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Cyber security engineer vs information security manager

The differences between cyber security engineers and information security managers 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 engineer and an information security manager. Additionally, an information security manager has an average salary of $126,447, which is higher than the $99,492 average annual salary of a cyber security engineer.

The top three skills for a cyber security engineer include cyber security, python and linux. The most important skills for an information security manager are risk management, NIST, and infrastructure.

Cyber security engineer vs information security manager overview

Cyber Security EngineerInformation Security Manager
Yearly salary$99,492$126,447
Hourly rate$47.83$60.79
Growth rate32%32%
Number of jobs73,419115,414
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

What does a cyber security engineer do?

A cyber security engineer specializes in designing and establishing security measures to protect a company's network and data from hackers or cyber attacks. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around planning and implementing cyber security systems, responding to any problems or concerns, handling security breaches and emergencies, and troubleshooting to identify any issues or vulnerabilities. Moreover, a cyber security engineer may perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and documentation, creating instructional materials for systems, managing schedules, and coordinating with department managers, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

What does an information security manager do?

An information security manager is primarily in charge of overseeing the security systems established to protect a company's data from hackers or cyber-attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around monitoring networks for any security breaches, designing and developing new security systems, and improving existing ones when necessary. They may also perform research and analysis to determine company needs, provide instructional materials, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, as an information security manager, it is essential to provide technical support to employees, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Cyber security engineer vs information security manager salary

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

Cyber Security EngineerInformation Security Manager
Average salary$99,492$126,447
Salary rangeBetween $75,000 And $131,000Between $91,000 And $175,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyDotdasheBay
Best paying industryTechnologyMedia

Differences between cyber security engineer and information security manager education

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

Cyber Security EngineerInformation Security Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillStanford University

Cyber security engineer vs information security manager demographics

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

Cyber Security EngineerInformation Security Manager
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 83.8% Female, 16.2%Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2%
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 engineer and information security manager duties and responsibilities

Cyber security engineer example responsibilities.

  • Facilitate and manage weekly meetings between CyberCom, DISA and all OSD components.
  • Manage security patching life cycle and approve change control requests, firewall rules and DLP policies.
  • Manage, configure, and maintain all servers within the environments, including Cisco network routers, switches, and firewalls.
  • Lead security authorization efforts to obtain and maintain an authorization to operate (ATO) for customers' core financial system.
  • Manage efforts to consolidate customer VPN infrastructure.
  • Lead numerous DLP upgrades and process improvements and successfully implement application security program.
  • Show more

Information security manager example responsibilities.

  • Develop goals and strategies to achieve company goals while improving upon current ITIL processes and procedures.
  • Provide direct leadership with managing corporate HIPAA Privacy/Security compliance initiatives.
  • Manage the administration of various encryption, authentication and public/private key management technologies and certificate/digital authority.
  • Manage the conversion to a hybrid NAS/disk/tape CommVault base backup environment resulting in decreasing backup windows and improving recovery objectives.
  • Conduct risk assessments and collaborate with leadership to provide recommendations regarding critical infrastructure and network security operations enhancements.
  • Coordinate penetration testing, address vulnerabilities, and analyze NIST 800-82 and ISO 27001 standards/gap analysis for SCADA and business networks.
  • Show more

Cyber security engineer vs information security manager skills

Common cyber security engineer skills
  • Cyber Security, 17%
  • Python, 5%
  • Linux, 4%
  • Architecture, 4%
  • NIST, 4%
  • Incident Response, 4%
Common information security manager skills
  • Risk Management, 7%
  • NIST, 7%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Governance, 5%
  • Incident Response, 5%
  • Risk Assessments, 5%

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