What Is a Software Consultant and How Do You Become One?

Broadly speaking, a software consultant is a professional who assists software development companies without being traditionally employed by them.

Software consultants are often more specialized than other engineers and developers. As a consultant, you may be hired to oversee a specific project, such as helping a team adopt a new workflow or migrate from one API to another. You may also be hired as a “fixer,” in which case you’ll be tasked with salvaging a project that’s floundering. Either way, you’ll draw on your specialized knowledge to solve a particular problem.

After completing your task, you’ll move on to the next client. That’s the most important way in which being a consultant differs from being an ordinary developer—consultants work for many companies over the course of their careers, and usually don’t stay in one place for very long.

Common responsibilities of a software consultant

Your duties as a consultant may include:

• Writing or debugging code
• Writing documentation
• Guiding, advising, or managing other developers
• Hiring new developers for projects
• Suggesting new tools or frameworks and training people in how to use them

Software consultants wear many hats, and their responsibilities can vary widely depending on the client or company they’re working for.

In some cases, your day-to-day tasks will largely consist of programming; in others, you’ll work in an advisory capacity, helping your clients operate more smoothly and save money.

How are software consultants usually employed?

In the software industry, you can be employed as a consultant in one of two ways:

• Independently: Many consultants work on a freelance basis. They’re largely responsible for finding their own jobs and clients, although they may also work with a recruiter or a consulting agency.
• Working for a consultancy: Other consultants are employed by consulting firms (called “consultancies”), which find clients for them and then hire them out.

If you work independently, you’ll have more freedom, and will generally be able to command higher pay. The tradeoff is that you’ll also have less job security and will have to work harder to land gigs.

Can you pursue software consulting as a side hustle?

Yes, you can pursue software consulting as a side hustle. Many people do consulting work alongside a full-time job.

To do this, you’ll probably need to be an independent consultant. Consulting companies will generally expect you to work a set schedule, whereas as a freelancer or independent contractor, you’ll be able to negotiate your hours.

In general, software consulting is a well-paid gig, although as you’d expect, your hourly rate will depend on how skilled and experienced you are.

As mentioned, newer consultants without much of a track record in the industry typically earn around $50 per hour. Established consultants usually earn at least $100–$200 per hour, and potentially even more if their skills are in particularly high demand.

Software consulting vs. traditional employment: which pays more?

Software consultants almost always make more on an hourly basis than full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. That’s because they also have less job security; when a project’s budget is slashed, consultants are often the first to go. Moreover, consultants who work independently are responsible for their own taxes and do not receive employee benefits (like all freelancers).

When you take on consulting work, you should look for rates that are between 20% and 100% higher than what you’d expect as a traditional, salaried employee. In other words, if a company hires you and you know they pay programmers at your level of experience around $50 per hour, you should negotiate at least $60–$100 per hour.

Anyone who’s a skilled developer or software engineer has the potential to become a software consultant. We’ll break down the requirements in detail:

Education

Most software consultants hold at least a relevant bachelor’s degree. Common majors include:

• Software engineering
• Computer engineering
• Computer science
• Information technology

Some consultants also hold master’s degrees or PhDs. Having a grad degree isn’t necessary, although it won’t hurt.

Skills

To be an effective software consultant, it goes without saying that you need to be a skilled programmer. However, there’s no set language you need to know or tech stack you need to be familiar with; you can look for consulting opportunities in whatever niche you happen to specialize in.

Beyond having strong technical skills, you should also be a good critical thinker and communicator, especially if you’re planning on being a “fixer” or “advisor” rather than simply a developer-for-hire.

After all, if a company tasks you with fixing bottlenecks in their development process, it’s not enough to be able to identify them; you also need to be able to convey your ideas effectively and in a way that won’t inspire too much pushback from the team.

Work experience

The level of work experience you need to be a software consultant depends on whether you want to work independently or for a company.

It’s possible to get a job at a consultancy directly out of school. If you do, your duties will be essentially the same as any entry-level developer (again, with the difference being that you’ll rotate between many different businesses instead of sticking with just one).

Conversely, to get hired as an independent consultant, you’ll generally need at least 2–4 years of experience in the industry. The good news is that this means you’ll skip the entry-level consultant stage; companies will hire you to perform higher-level work.

Note that even if you’re still in school, you can start getting work experience under your belt. You can do internships, take on freelance projects on websites like Upwork and Fiverr, or enter coding competitions to sharpen your skills.

Certifications

In many subfields of the software and IT industries, certifications can give you a boost, particularly if you don’t have a four-year degree.

Which certifications you should look at heavily depends on what kinds of consulting jobs you’re hoping to land. That said, the general consensus is that many companies value cloud certifications, such as:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Solutions Architect (an entry-level AWS certification)
• AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (the first Azure certification that most people earn)

Conversely, getting certified in a particular language (e.g., becoming Java Certified through Oracle) can be worth it, but a lot of the time, it isn’t. Many project leaders and hiring managers will care much more about your portfolio than your certs, and your time might be better spent by actually coding and making those GitHub commits we mentioned above.

Regardless of how well-known and legitimate a certification is, you should do your due diligence to decide if it’s worth pursuing, given your career goals as a consultant.

The strategy you should use to land your first consulting gig depends on whether you want to work for a consulting company or go at it alone.

Working for a consulting firm

Getting a job at a consultancy involves essentially the same process as getting any other job in the software industry. Keep your resume and portfolio up to date, scour job boards for listings, and brush up on your interviewing skills.

Job boards and companies to keep an eye on

Software consulting gigs sometimes pop up on the following websites:

• FlexJobs
• Glassdoor
• Indeed
• LinkedIn
• ZipRecruiter

When you start your job search, be on the lookout for opportunities from any of the following companies:

• EY
• Deloitte
• KPMG
• PwC

In the consulting world, these companies are known as the “Big Four.” They’re primarily known for accounting, but they also offer software consulting services, and they provide many of the opportunities in this space. Of course, there are plenty of regional and local consulting firms that you can work for, too.

Working independently

If you want to work for yourself or start your own company, the path forward is less clearly defined. You’ll have to pitch to clients directly or land work through word-of-mouth and referrals.

If you go this route, be prepared to market yourself. You can do this by:

• Attending (and potentially speaking at) industry events and conferences
• Contributing frequently to high-profile open-source projects
• Creating a personal website that showcases your portfolio
• Taking on freelance work (at this stage in your career, you should be able to land gigs on Toptal, which is a more exclusive freelance marketplace than sites like Upwork)

Every little bit helps. If (like a number of software developers) you’re a skilled writer as well as a programmer, you can get your name out there by contributing answers on websites like Stack Exchange. You should also consider starting a software-related blog.

All of this will boost your reputation, which will draw opportunities to you. If all goes well, one day, you’ll wake up and have an invitation to do consulting work sitting in your inbox.