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Cyber security analyst vs senior security engineer

The differences between cyber security analysts 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 cyber security analyst and a senior security engineer. Additionally, a senior security engineer has an average salary of $122,480, 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 a senior security engineer are cloud security, java, and linux.

Cyber security analyst vs senior security engineer overview

Cyber Security AnalystSenior Security Engineer
Yearly salary$88,422$122,480
Hourly rate$42.51$58.88
Growth rate32%32%
Number of jobs64,38769,850
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

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 a senior security engineer do?

A senior security engineer is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the organization's systems and network database to prevent unauthorized access and avoid data breaches. Senior security engineers inspect the efficiency of networks, perform system configuration, and increase the optimal performance of complex systems. They also implement policies and procedures for compliance with the proper utilization of information directories. They also conduct regular maintenance of networks, create update reports, and resolve glitches and security threats.

Cyber security analyst vs senior security engineer salary

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

Cyber Security AnalystSenior Security Engineer
Average salary$88,422$122,480
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $117,000Between $90,000 And $164,000
Highest paying CityLos Angeles, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateOregonCalifornia
Best paying companyNeighborlyRoku
Best paying industryAutomotiveManufacturing

Differences between cyber security analyst and senior security engineer education

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

Cyber Security AnalystSenior Security Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorComputer Information SystemsComputer Science
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - BakersfieldMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Cyber security analyst vs senior security engineer demographics

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

Cyber Security AnalystSenior Security Engineer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 78.5% Female, 21.5%Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between cyber security analyst and senior 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.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Cyber security analyst vs senior security engineer skills

Common cyber security analyst skills
  • Incident Response, 8%
  • Windows, 6%
  • SIEM, 5%
  • DOD, 5%
  • Linux, 4%
  • Security Events, 4%
Common senior security engineer skills
  • Cloud Security, 8%
  • Java, 8%
  • Linux, 5%
  • Windows, 5%
  • Incident Response, 4%
  • Security Engineering, 4%

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