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The differences between security engineers 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 security engineer and an information security engineer. Additionally, a security engineer has an average salary of $104,524, which is higher than the $97,288 average annual salary of an information security engineer.
The top three skills for a security engineer include java, cloud security and infrastructure. The most important skills for an information security engineer are infrastructure, incident response, and security tools.
| Security Engineer | Information Security Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,524 | $97,288 |
| Hourly rate | $50.25 | $46.77 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 86,093 | 120,257 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
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.
Security engineers and information security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Engineer | Information Security Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,524 | $97,288 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $141,000 | Between $73,000 And $129,000 |
| 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 | Technology |
There are a few differences between a security engineer and an information security engineer in terms of educational background:
| Security Engineer | Information Security Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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 information security engineers' demographics:
| Security Engineer | Information Security Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | 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% |