Cyber security engineer vs security administrator

The differences between cyber security engineers and security administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a cyber security engineer, becoming a security administrator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a cyber security engineer has an average salary of $99,492, which is higher than the $79,564 average annual salary of a security administrator.

The top three skills for a cyber security engineer include cyber security, python and linux. The most important skills for a security administrator are customer service, troubleshoot, and security procedures.

Cyber security engineer vs security administrator overview

	Cyber Security Engineer	Security Administrator
Yearly salary	$99,492	$79,564
Hourly rate	$47.83	$38.25
Growth rate	32%	5%
Number of jobs	73,419	99,222
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	6	2

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 a security administrator do?

A security administrator is in charge of establishing and enforcing security measures over a company's information systems and networks. Their duties typically revolve around installing and maintaining security networks, analyzing existing systems to identify areas needing improvement, conducting regular maintenance checks and upgrades to optimize services and functions, and monitoring overall systems for any suspicious activities or breaches. Furthermore, as a security administrator, it is essential to develop information technology solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Cyber security engineer vs security administrator salary

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

	Cyber Security Engineer	Security Administrator
Average salary	$99,492	$79,564
Salary range	Between $75,000 And $131,000	Between $54,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Dotdash	Gap Inc.
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between cyber security engineer and security administrator education

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

	Cyber Security Engineer	Security Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Computer Science	Business
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	California State University - Bakersfield

Cyber security engineer vs security administrator demographics

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

	Cyber Security Engineer	Security Administrator
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between cyber security engineer and security administrator 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.

Security administrator example responsibilities.

Manage updates and creation of intranet file.
Create, manage, and maintain corporate LAN.
Manage and monitor various tools and reporting tools relating to security and encryption.
Manage all network objects: computers, users, TCP/IP resources, printers, copier.
Manage staff to implement JCL procedure modifications.
Utilize PowerShell scripts to automate system administrative tasks.

Cyber security engineer vs security administrator skills

Common cyber security engineer skills

Cyber Security, 17%
Python, 5%
Linux, 4%
Architecture, 4%
NIST, 4%
Incident Response, 4%

Common security administrator skills

Customer Service, 10%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Security Procedures, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
Security Policies, 5%
SCI, 5%

Cyber Security Engineer vs. similar jobs

Cyber Security Engineer related careers

Cyber Security Engineer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Cyber Security Engineer
Cyber Security Engineer vs Security Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs