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The differences between cyber security specialists and analysts 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 specialist, becoming an analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a cyber security specialist has an average salary of $93,395, which is higher than the $73,007 average annual salary of an analyst.
The top three skills for a cyber security specialist include cyber security, incident response and NIST. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Cyber Security Specialist | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $93,395 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $44.90 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 65,235 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Cybersecurity Specialists are information technology (IT) professionals who safeguard and protect the company's networks. They ensure that the network infrastructure is secure at all times. They do routine checks to see whether the infrastructure is vulnerable to attacks. Cybersecurity Specialists monitor and respond to security concerns. They launch programs or software to mitigate any attacks that the company's infrastructure may receive. They also look for ways to minimize the network infrastructure's vulnerability to risks, threats, and attacks.
Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.
Cyber security specialists and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cyber Security Specialist | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $93,395 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $125,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | BP America Inc | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a cyber security specialist and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Cyber Security Specialist | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | North Carolina State University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between cyber security specialists' and analysts' demographics:
| Cyber Security Specialist | Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| 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, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 12% |