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The differences between disaster recovery specialists and risk assessment 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 disaster recovery specialist and a risk assessment analyst. Additionally, a risk assessment analyst has an average salary of $72,270, which is higher than the $64,394 average annual salary of a disaster recovery specialist.
The top three skills for a disaster recovery specialist include grants management, infrastructure and business continuity. The most important skills for a risk assessment analyst are risk assessments, NIST, and security risk assessment.
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Risk Assessment Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $64,394 | $72,270 |
| Hourly rate | $30.96 | $34.75 |
| Growth rate | - | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 9,907 | 27,687 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A disaster recovery specialist helps businesses protect software, hardware, and data from different kinds of disasters. They are primarily in charge of creating recovery and continuity plans, helping companies run smoothly and efficiently despite issues brought by the disasters. Their duties also include performing research and analyses, obtaining data from different departments, coordinating with fellow specialists, conducting systems tests and inspections, and utilizing research findings to develop plans and recommendations. Moreover, a disaster recovery specialist may also train staff and provide technical support as necessary.
A risk assessment analyst conducts extensive assessments to identify potential operational risks and recommend strategies to prevent them, thereby avoiding financial losses and optimizing an organization's workflow. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their place or industry of employment, it usually includes coordinating with different departments to gather and analyze data, suggesting budgets and guidelines, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current operations, and implementing solutions against problem areas, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Disaster recovery specialists and risk assessment analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Risk Assessment Analyst | |
| Average salary | $64,394 | $72,270 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $97,000 | Between $52,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | Maine |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a disaster recovery specialist and a risk assessment analyst in terms of educational background:
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Risk Assessment Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between disaster recovery specialists' and risk assessment analysts' demographics:
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Risk Assessment Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.9% Female, 35.1% | Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |