An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper
knowledge
Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categorically from that of a task-specific consultant. An adviser is typically part of the leadership, whereas
consultant
A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
s fulfill functional roles.
The spellings ''adviser'' and ''advisor'' have both been in use since the 16th century. ''Adviser'' has always been the more usual spelling, though ''advisor'' has gained frequency in recent years and is a common alternative, especially in North America.
Etymology
The use of ''adviser'' is of English origin, with "er" as a noun ending, and ''advisor'' of Latin origin. The words are
etymological twin cognates
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.
Because language change can have radical effects on both the soun ...
and are considered interchangeable.
Word usage
Usage of the two words is normally a matter of choice, but they should not be used together in the same document. The Associated Press prefers (
AP Stylebook
''The Associated Press Stylebook'' (generally called the ''AP Stylebook''), alternatively titled ''The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law'', is a style and usage guide for American English grammar created by American journali ...
) the use of "adviser", but
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
(style guide) gives preference to "advisor", stating that it "is used more commonly in academe" and that "adviser is acceptable in releases going to organizations that follow AP style".
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
Office of Marketing and Media's Editorial Style Guide gives preference to "advisor". The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
uses "adviser(s)", the
UK has
Special advisers, as well as the
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
, and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
uses
Special Advisers. The US government uses both:
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...
,
Office of the Legal Adviser
The Legal Adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. The legal adviser provides legal advice on all issues (domestic and international) arising in the course of the department's activities.
...
,
Deputy National Security Advisor
The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor (United States), N ...
(deputy to the President's NSA), Legal "Advisor" (
), that was part of the team tasked to conduct Combatant Status Review Tribunals of captives detained in Guantanamo Bay, and laws
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 The Investment Advisers Act of 1940, codified at through , is a United States federal law that was created to monitor and regulate the activities of investment advisers (also spelled "advisors") as defined by the law. Passing unanimously in both t ...
. The
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world. It is responsible for the Un ...
's
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
has "advisers".
Specific uses
Books
Use of "advisor" appeared in print in the United States in 1889, with ''The Tennessee Justice and Legal Advisor'' by William C. Kain and Horace N. Hawkins. ''The Department of Justice of the United States, Issue 15'', printed in 1927 by the Institute For Government Research, uses both spellings: "1. Political adviser and assistant to the President" and "Legal Advisor. Like all the other cabinet officers, the Attorney General is a political advisor of the President".
Consultancy
*
Business advisor, an expert or a professional in a specific field or a specific subject in business.
*
Tax advisor
A tax advisor or tax consultant is a person with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. The services of a tax advisor are usually retained in order to minimize taxation while remaining compliant with the law in complicated financial situations ...
, an individual or firm expert in tax law
Finances
*
Commercial finance advisor, a professional banker expert in business financing and corporate banking relationships
* Financial advisor, also known as a
financial planner
A financial planner or personal financial planner is a qualified financial advisor. Practicing in full service personal finance, they advise clients on investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning.
As a general rule, a financial p ...
, a practicing professional who helps people to deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning
** In the UK, this person is known as a
financial adviser
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...
**
Fee-Only financial advisor
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...
, a financial advisor compensated only by clients and accepting no commissions or compensation from other sources
*
Financial Management Advisor
The financial management advisor (FMA) is a professional designation of the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI), the official educator of the Canadian securities industry. The FMA is a personal financial planning designation which is usually a pr ...
, a professional designation of the Canadian Securities Institute
*
Investment Advisor
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...
, an individual or firm that advises clients on investment matters
*
Registered Investment Adviser
A registered investment adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state's securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Inv ...
, an individual or firm who has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or with a state regulatory agency in connection with the management of the investments of others
Publications
*
''Broadband & Internet Advisor'' (originally ''Internet Advisor''), a magazine which provides articles, news, and reviews relating to Internet technology
* ''
The CPA Technology Advisor'', a technology magazine for accounting and tax professionals
* ''
Resident Advisor
''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...
'', an online electronic-music magazine dedicated to the global dance-music scene
Specific advisory companies
*
Amaranth Advisors LLC, an American multistrategy hedge fund
*
Dimensional Fund Advisors
Dimensional Fund Advisors, L.P. (branded Dimensional abbreviated DFA) is a privately-owned investment firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Dimensional was founded in Brooklyn in 1981 by David Booth, Rex Sinquefield and Larry Klotz. The company h ...
, an investment firm that develops mutual funds grounded in academic research
*
State Street Global Advisors
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is an American investment management division of State Street Corporation founded in 1978 and the world's fourth largest asset manager, with nearly in assets under management as of December 31, 2023. SSGA ...
, the investment management division of State Street Corporation
Specific advisory services
*
Dipmeter Advisor The Dipmeter Advisor was an early expert system developed in the 1980s by Schlumberger with the help of artificial-intelligence workers at MIT to aid in the analysis of data gathered during oil exploration. The Advisor was generally not merely an ...
, an early system developed to aid in the analysis of data gathered during oil exploration
*
McAfee SiteAdvisor, an Internet service that warns users that a site may make them victims of malware or spam
*
MIT Design Advisor, an online tool for exploring the energy performance of building designs
Media
Examples of the use of adviser and advisor in the media on a particular subject:
*
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
: "Deputy National Security ''Adviser'' Explains U.S. Options In ..."
* ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'': "deputy national security ''adviser'' for strategic communications"
* ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'': "Obama to Name Deputy National-Security ''Adviser''"
*
The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...
: "Briefing by Deputy National Security ''Advisor'' for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes"
*
English Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia is the primary English-language edition of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on 15 January 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition.
English Wikipedia is hosted alongside o ...
: Ben Rhodes (politician), "the current deputy national security ''adviser'' for strategic communication for U.S. President Barack Obama".
*
The Foundry: "CBS News President David Rhodes is the brother of Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security ''adviser''..."
*
Yahoo News
Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...
: "President Barack Obama's national security ''adviser''..."
*
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
: "Rhodes is assistant to the president and deputy national security ''advisor'' for strategic communications and speechwriting".
IU Bloomington Newsroom
Retrieved 2014-05-25.
Other
* Academic advisor, an employee of a college or university who helps students to select courses or an academic major
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''con ...
and engaging in short-term and long-term educational planning (in some countries, the professor who offers a student academic/methodologic assistance to prepare the work/thesis job necessary to obtain the degree)
* Athletic advisors, some athletic staffs have coaches
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
or Sport management
Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...
roles deemed advisors. This can vary the type of advisory position. American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, commonly has advisor positions whether it's an advisor to the Head Coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
or Senior Advisor. Notable advisor coaches have been Brian Billick, Tedy Bruschi
Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats footba ...
, Rick Dennison
Rick Steven Dennison (born June 22, 1958) is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is currently the run game coordinator and senior offensive advisor for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He ...
, Larry Harris, Will Healy, Matt Patricia, and Ken Zampese
* Doctoral advisor
A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...
, an advanced member of a university faculty with the role of guiding a graduate student
* Combine Advisor, a fictional creature from the ''Half-Life'' series
* Customer service advisor
Customer service representatives, customer service advisors, customer service agents, or customer service associates are employees who interact with customers to handle and resolve complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organ ...
, a generic job title in the service industry, principally used in the United Kingdom
* Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor, a qualification required of chemical distributors and storage companies throughout the United Kingdom relating to packing and labeling of hazardous materials
* Legal advisor, a lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
who gives legal advice
Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...
* Military advisor
Military advisors or combat advisors are military Military personnel, personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education ...
s, a form of military support
* Technical advisor, an expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired (for example) to ensure that some area of knowledge is portrayed accurately in a movie
* Technical design advisor, a person in charge of advising in technical aspects of information-technology design
Notable advisers
See also
*
* Judge–advisor system A judge–advisor system (JAS) is a type of advice structure often studied in advice taking research, a subset of decision-making in the social sciences. The two roles in a JAS are the judge and advisor roles. The judge is the decision maker who ev ...
* Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
Notes
{{Authority control
Service occupations