Information security manager vs senior security consultant

The differences between information security managers and senior security consultants 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 manager and a senior security consultant. Additionally, an information security manager has an average salary of $126,447, which is higher than the $120,769 average annual salary of a senior security consultant.

The top three skills for an information security manager include risk management, NIST and infrastructure. The most important skills for a senior security consultant are cloud security, infrastructure, and governance.

Information security manager vs senior security consultant overview

	Information Security Manager	Senior Security Consultant
Yearly salary	$126,447	$120,769
Hourly rate	$60.79	$58.06
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	115,414	66,226
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does an information security manager do?

An information security manager is primarily in charge of overseeing the security systems established to protect a company's data from hackers or cyber-attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around monitoring networks for any security breaches, designing and developing new security systems, and improving existing ones when necessary. They may also perform research and analysis to determine company needs, provide instructional materials, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, as an information security manager, it is essential to provide technical support to employees, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

What does a senior security consultant do?

A senior security consultant is an information technology (IT) expert specializing in establishing security protocols and systems to protect a company's data and network. Their responsibilities revolve around performing internal research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current IT security systems, recommending solutions to problem areas, and suggesting new tools and techniques to improve data security. Furthermore, as a senior security consultant, it is essential to monitor the company's systems and networks and promptly respond to any breaches, conducting corrective and preventive measures to prevent it from ever happening again.

Information security manager vs senior security consultant salary

Information security managers and senior security consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Information Security Manager	Senior Security Consultant
Average salary	$126,447	$120,769
Salary range	Between $91,000 And $175,000	Between $91,000 And $159,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	California	Nevada
Best paying company	eBay	Amazon
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between information security manager and senior security consultant education

There are a few differences between an information security manager and a senior security consultant in terms of educational background:

	Information Security Manager	Senior Security Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Information security manager vs senior security consultant demographics

Here are the differences between information security managers' and senior security consultants' demographics:

	Information Security Manager	Senior Security Consultant
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2%	Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9%
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 information security manager and senior security consultant duties and responsibilities

Information security manager example responsibilities.

Develop goals and strategies to achieve company goals while improving upon current ITIL processes and procedures.
Provide direct leadership with managing corporate HIPAA Privacy/Security compliance initiatives.
Manage the administration of various encryption, authentication and public/private key management technologies and certificate/digital authority.
Manage the conversion to a hybrid NAS/disk/tape CommVault base backup environment resulting in decreasing backup windows and improving recovery objectives.
Conduct risk assessments and collaborate with leadership to provide recommendations regarding critical infrastructure and network security operations enhancements.
Coordinate penetration testing, address vulnerabilities, and analyze NIST 800-82 and ISO 27001 standards/gap analysis for SCADA and business networks.

Senior security consultant example responsibilities.

Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Work alongside the QA department to ensure all documents are concise and well written in order to meet ISO's standards.
Monitor company s internal logs and traffic via Splunk to proactively investigate suspicious traffic and determine if the anomalies are malicious.
Perform email and file encryption transition for global financial/insurance company.
Assist organizations with creation of their management systems and registration to international (ISO) security and service management standards.
Provide technical leadership, task management, and engineering support to customers in the development of cryptography and key management solutions.

Information security manager vs senior security consultant skills

Common information security manager skills

Risk Management, 7%
NIST, 7%
Infrastructure, 5%
Governance, 5%
Incident Response, 5%
Risk Assessments, 5%

Common senior security consultant skills

Cloud Security, 9%
Infrastructure, 7%
Governance, 5%
Java, 5%
Risk Management, 5%
Access Management, 4%

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Information Security Manager vs Senior Security Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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