Data security analyst vs security engineer

The differences between data security analysts and security engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a data security analyst and a security engineer. Additionally, a security engineer has an average salary of $104,524, which is higher than the $87,446 average annual salary of a data security analyst.

The top three skills for a data security analyst include data security, incident response and access management. The most important skills for a security engineer are java, cloud security, and infrastructure.

Data security analyst vs security engineer overview

	Data Security Analyst	Security Engineer
Yearly salary	$87,446	$104,524
Hourly rate	$42.04	$50.25
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	145,078	86,093
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a data security analyst do?

A data security analyst's job is to protect computer systems and networks in a company. They are often the solitary individuals standing between a company's networks and potential hackers, and their abilities are highly in demand at this moment. The job role includes installing and uninstalling various security network programs, and these programs safeguard sensitive data by using firewalls with the use of data-encryption technology. In addition, they also help to implement security protocols depending on the need of the company, and they must be updated regularly to remove bugs and add new features.

What does a security engineer do?

Security engineers are responsible for developing and overseeing data and security software to help prevent data breaches, leaks, and taps related to cybercrime. Other duties and responsibilities include developing new systems to help protect computer networks and assets, configuring firewalls, and conducting penetration testing to pinpoint vulnerabilities. Additionally, security engineers are responsible for investigating attacks and help prevent cybersecurity threat. They are also responsible for creating new processes for authorization, encryption algorithms, and authentication, and analyzing current security policies.

Data security analyst vs security engineer salary

Data security analysts and security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Data Security Analyst	Security Engineer
Average salary	$87,446	$104,524
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $120,000	Between $77,000 And $141,000
Highest paying City	Fairfield, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	ICE Mortgage Technology
Best paying industry	Start-up	Technology

Differences between data security analyst and security engineer education

There are a few differences between a data security analyst and a security engineer in terms of educational background:

	Data Security Analyst	Security Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Data security analyst vs security engineer demographics

Here are the differences between data security analysts' and security engineers' demographics:

	Data Security Analyst	Security Engineer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0%	Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6%
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, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between data security analyst and security engineer duties and responsibilities

Data security analyst example responsibilities.

Provide support for manage IP security services customers in a 24x7 UNIX operations center.
Manage quality control team of senior auditors, budgets, HIPAA compliance reports to CMS, monthly audit tracking/reporting.
Provide architecture and design guidance in network segmentation and isolation of PCI data and equipment in order to achieve PCI compliance.
Manage centralized and decentralize correlation servers for intrusion detection and log monitoring.
Log analysis & managing the accuracy of DLP identification to lowering/avoiding false positives and negatives.
Conduct system testing and implementation of the mainframe encryption.

Security engineer example responsibilities.

Provide SME level support in a manage PKI environment.
Achieve authority-to-operate (ATO) status ahead of schedule.
Hardened/Tune a manage fleet of Cisco ASA and IPS security appliances.
Create custom scripts using ruby and proprietary gems to automate testing and reporting.
Manage CND tools team standup of multiple ArcSight logger and connector appliances according to DISA STIG requirements.
Manage vendor relations for VPN connectivity.

Data security analyst vs security engineer skills

Common data security analyst skills

Data Security, 10%
Incident Response, 8%
Access Management, 6%
Encryption, 5%
SQL, 5%
Security Procedures, 4%

Common security engineer skills

Java, 9%
Cloud Security, 8%
Infrastructure, 8%
Application Security, 4%
Incident Response, 4%
Windows, 4%

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Data Security Analyst vs Security Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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