Qualifications

• While job positions vary, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that most employers prefer technology consultants who have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a computer-related field, as well as relevant work experience. For more complicated jobs, a graduate degree is usually preferred, and usually yields a higher salary. Because so many industries need the services provided by technology consultants, having knowledge in a specific industry can also help. For example, a technology consultant interested in working for a hospital may stand a better chance if he has experience in or knowledge of health management.
  
  

Average Salary

• In the United States, technology consultants or analysts earned a mean annual wage of $80,430 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median wage was $77,080, with those in the 10th percentile earning $47,130 and those in the 90th percentile earning $119,170.
  
  

Type of Business

• The industry that offers the overall highest wages for technology consultants is that of drugs and druggists' sundries merchant wholesalers at $97,940 annually. The industries of computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing and professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers are also high paying at salary averages of $94,930 and $92,770 respectively. Most technology consultants are employed in the industry of computer systems design for an average salary of $85,460, while those working in the management of companies and enterprises earn $79,290.
  
  

Location

• Cost of living and demand play a large role in the salary of a technology consultant. Durham, North Carolina, is the city with the highest concentration of technology consultants in the United States, offering a mean annual wage of $84,550. Farmington, New Mexico, is the highest-paying metropolitan area at an average salary of $109,430, followed by Bridgeport, Connecticut, at $100,710 and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area at $96,550. Newark, New Jersey, follows at $94,850, and the San Francisco area ranks fifth at $94,500.