Information is an extremely valuable company asset. With the rise of cybersecurity attacks over the years, it only makes sense for companies to minimize their risk by hiring qualified senior information security consultants-either on a regular basis or as needed.
Like many other types of consultants, a senior information security consultant provides valuable guidance and valuable advice that help organizations reach their goals. This particular role focuses on information security, specifically the protection of company data and other IT assets.
A senior information security consultant is a highly-experienced and highly-skilled consultant that works with companies to ensure the security of their data. Their responsibilities include conducting information security assessments, ensuring implementation of information security programs, working with companies to improve security policies, and providing guidance when it comes to security management systems.
Many senior information security consultants hold master's degrees in business, information technology, computer science, and other similar fields. While many companies prefer master's degree holders, a candidate with a bachelor's degree may still be qualified. On top of tertiary education, most employers also require at least three or five years of experience in a leadership role.
Considering the heavy responsibilities that this position holds, the average annual salary of $111,000 for a senior information security consultant does not come as a surprise.
What is a Senior Information Security Consultant?
What Does a Senior Information Security Consultant Do
There are certain skills that many senior information security consultants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, detail oriented and ingenuity.
How To Become a Senior Information Security Consultant
If you're interested in becoming a senior information security consultant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 67.3% of senior information security consultants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.3% of senior information security consultants have master's degrees. Even though most senior information security consultants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Senior Information Security Consultant Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of information security manager you might progress to a role such as information technology security manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of infrastructure operations.
Average Salary for a Senior Information Security Consultant
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Senior Information Security Consultants
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Top Skills For a Senior Information Security Consultant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.0% of senior information security consultants listed information technology on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and detail oriented are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Information Security Consultant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Senior Information Security Consultant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Senior Information Security Consultant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Senior Information Security Consultant Demographics
Senior Information Security Consultant Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among senior information security consultants, 16.9% of them are women, while 83.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among senior information security consultants is White, which makes up 72.6% of all senior information security consultants.
- The most common foreign language among senior information security consultants is Spanish at 33.3%.
Online Courses For Senior Information Security Consultant That You May Like
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Best States For a Senior Information Security Consultant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior information security consultant. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Utah, Maryland, and Oregon. Senior information security consultants make the most in Washington with an average salary of $127,571. Whereas in Utah and Maryland, they would average $120,461 and $119,302, respectively. While senior information security consultants would only make an average of $115,808 in Oregon, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$127,571
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$115,808
Avg. Salary
3. Nevada
$113,884
Avg. Salary
How Do Senior Information Security Consultant Rate Their Jobs?
Top Senior Information Security Consultant Employers
Most Common Employers For Senior Information Security Consultant
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernst & Young | $124,842 | $60.02 | 5 |
| 2 | FireEye | $118,740 | $57.09 | 5 |
| 3 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | $112,430 | $54.05 | 4 |
| 4 | Halliburton | $111,346 | $53.53 | 2 |
| 5 | True North Holdings | $111,111 | $53.42 | 2 |
| 6 | SBS CyberSecurity | $108,692 | $52.26 | 3 |
| 7 | Freddie Mac | $107,158 | $51.52 | 2 |
| 8 | TurboCAD | $107,106 | $51.49 | 2 |
| 9 | Mandiant | $106,957 | $51.42 | 7 |
| 10 | Protiviti | $105,850 | $50.89 | 4 |