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The differences between security specialists and security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a security specialist has an average salary of $49,892, which is higher than the $31,101 average annual salary of a security officer.
The top three skills for a security specialist include ladders, security incidents and physical security. The most important skills for a security officer are customer service, ladders, and patrol.
| Security Specialist | Security Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $49,892 | $31,101 |
| Hourly rate | $23.99 | $14.95 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 96,226 | 125,879 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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 officer is responsible for maintaining the peace and safety of everyone by regularly patrolling and monitoring surveillance equipment within the assigned premises. Security officers' duties also include reporting suspicious behaviors, restricting trespassers and unauthorized personnel from entering the establishment, providing incident reports for policy violations, and adhering to the standard protocols and legal requirements set by the management. Security offers must also have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of emergency drills in case any unfortunate circumstances arise.
Security specialists and security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Security Specialist | Security Officer | |
| Average salary | $49,892 | $31,101 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $98,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Okta | Battelle |
| Best paying industry | - | Utilities |
There are a few differences between a security specialist and a security officer in terms of educational background:
| Security Specialist | Security Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between security specialists' and security officers' demographics:
| Security Specialist | Security Officer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.0% Female, 26.0% | Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4% |
| 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, 12.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |