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The differences between security engineers and devops engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a security engineer, becoming a devops engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a security engineer has an average salary of $104,524, which is higher than the $104,019 average annual salary of a devops engineer.
The top three skills for a security engineer include java, cloud security and infrastructure. The most important skills for a devops engineer are python, docker, and java.
| Security Engineer | Devops Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,524 | $104,019 |
| Hourly rate | $50.25 | $50.01 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 86,093 | 257,025 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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.
DevOps engineers are practitioners of DevOps, a software development strategy that aims to bridge the gap between computer software development and information technology (IT) operations. They work closely with computer software developers and other IT staff to manage code deployments and releases. Their duties include overseeing the IT infrastructure supporting software code in different environments, choosing a suitable deployment model, and directing testing protocol needed to validate releases. Other tasks they may likely perform include preparing test data, analyzing results, and troubleshooting issues and problems.
Security engineers and devops engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Engineer | Devops Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,524 | $104,019 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $141,000 | Between $80,000 And $135,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ICE Mortgage Technology | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a security engineer and a devops engineer in terms of educational background:
| Security Engineer | Devops Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between security engineers' and devops engineers' demographics:
| Security Engineer | Devops Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% |
| 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, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |