The survey found for the median hourly rate, consultants increased $20 over last year, with a total increase of $50 over the past four years. The 2024 Survey showed a hefty 33 percent rise in average billable rates over the past four years; and a marked and growing advantage to having a Ph.D., or a PE.
Fee-based consultants holding a Ph.D. charge, on average, $50 more than median hourly rate for all respondents. This advantage is roughly double the advantage in the past two years’ surveys. Twenty-two percent of this year’s respondents hold Ph.D.s.
Almost one third of respondents are PEs. Those with PEs reported charging $25 more an hour than those without, up from $17 more last year and $15 the previous two years.
The survey also found those working in utilities, as well as those located in the Pacific region, billed at higher rates. Consultants with clients exclusively in utilities, report a median hourly rate of $25 an hour more, than other consultants who exclusively work in one sector.
Respondents indicated they billed an average of 25 hours a week, up from 20 hours the past two years, but returning to the level of hours billed in 2021. Three-quarters of the consultants billed hourly, with most of the rest billing by the job.
Select other finding include:
- Most fee-based consultants (81%) work out of a home office; more than four in 10 worked solely as an independent consultant over the past two years.
- Eight in 10 worked in the private sector before becoming consultants (including 14 percent from utilities and 10 percent from defense).
- The most common areas respondents offer consulting services in are Systems Engineering (32%); Electrical Power Systems (30%); Project Management (27%); Electrical Power Generation, Transmissions & Amp; Distributions (24%); and Expert Witness (24%).
- The respondents reported that 63 percent of their work came from repeat clients; 13 percent came from referrals from clients or friends; 11 percent came from networking; and six percent came from previous employers. Eighteen percent of consultants report having only one client; 14 percent say they work for two clients; 13 answered they have three clients; and 20 percent say they have more than 10 clients.
The survey also included open-ended questions, including what makes an ideal client. According to the report, “responses referring to flexibility, meaning and higher purpose are noticeably more frequent in 2024.”
Comments (paraphrased) in these areas noted that desirable clients:
- Are flexible about work hours and location; accept a flexible schedule; and do not require consultant to work on site
- Offer new and challenging tasks; allow for use of leading-edge technology; and present interesting technical challenges
- Have high ethical and moral standards with products that have a social benefit
The complete 2024 IEEE-USA Consultants Fee Survey Report is available for purchase from the IEEE-USA Shop. The Report is $29.95 for members. Non-members pay $49.95.
The 2024 Survey was sent to more than 11,000 U.S. IEEE members who have indicated they are consultants. Respondees numbered 832, a response rate of 7.3 percent. The Report is based on only those 500 respondents who received more than half of their personal earned income from fee-based consulting in 2023. U.S. citizens, by birth, made up 88 percent of the respondents; another nine percent are naturalized citizens, two percent are permanent resident aliens, and one percent are visa holders.
