Cryptologist vs cryptographer

The differences between cryptologists and cryptographers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cryptologist has an average salary of $69,265, which is higher than the $51,595 average annual salary of a cryptographer.

The top three skills for a cryptologist include top security clearance, national security and TS/SCI. The most important skills for a cryptographer are cryptography, , and .

Cryptologist vs cryptographer overview

	Cryptologist	Cryptographer
Yearly salary	$69,265	$51,595
Hourly rate	$33.30	$24.81
Growth rate	32%	31%
Number of jobs	1,469	151
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Doctoral Degree, 50%
Average age	42	37
Years of experience	6	-

Cryptologist vs cryptographer salary

Cryptologists and cryptographers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cryptologist	Cryptographer
Average salary	$69,265	$51,595
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $143,000	Between $24,000 And $106,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between cryptologist and cryptographer education

There are a few differences between a cryptologist and a cryptographer in terms of educational background:

	Cryptologist	Cryptographer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Doctoral Degree, 50%
Most common major	Computer Science	Communication
Most common college	Stanford University	Columbia University in the City of New York

Cryptologist vs cryptographer demographics

Here are the differences between cryptologists' and cryptographers' demographics:

	Cryptologist	Cryptographer
Average age	42	37
Gender ratio	Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%	Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7%
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, 5.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 22.7% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between cryptologist and cryptographer duties and responsibilities

Cryptologist example responsibilities.

Perform signal analysis on various types of radio communications while accomplishing classify NSA assist tasks.
Sole admin for a 5 rack UNIX base signal collections system (BGPHES).
Operate UNIX base, automate message handling system, processing over 100K time sensitive messages per day.
Have been responsible for or assist with the preparation and submitting of clearance paperwork to NSA for clearance processing.
Patrol industrial and commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensuresecurity of doors, windows, and gates.
Provide support to combat operations.

Cryptographer example responsibilities.

Lead security evaluation and provide secure design guidance for VPN encrypting routers and software define radios throughout the development life cycle.
Design several secure white-box cryptography schemes, which include a memory-hard cipher with tunable memory requirements and a polynomial-base non-invertible scheme.
Devise increased security measures, with leadership, that dramatically increase safety and effectiveness of employees and customers.

Cryptologist vs cryptographer skills

Common cryptologist skills

Top Security Clearance, 51%
National Security, 27%
TS/SCI, 22%

Common cryptographer skills

Cryptography, 100%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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