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The differences between information security directors 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 an information security director and a security engineer. Additionally, an information security director has an average salary of $141,813, which is higher than the $104,524 average annual salary of a security engineer.
The top three skills for an information security director include cloud security, risk management and incident response. The most important skills for a security engineer are java, cloud security, and infrastructure.
| Information Security Director | Security Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $141,813 | $104,524 |
| Hourly rate | $68.18 | $50.25 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 109,450 | 86,093 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An information security director is an executive professional who is responsible for implementing, designing, managing, and allocating all the security measures using technology in an organization. Information security directors are required to observe security vulnerabilities and threats as well as develop strategies to handle security incidents. They must participate in the deployment of security technologies and implement security policies and procedures. Information security directors must also implement education programs on user awareness and security compliance.
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.
Information security directors and security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Information Security Director | Security Engineer | |
| Average salary | $141,813 | $104,524 |
| Salary range | Between $99,000 And $201,000 | Between $77,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Chegg | ICE Mortgage Technology |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Technology |
There are a few differences between an information security director and a security engineer in terms of educational background:
| Information Security Director | Security Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between information security directors' and security engineers' demographics:
| Information Security Director | Security Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9% | 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% |