Senior security analyst vs information security engineer

The differences between senior security analysts and information security engineers 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 an information security engineer. Additionally, a senior security analyst has an average salary of $103,571, which is higher than the $97,288 average annual salary of an information security engineer.

The top three skills for a senior security analyst include NIST, incident response and cloud security. The most important skills for an information security engineer are infrastructure, incident response, and security tools.

Senior security analyst vs information security engineer overview

	Senior Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Yearly salary	$103,571	$97,288
Hourly rate	$49.79	$46.77
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	61,108	120,257
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
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 an information security engineer do?

An information security engineer specializes in designing and developing systems to protect company and customer data from hackers or any cyber attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to identify their needs, assess existing programs to identify any areas needing improvement, monitor network and system for any problems, and implement preventive measures for protection. Should there be any breaches, it is essential to resolve them right away and conduct an investigation to prevent it from happening again. Furthermore, it is necessary to assist employees in utilizing security systems to ensure smooth workflow.

Senior security analyst vs information security engineer salary

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

	Senior Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Average salary	$103,571	$97,288
Salary range	Between $79,000 And $135,000	Between $73,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Coinbase	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Government	Technology

Differences between senior security analyst and information security engineer education

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

	Senior Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior security analyst vs information security engineer demographics

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

	Senior Security Analyst	Information Security Engineer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%	Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7%
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 information security engineer 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.

Information security engineer example responsibilities.

Lead the certification and accreditation efforts by implementing NIST 800-53 security controls in order to obtain FISMA compliance.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Ensure that security policies are properly implement using NIST guidelines and perform auditing of logs.
Conduct Java algorithm design reviews and resolve any design issues.
Automate manual queries and integration using WhiteHat API's with PERL and Java.
Update ACAS plugins weekly or when updates become available on the DISA provide website.

Senior security analyst vs information security engineer skills

Common senior security analyst skills

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

Common information security engineer skills

Infrastructure, 7%
Incident Response, 6%
Security Tools, 5%
Network Security, 4%
SIEM, 4%
NIST, 4%

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Senior Security Analyst vs Information Security Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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