Based on the headlines, many people assume that the gig economy is all about service level work on on-demand apps. But most freelancers work in independent consulting jobs that use high-level skills and extensive professional experience. The bulk of the gig economy is made up of knowledge workers.

We looked at this more closely in The Ultimate Guide to Gig Economy Data: A Summary of Every Freelance Study We Can Find. Some of the highlights include:

Accenture looked at the state of the workforce and independent consulting and found that 85% of business executives intend to expand their use of freelancers in 2017.

MBO Partners found that 20 percent of professional freelancers make more than $100,000/year.

But many of the websites, platforms and apps for freelancers are chaotic and too crowded to be used effectively by employers looking for high-level consultants for people looking the best independent consulting jobs.

They aren’t built for Supertemps, a description of this group in one of our favorite Harvard Business Review articles on the gig economy by Jody Greenstone Miller (Co-founder and CEO of Business Talent Group, one of the platforms discussed below) and Matt Miller.

We recently published a comprehensive list of the best freelance websites and felt that it would be helpful to develop a similar resource for sites that specialize in the kinds of freelance consulting jobs that highly-skilled independent contractors are looking for.

We also have a PDF presentation our meta-analysis of size of the freelance and consulting workforce. Click here to get your copy

W​hat is an independent consultant?

An independent consultant works on a contract or freelance basis​ and, in the U.S., is categorized as a 1099 worker rather than as a W-2 employee. The term “consultant” suggests work that is advisory, strategic or planning in nature. It usually doesn’t refer to direct services or creative services like engineering, writing or design. Think of an independent consultant as the highest skilled end of the gig economy spectrum.

Some companies have what they call “internal consultants.” These are utility players who work on a project basis but are on the payroll.

Related reading: How Many Different Freelance Careers Do You Know Of? We’ve Found Over 130 So Far

What kinds of jobs do independent consultants do?

​The kinds of jobs for independent consultants that you’ll find on the websites below include: business analyst

business development consultant

business system analyst

company valuation

competitive analysis

financial projections

grants administration​

intellectual property investigator

market research

marketing strategist

M&A advisor or researcher

performance measurement planning

pricing strategist

product manager or product lead

project manager

quality assurance specialist

revenue growth specialist

SCRUM master

solutions architect

talent sourcing specialist

technical engineering manager

technical implementation consultant

wealth management specialist

Websites where you can find independent consulting jobs

These unique marketplaces with freelance consulting jobs are great places to start your exploration and help you better diversify your income and professional network in the next year. Many of these websites mix true independent contractor jobs with job placement services for permanent roles and with interim executive services.