Manager, information assurance vs information security engineer

The differences between managers, information assurance and information 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 a manager, information assurance and an information security engineer. Additionally, a manager, information assurance has an average salary of $117,785, which is higher than the $97,288 average annual salary of an information security engineer.

The top three skills for a manager, information assurance include risk assessments, IAM and DOD. The most important skills for an information security engineer are infrastructure, incident response, and security tools.

Manager, information assurance vs information security engineer overview

	Manager, Information Assurance	Information Security Engineer
Yearly salary	$117,785	$97,288
Hourly rate	$56.63	$46.77
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	89,174	120,257
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a manager, information assurance do?

Information assurance managers are mainly in charge of supervising, managing, planning, and implementing security programs and systems. They are responsible for developing new initiatives pertinent to information assurance and management in the organization. They report all compliance-related issues including monitoring the security information systems, communicating updates, and investigating security incidents. In addition, it is also part of their tasks to manage information assurance experts to measure risk factors as well as vulnerabilities and to help keep information secure which reflects user needs.

What does an information security engineer do?

An information security engineer specializes in designing and developing systems to protect company and customer data from hackers or any cyber attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to identify their needs, assess existing programs to identify any areas needing improvement, monitor network and system for any problems, and implement preventive measures for protection. Should there be any breaches, it is essential to resolve them right away and conduct an investigation to prevent it from happening again. Furthermore, it is necessary to assist employees in utilizing security systems to ensure smooth workflow.

Manager, information assurance vs information security engineer salary

Managers, information assurance and information security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Manager, Information Assurance	Information Security Engineer
Average salary	$117,785	$97,288
Salary range	Between $89,000 And $155,000	Between $73,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	California
Best paying company	Sony Pictures	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Retail	Technology

Differences between manager, information assurance and information security engineer education

There are a few differences between a manager, information assurance and an information security engineer in terms of educational background:

	Manager, Information Assurance	Information Security Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Computer Information Systems	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Manager, information assurance vs information security engineer demographics

Here are the differences between managers, information assurance' and information security engineers' demographics:

	Manager, Information Assurance	Information Security Engineer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 77.9% Female, 22.1%	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%
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 manager, information assurance and information security engineer duties and responsibilities

Manager, information assurance example responsibilities.

Manage and monitors FISMA governance for all command accreditations.
Manage the provisioning of the hardware and software for virtual servers and personal computers.
Review and manage the security and information assurance capabilities of database applications, database structure and architecture.
Configure and maintain Cisco ASA firewall in compliance with DISA STIG guidelines.
Ensure protection and detection capabilities are developed in line with organizational, DoD, and national-level security policies and architecture.
Review and tacking of all ACAS scans.

Information security engineer example responsibilities.

Lead the certification and accreditation efforts by implementing NIST 800-53 security controls in order to obtain FISMA compliance.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Ensure that security policies are properly implement using NIST guidelines and perform auditing of logs.
Conduct Java algorithm design reviews and resolve any design issues.
Automate manual queries and integration using WhiteHat API's with PERL and Java.
Update ACAS plugins weekly or when updates become available on the DISA provide website.

Manager, information assurance vs information security engineer skills

Common manager, information assurance skills

Risk Assessments, 8%
IAM, 8%
DOD, 7%
ACAS, 6%
NIST, 6%
RMF, 6%

Common information security engineer skills

Infrastructure, 7%
Incident Response, 6%
Security Tools, 5%
Network Security, 4%
SIEM, 4%
NIST, 4%

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Manager, Information Assurance vs Information Security Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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