A necessary condition for becoming a consultant is expertise. There are no consultants who are inexperienced or have gaps in their knowledge of a professional field. In fact, most consultant jobs consist of former senior–level workers, who have parlayed their high level of professional experience into consulting.

Many advanced workers are making the transition to consulting because they realize that consulting jobs yield more money and flexibility. Many corporations hire consultants to train their managers in skills or strategies. For instance, one type of consultant is a human-resources consultant who trains human-resources staff in conflict resolution techniques or payroll benefits. Again, most consultants are extremely specialized in their field, which makes them the first choice for employers when they want to bring in the experts.

Many consultants are former managerial employees who tired of answering to bosses and working stressful schedules. Furthermore, many of them entered consulting because they were frustrated by corporate red tape, which obstructed their job advancement at their firms. Fortunately, consulting jobs lack that administrative bureaucracy because consultants either work for themselves or for small consulting firms. Moreover, it is a win-win situation for both a new consultant and a consulting firm: the consultant earns more money and independence for himself, while the consulting firm earns more income from each specialized consultant it recruits.

Nonetheless, even consultants who work at consulting firms may become disillusioned by their workplace. They often complain about having to turn over so much of their earnings to their firms. These gripes are especially common among Information Technology (IT) consultants, who make huge amounts of money but are forced to hand over most of it to their companies. Because they want more control over their income, many consultants are becoming self-employed.

Becoming self-employed, nevertheless, requires a special set of personal characteristics. A self-employed consultant must be self-disciplined enough to do his work on his own time, as well as develop an effective self-marketing strategy that reaches valuable clients. Doing this alone is considerably more difficult than at firms, because most firms operate highly structured client-relationship and marketing departments. Therefore, a self-employed consultant has to think deep about what sets him apart from other consultants, since he is competing with entire firms of consultants. For self-employed consultants, nothing helps them more than if they have unusual skills that are highly in demand. For instance, a marketing consultant who is knowledgeable about Search Engine Optimization and other Internet Marketing techniques will have many contract offers from companies. Nonetheless, many self-employed consultants decide to work in non-metropolitan areas, in order to sidestep competition with high-end consulting firms.

The most successful self-employed consultants often operate a small staff of junior consultants. If their company becomes profitable enough, these consultants may decide to expand their business and become directing consultants of their own firms. Directing consultants often earn the highest incomes of all consultants, usually after decades of managerial experience in their field.

As far as income goes, consultants also make more money if they are proficient in high-growth industries. IT, as stated before, is perhaps the most booming industry, so all types of IT consultants generate the most income by far. Following behind are environmental consultants, who visit workplaces and consult managers about federal and state environmental regulations. Furthermore, pharmaceutical consultants are in demand due to increasing amounts of prescription drugs.

It is rare for a consultant to work as a generalist in an industry. Most consultants specialize in a certain field, the possibilities of which are endless. For instance, one type of healthcare consultant may give suggestions on a hospital’s purchase of new medical equipment, while another consultant may advise a hospital administrator on procuring supplies from vendors. Still another healthcare consultant may advise human-resources managers on maximizing work performance from hospital employees.

Several of the most stable consulting jobs concern accounting, human-resources, and other corporate departments. Accounting consultants audit a business’s accounting records to determine if the business is in good shape. Today, many accountants perform forensic accounting by installing internal-controls software onto accounting databases so as to minimize accounting mistakes. Furthermore, many businesses hire risk-management accountants to critically analyze company budgets and rid them of waste. Risk-management consultants often advise managers to cut jobs and reduce salaries in order to scale back their budget.

Many consultants are also becoming “virtual” consultants. These consultants may work for online firms or self-help websites. Many of these online consulting jobs are arising because they drastically reduce overhead costs at consulting firms. Likewise, many consultants who decide to work from home choose to become virtual consultants rather than set up an at-home business. These virtual jobs also work well for people who work another part-time or full-time job.

Consultant jobs are not limited to business consulting. Many personal consulting jobs are on the rise. Foremost among these jobs is the life consultant, or “life coach” profession. Life coaches work one-on-one with people rather than businesses. Like psychiatrists, they discuss life matters with their clients except that they focus more on personal goals rather than emotional problems. For example, a person who is transitioning between jobs may consult with a life coach to regain perspective on their career objectives. Life coaches also help their clients formulate effective strategies to advance their careers and personal development.

The vast majority of consultants earn a comfortable living due to their proficiency and flexibility. At the lower end of the spectrum, they make about $50,000 per year, while at the higher end they make more than $100,000 per year. For the most part, consultants have paid their dues through rigorous education, practical training, and successful jobs before becoming full-time consultants.

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