Cyber security analyst vs information security engineer

The differences between cyber security analysts and information 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 cyber security analyst and an information security engineer. Additionally, an information security engineer has an average salary of $97,288, which is higher than the $88,422 average annual salary of a cyber security analyst.

The top three skills for a cyber security analyst include incident response, windows and SIEM. The most important skills for an information security engineer are infrastructure, incident response, and security tools.

Cyber security analyst vs information security engineer overview

	Cyber Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Yearly salary	$88,422	$97,288
Hourly rate	$42.51	$46.77
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	64,387	120,257
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a cyber security analyst do?

A cybersecurity analyst is responsible for planning and carrying out security measures to protect a company's computer networks and systems. They constantly keep tabs on threats and monitor their organization's networks for any security breaches. Their tasks involve installing computer programs or software and encryption, reporting breaches or weak spots, exploring new IT trends, educating the company's information security team on security. They also do simulate security attacks to find possible network and system vulnerabilities.

What does an information security engineer do?

An information security engineer specializes in designing and developing systems to protect company and customer data from hackers or any cyber attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to identify their needs, assess existing programs to identify any areas needing improvement, monitor network and system for any problems, and implement preventive measures for protection. Should there be any breaches, it is essential to resolve them right away and conduct an investigation to prevent it from happening again. Furthermore, it is necessary to assist employees in utilizing security systems to ensure smooth workflow.

Cyber security analyst vs information security engineer salary

Cyber security analysts and information security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cyber Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Average salary	$88,422	$97,288
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $117,000	Between $73,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Neighborly	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between cyber security analyst and information security engineer education

There are a few differences between a cyber security analyst and an information security engineer in terms of educational background:

	Cyber Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Computer Information Systems	Computer Science
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cyber security analyst vs information security engineer demographics

Here are the differences between cyber security analysts' and information security engineers' demographics:

	Cyber Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 78.5% Female, 21.5%	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%
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, 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 cyber security analyst and information security engineer duties and responsibilities

Cyber security analyst example responsibilities.

Ensure all requirements are met to successfully achieve an ATO before release.
Leverage this same site-to-site VPN technology to automate and secure transactions between FMC and its business partners.
Lead technical implementation through multiple projects to reduce the cardholder data environment and ultimately reduce the scope of PCI relate environments.
Log analysis & managing the accuracy of DLP identification to lowering/avoiding false positives and negatives.
Review and manage the security and information assurance capabilities of database applications, database structure and architecture.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.

Information security engineer example responsibilities.

Lead the certification and accreditation efforts by implementing NIST 800-53 security controls in order to obtain FISMA compliance.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Ensure that security policies are properly implement using NIST guidelines and perform auditing of logs.
Conduct Java algorithm design reviews and resolve any design issues.
Automate manual queries and integration using WhiteHat API's with PERL and Java.
Update ACAS plugins weekly or when updates become available on the DISA provide website.

Cyber security analyst vs information security engineer skills

Common cyber security analyst skills

Incident Response, 8%
Windows, 6%
SIEM, 5%
DOD, 5%
Linux, 4%
Security Events, 4%

Common information security engineer skills

Infrastructure, 7%
Incident Response, 6%
Security Tools, 5%
Network Security, 4%
SIEM, 4%
NIST, 4%

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Cyber Security Analyst vs Information Security Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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