Data security analyst vs senior security analyst

The differences between data security analysts and senior security analysts 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 senior security analyst. Additionally, a senior security analyst has an average salary of $103,571, 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 senior security analyst are NIST, incident response, and cloud security.

Data security analyst vs senior security analyst overview

	Data Security Analyst	Senior Security Analyst
Yearly salary	$87,446	$103,571
Hourly rate	$42.04	$49.79
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	145,078	61,108
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
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 senior security analyst do?

A senior security analyst is a digital professional who creates and implements firewalls and software systems to protect data and prevent attacks on private data. Senior security analysts aim to identify weaknesses in a network's security system and prevent breaches from occurring. Within larger organizations, senior security analysts are required to work with professionals who specialize in networking, information technology (IT), and computer system. They must also design security protocols and systems to better protect their customers and user data.

Data security analyst vs senior security analyst salary

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

	Data Security Analyst	Senior Security Analyst
Average salary	$87,446	$103,571
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $120,000	Between $79,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	Fairfield, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Coinbase
Best paying industry	Start-up	Government

Differences between data security analyst and senior security analyst education

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

	Data Security Analyst	Senior Security Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Data security analyst vs senior security analyst demographics

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

	Data Security Analyst	Senior Security Analyst
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0%	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%
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, 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 senior security analyst 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.

Senior security analyst example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage information security assets associate with DISA STIGS and HBSS.
Utilize Unix utilities and management packages to analyze and manage traffic flow in the corporate backbone.
Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Introduce dashboards to identify preemptive attacks on corporate perimeter using intrusion detection and web application firewall technologies.
Evaluate DoD security tools; determine compatibility issues with existing network configuration/infrastructure, and present conclusions to management.
Contribute in defining time tables and SIEM project plans.

Data security analyst vs senior security analyst skills

Common data security analyst skills

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

Common senior security analyst skills

NIST, 7%
Incident Response, 5%
Cloud Security, 4%
Encryption, 4%
Firewall, 4%
Switches, 4%

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Data Security Analyst vs Senior Security Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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