Physical security engineer vs senior security analyst

The differences between physical security engineers and senior security analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a physical security engineer and a senior security analyst. Additionally, a senior security analyst has an average salary of $103,571, which is higher than the $84,784 average annual salary of a physical security engineer.

The top three skills for a physical security engineer include CCTV, security design and video surveillance systems. The most important skills for a senior security analyst are NIST, incident response, and cloud security.

Physical security engineer vs senior security analyst overview

	Physical Security Engineer	Senior Security Analyst
Yearly salary	$84,784	$103,571
Hourly rate	$40.76	$49.79
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	118,927	61,108
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

Physical security engineer vs senior security analyst salary

Physical security engineers and senior security analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Physical Security Engineer	Senior Security Analyst
Average salary	$84,784	$103,571
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $118,000	Between $79,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Coinbase
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between physical security engineer and senior security analyst education

There are a few differences between a physical security engineer and a senior security analyst in terms of educational background:

	Physical Security Engineer	Senior Security Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Stanford University

Physical security engineer vs senior security analyst demographics

Here are the differences between physical security engineers' and senior security analysts' demographics:

	Physical Security Engineer	Senior Security Analyst
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%
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 physical security engineer and senior security analyst duties and responsibilities

Physical security engineer example responsibilities.

Coordinate and manage the installations of security systems with the USAO, GSA, and security installer.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Implement PKI procedures for entire division.
Create ETL processes for importing access data into SQL databases via SSIS and SQL store procedures.
Create access risk metrics and reports using SQL server reporting that goes up to a management committee.
Participate in project meetings and conference calls with facilities groups, USAO personnel, GSA, general contractors and subcontractors.

Senior security analyst example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage information security assets associate with DISA STIGS and HBSS.
Utilize Unix utilities and management packages to analyze and manage traffic flow in the corporate backbone.
Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Introduce dashboards to identify preemptive attacks on corporate perimeter using intrusion detection and web application firewall technologies.
Evaluate DoD security tools; determine compatibility issues with existing network configuration/infrastructure, and present conclusions to management.
Contribute in defining time tables and SIEM project plans.

Physical security engineer vs senior security analyst skills

Common physical security engineer skills

CCTV, 36%
Security Design, 25%
Video Surveillance Systems, 23%
Scheme, 5%
Control Systems, 5%
Card Readers, 4%

Common senior security analyst skills

NIST, 7%
Incident Response, 5%
Cloud Security, 4%
Encryption, 4%
Firewall, 4%
Switches, 4%

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Physical Security Engineer vs Senior Security Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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