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The differences between security specialists and security architects can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a security architect has an average salary of $128,636, 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 security architect are cloud security, architecture, and cloud.
| Security Specialist | Security Architect | |
| Yearly salary | $49,892 | $128,636 |
| Hourly rate | $23.99 | $61.84 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 96,226 | 127,619 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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 security architect specializes in designing and establishing security systems and measures to protect a company and its clients from hackers or cyber-attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around reviewing existing security systems to determine areas needing improvement, implementing upgrades, and devising strategies to identify a company's information technology needs. A security architect may also provide instructional materials to employees on utilizing the security systems, respond to inquiries and concerns, and perform maintenance tests as needed. Furthermore, should there be any incidents of breaches, it is essential to conduct a thorough investigation to prevent it from happening again.
Security specialists and security architects have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Specialist | Security Architect | |
| Average salary | $49,892 | $128,636 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $98,000 | Between $92,000 And $179,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Okta | The Knot |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a security specialist and a security architect in terms of educational background:
| Security Specialist | Security Architect | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between security specialists' and security architects' demographics:
| Security Specialist | Security Architect | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.0% Female, 26.0% | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% |
| 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% |