Information security officer vs senior security consultant

The differences between information security officers 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 officer and a senior security consultant. Additionally, an information security officer has an average salary of $135,040, which is higher than the $120,769 average annual salary of a senior security consultant.

The top three skills for an information security officer include risk management, risk assessments and incident response. The most important skills for a senior security consultant are cloud security, infrastructure, and governance.

Information security officer vs senior security consultant overview

	Information Security Officer	Senior Security Consultant
Yearly salary	$135,040	$120,769
Hourly rate	$64.92	$58.06
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	145,907	66,226
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does an information security officer do?

Information security officers are responsible for planning and implementing policies to safeguard an organization's computer network and data from different types of security breaches. Their duties typically include identifying computer network vulnerabilities, developing and executing a plan to secure and protect the network, and tracking computer network usage to ensure adherence to security policies. In addition, information security officers are also expected to conduct penetration tests to look for flaws and work closely with the IT and management departments to improve security.

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 officer vs senior security consultant salary

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

	Information Security Officer	Senior Security Consultant
Average salary	$135,040	$120,769
Salary range	Between $95,000 And $190,000	Between $91,000 And $159,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	California	Nevada
Best paying company	Twilio	Amazon
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between information security officer and senior security consultant education

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

	Information Security Officer	Senior Security Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Information security officer vs senior security consultant demographics

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

	Information Security Officer	Senior Security Consultant
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1%	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 officer and senior security consultant duties and responsibilities

Information security officer example responsibilities.

Lead vulnerability scanning and penetration testing for PCI-DSS compliance.
Manage client relationships in conjunction with moving production environment to AWS.
Manage all printers, switches, routers, and data archiving.
Manage and ensure all AIS systems are operated in accordance with applicable DoD directives.
Avoid fines and penalties by achieving and maintaining PCI, HIPAA, and SOX compliance.
Engage to design and implement an enterprise-wide information security program to achieve SOX and HIPPA compliance.

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 officer vs senior security consultant skills

Common information security officer skills

Risk Management, 12%
Risk Assessments, 7%
Incident Response, 7%
Infrastructure, 6%
Governance, 5%
ISO, 5%

Common senior security consultant skills

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

Information Security Officer vs. similar jobs

Information Security Officer related careers

Information Security Officer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Information Security Officer
Information Security Officer vs Senior Security Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs