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The differences between cyber security engineers and specialists 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 specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a cyber security engineer has an average salary of $99,492, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for a cyber security engineer include cyber security, python and linux. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Cyber Security Engineer | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $99,492 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $47.83 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 73,419 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Cyber security engineers and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cyber Security Engineer | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $99,492 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $131,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Dotdash | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a cyber security engineer and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Cyber Security Engineer | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between cyber security engineers' and specialists' demographics:
| Cyber Security Engineer | Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |