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The differences between operational security specialists and security engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a security engineer has an average salary of $104,524, which is higher than the $42,159 average annual salary of an operational security specialist.
The top three skills for an operational security specialist include customer service, security operations and patrol. The most important skills for a security engineer are java, cloud security, and infrastructure.
| Operational Security Specialist | Security Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $42,159 | $104,524 |
| Hourly rate | $20.27 | $50.25 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 87,810 | 86,093 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
An operational security specialist performs administrative and clerical duties. You will be responsible for creating, implementing, and managing a security awareness program to address security issues. Other duties include providing support on security clearance and management, ensuring that test participants and visitors have security clearance integrity, and providing recommendations on critical security policy decisions. In addition, an operational security specialist is responsible for analyzing vulnerabilities and threats to the system and operational environments and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and security procedures.
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.
Operational security specialists and security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operational Security Specialist | Security Engineer | |
| Average salary | $42,159 | $104,524 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $65,000 | Between $77,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | U.S. Bank | ICE Mortgage Technology |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an operational security specialist and a security engineer in terms of educational background:
| Operational Security Specialist | Security Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between operational security specialists' and security engineers' demographics:
| Operational Security Specialist | Security Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | 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 | 6% | 9% |