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Senior information security consultant vs information security officer

The differences between senior information security consultants and information security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior information security consultant and an information security officer. Additionally, an information security officer has an average salary of $135,040, which is higher than the $106,150 average annual salary of a senior information security consultant.

The top three skills for a senior information security consultant include risk assessments, risk management and cloud security. The most important skills for an information security officer are risk management, risk assessments, and incident response.

Senior information security consultant vs information security officer overview

Senior Information Security ConsultantInformation Security Officer
Yearly salary$106,150$135,040
Hourly rate$51.03$64.92
Growth rate32%32%
Number of jobs115,978145,907
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4242
Years of experience66

What does a senior information security consultant do?

A senior information security consultant manages and executes consultancy tasks in information compliance and security areas like privacy regulation, cybersecurity, cloud security, and software quality. They manage and conduct assessments depending on specific frameworks and lead teams during client projects. These professionals support organizations in implementing information security management systems as per the ISO standards. Also, senior information security consultants, coach medium consultants, and junior consultants on service offering and knowledge development. Also, they promote services and knowledge offerings.

What does an information security officer do?

Information security officers are responsible for planning and implementing policies to safeguard an organization's computer network and data from different types of security breaches. Their duties typically include identifying computer network vulnerabilities, developing and executing a plan to secure and protect the network, and tracking computer network usage to ensure adherence to security policies. In addition, information security officers are also expected to conduct penetration tests to look for flaws and work closely with the IT and management departments to improve security.

Senior information security consultant vs information security officer salary

Senior information security consultants and information security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Information Security ConsultantInformation Security Officer
Average salary$106,150$135,040
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $141,000Between $95,000 And $190,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyRingCentralTwilio
Best paying industryTelecommunicationProfessional

Differences between senior information security consultant and information security officer education

There are a few differences between a senior information security consultant and an information security officer in terms of educational background:

Senior Information Security ConsultantInformation Security Officer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Senior information security consultant vs information security officer demographics

Here are the differences between senior information security consultants' and information security officers' demographics:

Senior Information Security ConsultantInformation Security Officer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 83.1% Female, 16.9%Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage9%9%

Differences between senior information security consultant and information security officer duties and responsibilities

Senior information security consultant example responsibilities.

  • Audit and recommend controls to mitigate risks and achieve compliance with SOX and GLBA regulations.
  • Manage the conversion to a hybrid NAS/disk/tape CommVault base backup environment resulting in decreasing backup windows and improving recovery objectives.
  • Utilize standard frameworks & guidelines such as ISO27001, OUM, NIST, ASD, PSR and NZISM.
  • Develop Cisco firewall policy and maintenance plans.
  • Organize NIST 800-53A lifecycle security activities: information categorization, audit, inventory and configuration management support.
  • Assume primary operational responsibility for Symantec DLP implementation
  • Show more

Information security officer example responsibilities.

  • Lead vulnerability scanning and penetration testing for PCI-DSS compliance.
  • Manage client relationships in conjunction with moving production environment to AWS.
  • Manage all printers, switches, routers, and data archiving.
  • Manage and ensure all AIS systems are operated in accordance with applicable DoD directives.
  • Avoid fines and penalties by achieving and maintaining PCI, HIPAA, and SOX compliance.
  • Engage to design and implement an enterprise-wide information security program to achieve SOX and HIPPA compliance.
  • Show more

Senior information security consultant vs information security officer skills

Common senior information security consultant skills
  • Risk Assessments, 10%
  • Risk Management, 9%
  • Cloud Security, 7%
  • NIST, 6%
  • Security Assessments, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
Common information security officer skills
  • Risk Management, 12%
  • Risk Assessments, 7%
  • Incident Response, 7%
  • Infrastructure, 6%
  • Governance, 5%
  • ISO, 5%

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