As an ex-consultant/contractor, you're exactly right - it's often confusing because different companies call it different things. I've done both types (consulti

As an ex-consultant/contractor, you're exactly right - it's often confusing because different companies call it different things. I've done both types (consulting on the high level goals, and actually implementing things) and I've rarely seen a company that draws much of a distinction, oftentimes the first leads into the second anyways, usually at the same rate. Terminology, meh...these days I just say I was a hired gun, because some people think there's an actual distinction between consultant and contractor, but I was never clear on what it was, even though I was doing it...