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The differences between senior security architects and 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 architect and a security engineer. Additionally, a senior security architect has an average salary of $129,456, which is higher than the $104,524 average annual salary of a security engineer.
The top three skills for a senior security architect include cloud security, cloud and risk assessments. The most important skills for a security engineer are java, cloud security, and infrastructure.
| Senior Security Architect | Security Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $129,456 | $104,524 |
| Hourly rate | $62.24 | $50.25 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 123,555 | 86,093 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Senior security architects deal with developing solutions to accomplish goals and providing ideas about structure, growth, and solutions. Their job revolves around a quick moving environment, constant communication, and working with partners to identify business opportunities. Having this position requires leadership and mentoring skills to help junior team members succeed in this field. They should have technical skills to design and develop solutions to improve an already existing technology. Also, they will be responsible for developing, planning, and executing security systems and strategies.
Security engineers are responsible for developing and overseeing data and security software to help prevent data breaches, leaks, and taps related to cybercrime. Other duties and responsibilities include developing new systems to help protect computer networks and assets, configuring firewalls, and conducting penetration testing to pinpoint vulnerabilities. Additionally, security engineers are responsible for investigating attacks and help prevent cybersecurity threat. They are also responsible for creating new processes for authorization, encryption algorithms, and authentication, and analyzing current security policies.
Senior security architects and security engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Security Architect | Security Engineer | |
| Average salary | $129,456 | $104,524 |
| Salary range | Between $96,000 And $173,000 | Between $77,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | ICE Mortgage Technology |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior security architect and a security engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Security Architect | Security Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior security architects' and security engineers' demographics:
| Senior Security Architect | Security Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.3% Female, 5.7% | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% |
| 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% |