In my mind there are software developer types and there are information technology consultant types in the information technology world. A consultant, as I define it here, may work for a company as a full-time employee or may be brought in from the outside to work on a specific project.  The same may be true for a developer.  However there is a key difference between the two. 

A software developer may have years of experience and limited experience.  They may no numerous languages and systems but their skill sets tend to be very focused.  They often aren’t involved in decision making processes and their ability to set course for a project is usually limited to more technical pieces of a project.

A consultant has skills beyond a particular development language or system.  They are someone that works from experience and has a broad scope of knowledge.  They often work from intuition and can see pitfalls before they happen.  They also have the ability to give direction to, communicate with, and work with diverse groups of people on a project.  Most importantly they know business and can apply their understanding of business to a project using a pallet of skills that can help make a project successful.