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The differences between network security specialists and network support analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a network security specialist, becoming a network support analyst takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a network support analyst has an average salary of $83,921, which is higher than the $82,206 average annual salary of a network security specialist.
The top three skills for a network security specialist include network security, incident response and IDS. The most important skills for a network support analyst are troubleshoot, switches, and routers.
| Network Security Specialist | Network Support Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $82,206 | $83,921 |
| Hourly rate | $39.52 | $40.35 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 82,646 | 118,825 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A Network Security Specialist is a person who oversees computer networks to find security threats or unauthorized users. Their responsibilities include: identifying compromised machines, creating briefs of security measures taken, identifying possible security risks, determining the proper procedure to address the risks, assessing software that security aid, and researching security devices to get proper information on installation, audit-related information, and disaster recovery plans.
Network support analysts are professionals who provide technical support as well as maintain various network components for an organization's network system. These analysts are responsible for installing and configuring local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), internet systems, and other components of network systems. They are required to monitor the performance of networks and systems and align network use and access by using master consoles. Network support analysts must also organize and deploy security measures for the network so that they can safeguard software, hardware, and data.
Network security specialists and network support analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Network Security Specialist | Network Support Analyst | |
| Average salary | $82,206 | $83,921 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $112,000 | Between $54,000 And $128,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a network security specialist and a network support analyst in terms of educational background:
| Network Security Specialist | Network Support Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between network security specialists' and network support analysts' demographics:
| Network Security Specialist | Network Support Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4% | Male, 84.3% Female, 15.7% |
| 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, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |