Senior security consultant vs security administrator

The differences between senior security consultants and security administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior security consultant, becoming a security administrator takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior security consultant has an average salary of $120,769, which is higher than the $79,564 average annual salary of a security administrator.

The top three skills for a senior security consultant include cloud security, infrastructure and governance. The most important skills for a security administrator are customer service, troubleshoot, and security procedures.

Senior security consultant vs security administrator overview

	Senior Security Consultant	Security Administrator
Yearly salary	$120,769	$79,564
Hourly rate	$58.06	$38.25
Growth rate	32%	5%
Number of jobs	66,226	99,222
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	6	2

What does a senior security consultant do?

A senior security consultant is an information technology (IT) expert specializing in establishing security protocols and systems to protect a company's data and network. Their responsibilities revolve around performing internal research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current IT security systems, recommending solutions to problem areas, and suggesting new tools and techniques to improve data security. Furthermore, as a senior security consultant, it is essential to monitor the company's systems and networks and promptly respond to any breaches, conducting corrective and preventive measures to prevent it from ever happening again.

What does a security administrator do?

A security administrator is in charge of establishing and enforcing security measures over a company's information systems and networks. Their duties typically revolve around installing and maintaining security networks, analyzing existing systems to identify areas needing improvement, conducting regular maintenance checks and upgrades to optimize services and functions, and monitoring overall systems for any suspicious activities or breaches. Furthermore, as a security administrator, it is essential to develop information technology solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Senior security consultant vs security administrator salary

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

	Senior Security Consultant	Security Administrator
Average salary	$120,769	$79,564
Salary range	Between $91,000 And $159,000	Between $54,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Nevada	California
Best paying company	Amazon	Gap Inc.
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between senior security consultant and security administrator education

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

	Senior Security Consultant	Security Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Bakersfield

Senior security consultant vs security administrator demographics

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

	Senior Security Consultant	Security Administrator
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between senior security consultant and security administrator duties and responsibilities

Senior security consultant example 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.
Assist organizations with creation of their management systems and registration to international (ISO) security and service management standards.
Provide technical leadership, task management, and engineering support to customers in the development of cryptography and key management solutions.

Security administrator example responsibilities.

Manage updates and creation of intranet file.
Create, manage, and maintain corporate LAN.
Manage and monitor various tools and reporting tools relating to security and encryption.
Manage all network objects: computers, users, TCP/IP resources, printers, copier.
Manage staff to implement JCL procedure modifications.
Utilize PowerShell scripts to automate system administrative tasks.

Senior security consultant vs security administrator skills

Common senior security consultant skills

Cloud Security, 9%
Infrastructure, 7%
Governance, 5%
Java, 5%
Risk Management, 5%
Access Management, 4%

Common security administrator skills

Customer Service, 10%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Security Procedures, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
Security Policies, 5%
SCI, 5%

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Senior Security Consultant vs Security Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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