Information security analyst vs data scientist

The differences between information security analysts and data scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an information security analyst, becoming a data scientist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a data scientist has an average salary of $106,104, which is higher than the $98,144 average annual salary of an information security analyst.

The top three skills for an information security analyst include incident response, risk assessments and windows. The most important skills for a data scientist are python, data science, and visualization.

Information security analyst vs data scientist overview

	Information Security Analyst	Data Scientist
Yearly salary	$98,144	$106,104
Hourly rate	$47.18	$51.01
Growth rate	32%	16%
Number of jobs	112,818	106,973
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	42	41
Years of experience	6	4

What does an information security analyst do?

An information security analyst is an individual who is responsible for carrying out security measures to protect the computer network and systems of an organization. Information security analysts erect firewalls and encrypt data transmissions to protect the organization's data from being inappropriately accessed or used. They must be aware of reports on computer viruses and should share this information with the management or customer. Information security analysts are also required to conduct training for all the organization's employees regarding computer security and information safeguarding.

What does a data scientist do?

A Data Scientist analyzes information from multiple sources in order to gain maximum insight that can give the company a competitive advantage. They work in different domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, and finance.

Information security analyst vs data scientist salary

Information security analysts and data scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Information Security Analyst	Data Scientist
Average salary	$98,144	$106,104
Salary range	Between $71,000 And $135,000	Between $75,000 And $148,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	The Walt Disney Company	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Professional	Start-up

Differences between information security analyst and data scientist education

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

	Information Security Analyst	Data Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Columbia University in the City of New York

Information security analyst vs data scientist demographics

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

	Information Security Analyst	Data Scientist
Average age	42	41
Gender ratio	Male, 72.9% Female, 27.1%	Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%
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, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 18.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between information security analyst and data scientist duties and responsibilities

Information security analyst example responsibilities.

Manage IA personnel in the performance of IAVM tasks.
Lead maritime IP intrusion detection analysis special project providing models to identify Cyber terrorist's capabilities, methods, and strategies.
Manage and configure perimeter Cisco routers and switches.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Perform vulnerability assessment and remediation of systems to ensure compliance to policies, regulations and controls (HIPAA & NIST).
Monitor and analyze SIEM events to identify security issues for remediation.

Data scientist example responsibilities.

Update, maintain, and manage regional CRM database and records for customers, vendors, and suppliers.
Configure and manage JobScope ERP system for a make-to-order/make-to-stock design and manufacturing environment.
Lead the analysis in SAS for data integration of mortality data using meta-analysis integration methods.
Implement a proximal stochastic gradient descent with a line search to fit a regularize logistic regression in Scala
Perform cross-validation-test on linear regression model of data using scikit-learn.
Develop python base statistical visualization to provide insights of fuzzy social media data.

Information security analyst vs data scientist skills

Common information security analyst skills

Incident Response, 7%
Risk Assessments, 5%
Windows, 5%
SIEM, 4%
Data Loss Prevention, 4%
Network Security, 3%

Common data scientist skills

Python, 13%
Data Science, 10%
Visualization, 5%
Java, 4%
Hadoop, 4%
Tableau, 3%

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Information Security Analyst vs Data Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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