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The differences between systems engineers and cyber security specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a systems engineer, becoming a cyber security specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a cyber security specialist has an average salary of $93,395, which is higher than the $82,834 average annual salary of a systems engineer.
The top three skills for a systems engineer include python, linux and C++. The most important skills for a cyber security specialist are cyber security, incident response, and NIST.
| Systems Engineer | Cyber Security Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $82,834 | $93,395 |
| Hourly rate | $39.82 | $44.90 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 145,936 | 65,235 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs. These systems are usually related to the production or manufacturing of company products. Systems engineers create end-to-end processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. They make sure that the processes they put in place adhere to safety and security policies and guidelines. They also do routine checks and continuously find ways to further improve production and other systems.
Cybersecurity Specialists are information technology (IT) professionals who safeguard and protect the company's networks. They ensure that the network infrastructure is secure at all times. They do routine checks to see whether the infrastructure is vulnerable to attacks. Cybersecurity Specialists monitor and respond to security concerns. They launch programs or software to mitigate any attacks that the company's infrastructure may receive. They also look for ways to minimize the network infrastructure's vulnerability to risks, threats, and attacks.
Systems engineers and cyber security specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Systems Engineer | Cyber Security Specialist | |
| Average salary | $82,834 | $93,395 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $109,000 | Between $69,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a systems engineer and a cyber security specialist in terms of educational background:
| Systems Engineer | Cyber Security Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | North Carolina State University |
Here are the differences between systems engineers' and cyber security specialists' demographics:
| Systems Engineer | Cyber Security Specialist | |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 8% | 9% |