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The differences between cyber security specialists and requirements engineers 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 a requirements engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a cyber security specialist has an average salary of $93,395, which is higher than the $87,170 average annual salary of a requirements engineer.
The top three skills for a cyber security specialist include cyber security, incident response and NIST. The most important skills for a requirements engineer are java, software development, and powerpoint.
| Cyber Security Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,395 | $87,170 |
| Hourly rate | $44.90 | $41.91 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 65,235 | 166,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| 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.
Requirements engineers are responsible for the analysis, documentation, coordination, and management of requirements regarding new software projects. They identify and understand the customer's project-specific demands and document them in a clear and binding way. Their duties and responsibilities also include preparing well-written and detailed documentation of the project and ensuring the project is designed and built within the legal parameters.
Cyber security specialists and requirements engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cyber Security Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,395 | $87,170 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $125,000 | Between $62,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | BP America Inc | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a cyber security specialist and a requirements engineer in terms of educational background:
| Cyber Security Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | North Carolina State University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between cyber security specialists' and requirements engineers' demographics:
| Cyber Security Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% | Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5% |
| 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, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |