Senior security analyst vs cyber security analyst

The differences between senior security analysts and cyber security analysts 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 security analyst and a cyber security analyst. Additionally, a senior security analyst has an average salary of $103,571, which is higher than the $88,422 average annual salary of a cyber security analyst.

The top three skills for a senior security analyst include NIST, incident response and cloud security. The most important skills for a cyber security analyst are incident response, windows, and SIEM.

Senior security analyst vs cyber security analyst overview

	Senior Security Analyst	Cyber Security Analyst
Yearly salary	$103,571	$88,422
Hourly rate	$49.79	$42.51
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	61,108	64,387
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a senior security analyst do?

A senior security analyst is a digital professional who creates and implements firewalls and software systems to protect data and prevent attacks on private data. Senior security analysts aim to identify weaknesses in a network's security system and prevent breaches from occurring. Within larger organizations, senior security analysts are required to work with professionals who specialize in networking, information technology (IT), and computer system. They must also design security protocols and systems to better protect their customers and user data.

What does a cyber security analyst do?

A cybersecurity analyst is responsible for planning and carrying out security measures to protect a company's computer networks and systems. They constantly keep tabs on threats and monitor their organization's networks for any security breaches. Their tasks involve installing computer programs or software and encryption, reporting breaches or weak spots, exploring new IT trends, educating the company's information security team on security. They also do simulate security attacks to find possible network and system vulnerabilities.

Senior security analyst vs cyber security analyst salary

Senior security analysts and cyber security analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Security Analyst	Cyber Security Analyst
Average salary	$103,571	$88,422
Salary range	Between $79,000 And $135,000	Between $66,000 And $117,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	Coinbase	Neighborly
Best paying industry	Government	Automotive

Differences between senior security analyst and cyber security analyst education

There are a few differences between a senior security analyst and a cyber security analyst in terms of educational background:

	Senior Security Analyst	Cyber Security Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Business	Computer Information Systems
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Bakersfield

Senior security analyst vs cyber security analyst demographics

Here are the differences between senior security analysts' and cyber security analysts' demographics:

	Senior Security Analyst	Cyber Security Analyst
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%	Male, 78.5% Female, 21.5%
Race ratio	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%	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	9%	9%

Differences between senior security analyst and cyber security analyst duties and responsibilities

Senior security analyst example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage information security assets associate with DISA STIGS and HBSS.
Utilize Unix utilities and management packages to analyze and manage traffic flow in the corporate backbone.
Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Introduce dashboards to identify preemptive attacks on corporate perimeter using intrusion detection and web application firewall technologies.
Evaluate DoD security tools; determine compatibility issues with existing network configuration/infrastructure, and present conclusions to management.
Contribute in defining time tables and SIEM project plans.

Cyber security analyst example responsibilities.

Ensure all requirements are met to successfully achieve an ATO before release.
Leverage this same site-to-site VPN technology to automate and secure transactions between FMC and its business partners.
Lead technical implementation through multiple projects to reduce the cardholder data environment and ultimately reduce the scope of PCI relate environments.
Log analysis & managing the accuracy of DLP identification to lowering/avoiding false positives and negatives.
Review and manage the security and information assurance capabilities of database applications, database structure and architecture.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.

Senior security analyst vs cyber security analyst skills

Common senior security analyst skills

NIST, 7%
Incident Response, 5%
Cloud Security, 4%
Encryption, 4%
Firewall, 4%
Switches, 4%

Common cyber security analyst skills

Incident Response, 8%
Windows, 6%
SIEM, 5%
DOD, 5%
Linux, 4%
Security Events, 4%

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Senior Security Analyst vs Cyber Security Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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