Role vs role. The matchups people actually weigh up.
Same question, two routes, one honest answer. Each page names the real tradeoff, the failure mode each route hides, and the specific conditions that would change the call.
Security suits people who light up tracing what went wrong. Cloud suits people who light up shipping what works. The money question sorts itself out within three years either way.
SOC is the easiest entry. Cloud Security pays more but won't let you in without a base discipline.
Cloud pays more on paper. Infrastructure teaches you what cloud is actually doing underneath. The fastest cloud careers belong to people who served their time on the boxes first.
GRC is a writing and meetings job that happens to be in security. SOC is a shift-and-screen job that happens to require Sec+. The skills don't transfer between them and the temperaments rarely overlap.
Cloud pays better at junior level. Networking compounds harder over a decade. The honest answer depends on whether you want quicker money now or harder ceiling later.
Security Architect spends its week protecting decisions other people are making. Cloud Architect spends its week making the decisions. The salaries land in the same band. The role designs do not.
SOC hires faster and gets you the security label. Network Engineer hires slower and gets you the depth almost every senior role downstream rewards.