Security engineer: A complete career guide

Security engineers, or information security engineers, occupy a technical role

inside a company or organization. It is their primary job to implement and
monitor computer and network security protocols to protect sensitive
information from hacks or theft.

Like other cybersecurity professions, cybersecurity engineers often perform

various job duties depending on the size of the company or organization, the
profession or industry of the company or organization, and the size of the IT or
security team.

Four steps to becoming a security engineer

1. Research: The first step in becoming a security engineer is doing some
research to figure out what kinds of career opportunities exist and the
kinds of training, education, certifications that might be required to obtain
those kinds of positions.
2. Education: The next step is aligning an educational roadmap to career
interests and ambitions. Often highly technical occupations such as
engineering require at least a bachelor’s degree either in cybersecurity or
a closely related field such as mathematics, computer science, or
information management. Career tracks that are more senior or
management-oriented might require a master’s or Ph.D. in security
engineering or extensive work experience.
3. Certification: The cybersecurity field often requires applicants and
employees to complete a professional certification in specialized fields
within the broader industry. 
4. Network: Developing and maintaining a professional network over the
course of a career will help with the discovery of entry-level jobs and help
surface and track additional professional opportunities over time.

What is a security engineer?

Like other kinds of engineers, cybersecurity engineers build technologies that
help keep computer architecture safe.

The main function of a security engineer within a company or organization is

to develop and enforce security plans and standards. Most of the work is
proactive, meaning a cybersecurity engineer spends his or her time
anticipating network or computer vulnerabilities and figuring out how to deal
with them. 

Often proactive security engineering can take the form of finding and updating
software, creating firewalls, and running encryption programs. 

Another way of finding security holes or weaknesses is by actively testing for

weaknesses by using penetration testing methods, or trying to attack a system
the same way a hacker would.

Sometimes a security engineer’s job can be more reactive, like when they
detect a security issue they might have to figure out the best way to handle
the situation, either by moving data or information, developing new tools and
strategies, or working with management or outside teams to help the company
or organization recover from a data breach. 

Security engineer skills and experience

Before entering the workforce, cybersecurity engineers usually have a
bachelor’s degree or higher in computer engineering, cybersecurity,
information security, or a related field. 

A key component during a cybersecurity engineering education is risk

assessment tools and methods. A cybersecurity engineer is also trained and
forensics and network design and architecture.

Since they are constantly working with the latest computer and mobile
technology, security engineers need to be familiar with the latest advances in
virus software and virus detection, firewall architecture, and content filtering. 

Cybersecurity engineers need to be comfortable reading computer code and

looking for anomalies or malicious lines that might create security
vulnerabilities. 

In addition to a high level of security-related technical details, cybersecurity

engineers are responsible for communicating with co-workers and colleagues
as well as explaining complex computer and data issues to high-level
management and decision-makers. 
Cybersecurity engineers may also work in environments that require
additional industry certifications or government-issued security clearances. 

According to a study of current cybersecurity engineers, there are some

foundational skills and experiences in common including:

 An understanding of computer code, and in particular what dangerous

code such as virus or malware looks like and how to deal with it.
 Background and knowledge of risk assessment technologies and
methods.
 Understanding of computer forensics and security breach protocols.
 The ability to perform security risk assessments and evaluations.
 Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices (and a record of proving how
to stay current on industry changes.
 Experience with developing and implementing security procedures and
policies.
 Understanding of anti-virus software, firewall maintenance, and hacker
detection.

What do security engineers do?

Security engineers are tasked with developing technology tools and systems
to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of information. 

The role of an information security engineer can take on many forms

depending on the context. Sometimes, depending on company size and
business operations, a security engineer might be tasked with building the
security systems and then developing security best practices for the rest of
the company. 

In other situations, a cybersecurity engineer might be tasked with maintaining

security protocols and systems and actively try to hack or break into the
employer’s data or information systems. 

One key feature of all security engineering jobs is that professionals in the
field need to constantly stay up-to-date on the latest security threats and the
technology being developed to deal with them. As mentioned earlier, this often
means staying current with professional cybersecurity certifications.
Security engineer job description
According to the professional development website Job Hero, there are a few
key characteristics used to outline the roles and responsibilities of a security
engineer:

 Create and communicate company-wide security plans and

procedures: This means tracking and implementing security best
practices and then educating company leadership and fellow co-workers
about the best way to implement the latest security protocols.
 Develop security protections: This requires building and implementing
technology and software such as encryption algorithms and data
structure firewalls to protect company information.
 Test digital infrastructure for vulnerabilities: Often security engineers
are tasked with supervising or conducting periodic penetration testing to
look for any kind of weakness in the overall security plan. The goal is to
try to hack a company’s data and other digital information before real
hackers do. While considered part of a security engineer’s job,
penetration testing is also its own specialty within the cybersecurity
profession.
 Security monitoring: In addition to building and testing security
infrastructure and procedures for company infrastructure, cybersecurity
engineers are also tasked with continually monitoring software and
systems for intrusions or irregular behavior.
 Investigate security-related issues after they happen: Cybersecurity
engineers must also be part-time investigators and be able to use digital
forensic methods to track intruders and figure out the source of attacks.
Sometimes, depending on the size and scope of an attack, security
engineers might also work with law enforcement.

Outlook for security engineers

Like other cybersecurity professionals, cybersecurity engineers are in high
demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for
cybersecurity engineers will grow by 18 percent through 2024.

There is a strong correlation between time in the industry and salary, with
most people at the high end of the spectrum report working in cybersecurity-
related fields for 20 years or more. 
Salary is also impacted by the size of the company or organization employing
the cybersecurity engineer and geographical location. 

How much do security engineers make?

Based on hundreds of survey responses, Payscale reports that cybersecurity
engineers earn $96,000 a year on average, with the low end of the salary
spectrum reporting $65,000 and the high $137,000.