How To Become A Senior Security Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior security consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Professor David Sanford

Security consultants may work for IT or security companies. In both roles, their goal is always to address their client's security, identify potential weaknesses, and create patches. However, the means vary depending on the sector.

IT security consultants may run diagnostics on the concerned systems. They may also review security logs, assess past breaches, or even conduct vulnerability tests. Once they find the gaps, they recommend the right course of action. Depending on the agreement, IT consultants may leave after assessing the system or stay on board to patch weaknesses. Security consultants in the personal security sector perform similar tasks but may employ a more tactical approach.

To become a security consultant, candidates need relevant degrees, experience, and certification. IT consultants need advanced degrees in computer science, computer engineering, or related fields. Personal security consultants may need prior experience above all else. They also require special military training.

What general advice would you give to a senior security consultant?

Professor David Sanford

Associate Professor an Department Chair (MIS, CS, CYB MGT, IS CYB), Northwood University

Workers like that they are challenged to solve problems and lead technological innovations.
They appreciate the diversity of projects
They enjoy the need for continuous improvement and education
Many see the global impact of their work.
They also desire and appreciate the need for versatile skills
A competitive salary is also an item that employees like

Workers dislike that the work can be stressful
Dealing with tight deadlines and/ or cybersecurity concerns.
This is a positive and a negative: The need to constantly stay up to date with technology can be a bit overwhelming for some.
There may be times of isolation, and
The unexpected system failures can be frustrating as they often require extra hours or the need to be on-call.
The multiple responsibilities and managing repetitive tasks are also issues workers point out in this field.

In short, the workplace offers exciting opportunities but comes with its fair share of pressures and challenges. Different people have different experiences based on their roles and personal preferences.

ScoreSenior Security ConsultantUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $120,769

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate 32%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.43%

Asian 9.64%

Black or African American 9.15%

Hispanic or Latino 8.99%

Unknown 6.09%

White 65.70%

Gender

female 13.86%

male 86.14%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior security consultant

Explore senior security consultant education requirements

Most common senior security consultant degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Master's

17.4 %

Associate

9.4 %

Start to develop specific senior security consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Cloud Security	9.14%
Infrastructure	7.17%
Governance	5.15%
Java	4.92%
Risk Management	4.62%

Complete relevant senior security consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior security consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior security consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior security consultant resumes.

Gain additional senior security consultant certifications

Senior security consultant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific senior security consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for senior security consultants include Certified Information Systems Security Professional - Architecture (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

More About Certifications

Research senior security consultant duties and responsibilities

Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Work alongside the QA department to ensure all documents are concise and well written in order to meet ISO's standards.
Monitor company s internal logs and traffic via Splunk to proactively investigate suspicious traffic and determine if the anomalies are malicious.
Perform email and file encryption transition for global financial/insurance company.

Get senior security consultant experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior security consultant. The most common roles before becoming a senior security consultant include securities consultant, senior consultant team lead and sap security consultant.

Prepare your senior security consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior security consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior security consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior security consultant resume templates

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