Computer security specialist vs senior security engineer

The differences between computer security specialists and senior security engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a computer security specialist and a senior security engineer. Additionally, a senior security engineer has an average salary of $122,480, which is higher than the $100,909 average annual salary of a computer security specialist.

The top three skills for a computer security specialist include ACAS, FISMA and DOD. The most important skills for a senior security engineer are cloud security, java, and linux.

Computer security specialist vs senior security engineer overview

	Computer Security Specialist	Senior Security Engineer
Yearly salary	$100,909	$122,480
Hourly rate	$48.51	$58.88
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	70,181	69,850
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

Computer security specialist vs senior security engineer salary

Computer security specialists and senior security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Computer Security Specialist	Senior Security Engineer
Average salary	$100,909	$122,480
Salary range	Between $72,000 And $141,000	Between $90,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Microsoft	Roku
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between computer security specialist and senior security engineer education

There are a few differences between a computer security specialist and a senior security engineer in terms of educational background:

	Computer Security Specialist	Senior Security Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Computer security specialist vs senior security engineer demographics

Here are the differences between computer security specialists' and senior security engineers' demographics:

	Computer Security Specialist	Senior Security Engineer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 75.7% Female, 24.3%	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between computer security specialist and senior security engineer duties and responsibilities

Computer security specialist example responsibilities.

Review and manage the security and information assurance capabilities of database applications, database structure and architecture.
Perform monthly IA evaluation of systems per DISA STIG guidance using approve DoD & DISA tools.
Conduct audits, analyze system security incidents, and recommend remediation efforts to meet DoD standards.
Evaluate, implement, and maintain encryption standards.
Perform data encryption testing for a proprietary encryption key that encrypt data at rest on platforms.
Perform Nessus vulnerability scans of critical enterprise servers and devices; report results to management.

Senior security engineer example responsibilities.

Manage logistics of moving necessary equipment for test across country to newly designed/built NSA certify test facility.
Assess cloud providers and products to meet NIST 800-53 for accreditation of applications operating in the cloud.
Involve in migrating JBOSS /Fat java applications to RHEL6 upgrade.
Conduct vulnerability scans using NESSUS to scan the CMS QIO network infrastructure.
Install and maintain security infrastructure, including IPS/IDS, log management, and SIEM systems.
Design and implement a plan to upgrade the ACAS infrastructure to include MDA's remote sites.

Computer security specialist vs senior security engineer skills

Common computer security specialist skills

ACAS, 13%
FISMA, 11%
DOD, 10%
Security Policies, 10%
Linux, 7%
Incident Response, 7%

Common senior security engineer skills

Cloud Security, 8%
Java, 8%
Linux, 5%
Windows, 5%
Incident Response, 4%
Security Engineering, 4%

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Computer Security Specialist vs Senior Security Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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