How To Become A Digital Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a digital consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr Rick Baldwin

Digital consultants are responsible for exploring current and evolving digital platforms. They are on top of the search engine optimization (SEO) world and insert high-quality, relevant content on websites as well as ensure compliance with Google guidelines. They also ensure appropriate back-linking and are aware of the proper way to invest advertising dollars on the web. Digital consultants earn a median sum of $88,000 annually or $42 per hour.

Digital consultants are competent professionals and are jacks of all trades. They are responsible for directing the web design efforts while keeping the user experience front and center during any web design. They are social media experts, and their roles in this regard include engaging people and integrating SEO into the role.

An average digital consultant holds a bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communication, or other relevant fields. They are expected to have some years of experience in the digital scene and a keen eye for detail with strong analytical and communication skills to boot.

What general advice would you give to a Digital Consultant?

Dr Rick Baldwin

Associate Professor of Practice, Prairie View A&M University

To begin their career, I suggest that the graduate pursue their career as an entrepreneur. Based on the career interest, actually develop a business plan to launch this career as a business. I would use this as a platform in beginning the career as entrepreneur, consultant, or as an employee of a marketing organization.

ScoreDigital ConsultantUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $103,415

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 11.36%

Black or African American 5.22%

Hispanic or Latino 12.49%

Unknown 5.01%

White 65.78%

Gender

female 39.33%

male 60.67%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a digital consultant

Explore digital consultant education requirements

Most common digital consultant degrees

Bachelor's

67.2 %

Master's

18.1 %

Associate

9.6 %

Start to develop specific digital consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
PowerPoint	12.64%
Digital Marketing	12.45%
Client Facing	10.96%
Project Management	8.31%
Digital Strategy	5.87%

Complete relevant digital consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New digital consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a digital consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real digital consultant resumes.

Research digital consultant duties and responsibilities

Establish and manage several social media business pages and Facebook campaigns.
Perform detailed research to identify areas of opportunity within the digital footprints of SMB.
Create mobile-optimized WordPress site for client who have previously hire someone else that produce terrible results.
Freelance digital media consultant offering social media marketing strategy and content creation services for SMB clients.

Apply for digital consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a digital consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do digital consultants rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

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1 Star

Digital Consultant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Cons

I don't like how much I have to stare at a computer. But, that's the world we live in now - ruled by Digital Media!