FlightWay / Careers / Information Security Analysts

Engineering & Science

Information Security Analysts

Plan, implement, upgrade, or monitor security measures for the protection of computer networks and information.

Sector: Engineering & Science
Preparation: Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed
O*NET code: 15-1212.00

What you'll actually do

The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.

Working with Computers

central to the job — rated 93/100 for importance.
Getting Information

central to the job — rated 88/100 for importance.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

a major part of the work — rated 82/100 for importance.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

a major part of the work — rated 78/100 for importance.
Processing Information

a major part of the work — rated 77/100 for importance.
Analyzing Data or Information

a major part of the work — rated 77/100 for importance.

Plan, implement, upgrade, or monitor security measures for the protection of computer networks and information. Assess system vulnerabilities for security risks and propose and implement risk mitigation strategies. May ensure appropriate security controls are in place that will safeguard digital files and vital electronic infrastructure. May respond to computer security breaches and viruses.

What it takes

Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.

Skills

Reading Comprehension

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Critical Thinking

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
Active Listening

Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
Complex Problem Solving

Needed at a solid working level (52/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
Speaking

Needed at a solid working level (54/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.

Knowledge

Computers and Electronics

Needed at expert level (85/100), and rated 84/100 for importance.
English Language

Needed at a high level (60/100), and rated 82/100 for importance.
Administration and Management

Needed at a solid working level (54/100), and rated 67/100 for importance.
Telecommunications

Needed at a solid working level (56/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension

Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Deductive Reasoning

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Inductive Reasoning

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
Problem Sensitivity

Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.

How people get in

O*NET places this occupation in Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.

Education

A four-year bachelor's degree is the usual entry ticket.

Experience

Two to four years of related work, internships or research on top of the degree.

Training

Most of the learning happens before you are hired, not after.

What it pays

These are typical engineering compensation bands by employer tier — sector-level figures, not a measured salary for Information Security Analysts specifically. Treat them as the shape of the market, then check a real posting for the number.

SpaceX · NVIDIA · Boeing

$120k – $200k+

Manufacturing Corps

$85k – $140k

Local Engineering Firms

$65k – $110k

How the work tends to run

Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.

Most of the day happens at a screen.From “Working with Computers”
Rules and standards are checkable and someone checks them.From “Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards”

How FlightWay scores your fit against this

No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.

1. You answer a short quiz: Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
2. We correlate the two profiles: Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Information Security Analysts. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
3. The number you see is personality fit only: "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
4. Every factor is visible: You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.

More in Engineering & Science

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See your fit for Information Security Analysts

Ten questions, about 90 seconds. You get your match against Information Security Analysts and 782+ other real careers — with the reasoning shown.

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Occupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.