Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between security engineers and senior security consultants 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 a senior security consultant. Additionally, a senior security consultant has an average salary of $120,769, which is higher than the $104,524 average annual salary of a security engineer.
The top three skills for a security engineer include java, cloud security and infrastructure. The most important skills for a senior security consultant are cloud security, infrastructure, and governance.
| Security Engineer | Senior Security Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $104,524 | $120,769 |
| Hourly rate | $50.25 | $58.06 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 86,093 | 66,226 |
| 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.
A senior security consultant is an information technology (IT) expert specializing in establishing security protocols and systems to protect a company's data and network. Their responsibilities revolve around performing internal research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current IT security systems, recommending solutions to problem areas, and suggesting new tools and techniques to improve data security. Furthermore, as a senior security consultant, it is essential to monitor the company's systems and networks and promptly respond to any breaches, conducting corrective and preventive measures to prevent it from ever happening again.
Security engineers and senior security consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Engineer | Senior Security Consultant | |
| Average salary | $104,524 | $120,769 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $141,000 | Between $91,000 And $159,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | ICE Mortgage Technology | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a security engineer and a senior security consultant in terms of educational background:
| Security Engineer | Senior Security Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between security engineers' and senior security consultants' demographics:
| Security Engineer | Senior Security Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| 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% |