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The differences between security specialists and cyber security engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cyber security engineer has an average salary of $99,492, which is higher than the $49,892 average annual salary of a security specialist.
The top three skills for a security specialist include ladders, security incidents and physical security. The most important skills for a cyber security engineer are cyber security, python, and linux.
| Security Specialist | Cyber Security Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $49,892 | $99,492 |
| Hourly rate | $23.99 | $47.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 96,226 | 73,419 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A security specialist is responsible for maintaining the security of an organization's database, ensuring that it's free from cyber threats and unusual activities. Security specialists' duties include upgrading hardware and software applications, configuring networks to improve optimization, addressing any unauthorized access on the database, troubleshooting system discrepancies, conducting security audits on the system, and improving automated processes. A security specialist must have a strong command of programming languages and system codes, as well as broad experience with technical expertise.
A cyber security engineer specializes in designing and establishing security measures to protect a company's network and data from hackers or cyber attacks. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around planning and implementing cyber security systems, responding to any problems or concerns, handling security breaches and emergencies, and troubleshooting to identify any issues or vulnerabilities. Moreover, a cyber security engineer may perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and documentation, creating instructional materials for systems, managing schedules, and coordinating with department managers, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Security specialists and cyber security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Specialist | Cyber Security Engineer | |
| Average salary | $49,892 | $99,492 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $98,000 | Between $75,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Okta | Dotdash |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a security specialist and a cyber security engineer in terms of educational background:
| Security Specialist | Cyber Security Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between security specialists' and cyber security engineers' demographics:
| Security Specialist | Cyber Security Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.0% Female, 26.0% | Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 5.8% White, 54.6% 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% |