Defense analyst vs information systems security officer

The differences between defense analysts and information systems security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a defense analyst and an information systems security officer. Additionally, an information systems security officer has an average salary of $90,730, which is higher than the $86,453 average annual salary of a defense analyst.

The top three skills for a defense analyst include incident response, DOD and windows. The most important skills for an information systems security officer are RMF, DOD, and ISSO.

Defense analyst vs information systems security officer overview

	Defense Analyst	Information Systems Security Officer
Yearly salary	$86,453	$90,730
Hourly rate	$41.56	$43.62
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	24,879	202,299
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a defense analyst do?

A defense analyst specializes in developing programs and policies about national security and safety. They usually work for the military, government agencies, private firms, and even the Department of Defense. Their responsibilities focus on conducting extensive research, analyzing military procedures and operations, assessing threats, identifying potential risks, and studying the current laws and policies, recommending solutions to optimize processes, solve issues, or prevent problems. Moreover, through their research, a defense analyst develops conclusions that will help offices in making decisions.

What does an information systems security officer do?

An information systems security officer's role is to perform preventive measures to protect a company's data and systems from hackers or cyber-attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the existing security measures to identify any vulnerabilities or inconsistencies, recommending and implementing changes to improve security systems, and developing new strategies and programs for data protection. There are also instances when an information systems security officer must manage and maintain information in databases, train new employees, and create new security policies, all while adhering to the company's vision and mission.

Defense analyst vs information systems security officer salary

Defense analysts and information systems security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Defense Analyst	Information Systems Security Officer
Average salary	$86,453	$90,730
Salary range	Between $65,000 And $114,000	Between $68,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	-	Palmdale, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Parsons
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between defense analyst and information systems security officer education

There are a few differences between a defense analyst and an information systems security officer in terms of educational background:

	Defense Analyst	Information Systems Security Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Business	Computer Information Systems
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Defense analyst vs information systems security officer demographics

Here are the differences between defense analysts' and information systems security officers' demographics:

	Defense Analyst	Information Systems Security Officer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8%	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%
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 defense analyst and information systems security officer duties and responsibilities

Defense analyst example responsibilities.

Program and troubleshoot system micro controllers, card readers, alarm inputs/outputs, and manage device IP communication.
Utilize Wireshark to perform in depth intrusion analysis from packet capture (PCAP) files.
Conduct INFOCON assessments and collaborate with clients to provide recommendations regarding network security operations on DoD systems.
Review SourceFire events and perform analysis on events.
Use Wireshark, a network protocol analyzer to conduct deep TCP and UDP packet analysis of all network events.
Conduct firewall research and intrusion detection and determine false positives.

Information systems security officer example responsibilities.

Manage a $1 million civilian contract; ISSO for 4 separate networks , 9K users, and 8K systems.
Lead implementation for new DAR solution for global disk encryption, developing management policy to prevent document and data leakage.
Manage logistics of moving necessary equipment for test across country to newly designed/built NSA certify test facility.
Track and report risk identify in the vulnerability scans to the IAM.
Perform user account administration, media control, implementation and enforcement of DoD computer security plans/policies/procedures/directives, and system security training.
Install DISA security patches on UNIX servers.

Defense analyst vs information systems security officer skills

Common defense analyst skills

Incident Response, 14%
DOD, 9%
Windows, 6%
Tcp Ip, 5%
Network Security, 5%
Network Traffic, 4%

Common information systems security officer skills

RMF, 9%
DOD, 8%
ISSO, 7%
Windows, 5%
Security Posture, 5%
SCI, 4%

Defense Analyst vs. similar jobs

Defense Analyst related careers

Defense Analyst related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Defense Analyst
Defense Analyst vs Information Systems Security Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs