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Between 2006 and 2009, 0.3% of working doctoral graduates or 45 employed doctoral graduates, are known to have been working as information technology (IT) consultants six months after graduation.

Job description

IT consultants are included in the ‘other common doctoral occupations' employment cluster.

An IT consultant works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency of an organisation's IT systems.

IT consultants may be used to provide strategic guidance to organisations with regard to IT technology, IT infrastructures and the enablement of major business processes through enhancements to IT. They can also be used to provide guidance during selection and procurement as well providing highly expert technical assistance, and may be responsible for user training and feedback.

IT consultants may be involved in sales and business development, as well as technical duties.

Typical work activities

Tasks typically involve:

  • Meeting with clients to determine requirements
  • Working with clients to define the scope of a project
  • Planning timescales and the resources needed
  • Clarifying a client's system specifications, understanding their work practices and the nature of their business
  • Travelling to customer sites
  • Liaising with staff at all levels of a client organisation
  • Defining software, hardware and network requirements
  • Analysing IT requirements within companies and giving independent and objective advice on the use of it
  • Developing agreed solutions and implementing new systems
  • Presenting solutions in written or oral reports
  • Helping clients with change-management activities
  • Purchasing systems where appropriate
  • Designing, testing, installing and monitoring new systems
  • Preparing documentation and presenting progress reports to customers
  • Organising training for users and other consultants
  • Being involved in sales and support and, where appropriate, maintaining contact with client organisations
  • Identifying potential clients and building and maintaining contacts

Entry requirements

Although this area of work is open to all doctoral graduates, the following subjects may increase your chances:

  • Computer science/software engineering
  • Electrical/electronic engineering
  • Information systems
  • Mathematics
  • Other science/engineering disciplines

Relevant postgraduate qualifications, e.g. an MSc in Information Technology or a doctorate are not essential, but show evidence of your interest and competence. IT consultancy is highly competitive and a strong academic record (such as a doctoral qualification) is desirable alongside relevant experience.  Freelancing is not uncommon in this occupation.

Many IT consultancies will operate on the graduate recruitment cycle. Doctoral candidates may therefore need work within these graduate recruitment processes and start making applications to larger firms in the autumn term.

Salary

  • There are a range of typical starting salaries: £20,000-£32,000 (salary data collected February 2010
  • At a more senior level/with experience (e.g., after 10-15 years in the role) the salary range is more typically £50,000-£80,000 (salary data collected February 2010)
  • Experienced consultants' salaries depend on the demand for their specific expertise and may be linked to distinct changes in role. Salary is dependent on location, size and type of employer and is usually performance-related.

Sector and disciplinary information

Sector information
Doctoral graduates from 2006-9 working in this occupation were known to be employed in the following profiled sectors six months after graduation:

Disciplinary background
The most common disciplinary backgrounds for doctoral graduates (2006-2009) entering IT consultancy were:

Career stories

  • Alexandra Samuel
    Founder and CEO of Social Signal, one of the web's leading progressive social media strategy companies. The company devises social networking solutions partly based on my research carried out during my doctoral study. Through years of my doctorate and running Social Signal with my business partner, we have developed unique expertise in this area; building up an evidence base for exactly how online conversation can help business, and ways to encourage participation.

Other relevant career profiles:

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