What is the highest paying consulting skill?

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Hi team!

One of the most common questions I get asked is: what is the highest paying skill I should learn as a consultant?

To be honest, I don’t love this question.

I personally think it’s much better to instead figure out what kind of work you already like to do and are good at.

Then, it’s a question of how can you position that skill in a way that makes you the highest amount of money per hour.

How to position your existing skills to maximize your income?

In my experience, there are two main ways you can position your existing skillset: based on an existing technical skill or based on a client type.

If done correctly, this can massively increase your income on a per hour basis.

Let’s explain both

Positioning based on technical skill

Let’s say, hypothetically, I have access to a huge dataset for two of the largest and best independent consulting platforms out there.

(I have to say hypothetically, because one doesn’t allow you to scrape their platform!)

I used this data to start building a comparison between analogous skills.

For example, someone could list themselves as a “financial analyst.” They made, typically, $50-$100 an hour.

However, if someone instead said they built “financial models”, they made $50-$150 an hour. Much higher ceiling here.

This trend continues throughout every possible permutation. A “Salesforce developer” makes more than a “sales operations expert.” A “Supply chain model forecaster” makes more than a “supply chain expert.”

The tip: try to describe yourself with language like:

• Model

• Data

• Analytics

• Specific name of a software

Positioning based on client type

Who pays more: a private equity firm or a small business?

Answer: private equity firm.

Consultants who consistently brand themselves as a specialist in private equity tend to make a lot more money than anyone else.

You are not a “powerpoint” expert. You build “board decks & portco updates for private equity firms.”

Positioning based on both

However, the consultants who truly make the most amount of money in the independent space are those who brand themselves with both positioning.

For example:

• A Supply Chain Model Forecaster for Private Equity Backed Companies

• Private Equity Focused Financial Dashboard Expert

• Board Deck Expert for PE Backed LMM companies

• etc.

• etc.

What does this mean for me?

Rather than trying to find a skill that you don’t already have, instead try to rebrand yourself using skills you already have!

How can I help?

As always, reach out and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!

2024 Consulting Challenge

We have a ton of people signed up for the 2024 consulting challenge! In practice it’ll work like this:

• Every month, I’ll catalog the public earnings of the consultants who have opted in (if your earnings aren’t public through one of the platforms, feel free to email me!)

• At the end of the month, I’ll publish a rolled-up graph that shows how much the consultants in the community here have made and what the month over month growth looks like