry-level IT consultant's salary will grow to $72,413 with a minimum of one year of experience.

Pay by Experience for IT Consultants

As mentioned earlier, dedicating years to a profession empowers you with the required skills and knowledge, eventually translating into expertise. That is why an experienced IT consultant's pay is more than an entry-level IT consultant's.

The data from Payscale gives an overall idea about the pay by experience level for IT consultant.

Top Certifications to Do for IT Consultant Profile

The most crucial step to increasing your IT consultant salary is to get certified with the latest certifications.

You can acquire specific certifications to enhance your performance, knowledge, and, consequently, pay matrix.

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Certified Professional Cloud Architect
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• PMI – Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

What Are Some Top IT Consultant Salary Provider Firms in the US?

Companies in the US pay a good amount to IT consultants. You can look at the top-paying companies and strive to be a part of their team. The data given below is collected from Payscale.com:

Highest Paying US Regions for IT Consultants

As we discussed before, the location of your desired company will also affect your salary as an IT Consultant. Here you can check out the highest-paying cities in the United States:

With some years of experience, you can become a Senior IT consultant. The salary, in that case, will vary in different US cities. As per Indeed, the highest paying cities for IT consultants in the US is given below.

Key Takeaways
An IT consultant plans, manages, and provides solutions to an organization’s data and software systems. The key takeaways that can be kept in mind while looking for a good-paying IT consultant job are given below.

• How much do IT consultants make will largely depend on their skills, education, location, and experience.
• The IT consulting salary can be increased by gaining the right skillset, certificates, and experience.
• Upgrading the skills can increase the IT consultants’ salary and help in landing the job in top companies.
• Popular companies like Dell, Kaiser, IBM, and TCS America offer high salaries to IT consultants.

Being an active job seeker, you might also be looking for resume-building assistance because of tough competition for IT consultants across the globe.

Hiration’s Online Resume Builder is the best pick for such cases, as it comes with AI-powered features to help you build a job-winning IT consultant resume. It also has 24/7 chat aid and professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.

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