HUMANPLACE

Occupation

Penetration Testers

Evaluate network system security by conducting simulated internal and external cyberattacks using adversary tools and techniques. Attempt to breach and exploit critical systems and gain access to sensitive information to assess system security.

87 AI exposure
24 Human advantage
64 Market demand
59 AI leverage

Is Penetration Testers a safe career from AI?

Penetration Testers scores 87 out of 100 for AI exposure, which is high. A large share of this work is the kind current AI systems are measurably good at. That is not a prediction the job disappears, and the research does not support one. It means more of this role is likely to change than most.

Its human advantage score is 24, which is low. Most of this role can be done through a screen, and that is the half of the labor market AI has reached first. Market demand scores 64 out of 100, combining how many of these jobs exist with where that number is heading. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment growing 5.1% over ten years.

What Penetration Testers pay

The median wage is $108,970 a year. The lower quarter earns under $76,360 and the upper quarter over $147,530. About 439,380 people do this work in the United States.

Where Penetration Testers can go next

Occupations that share most of what this job already requires, ranked by how much carries over.

Computer and Information Research Scientists 88% of the skills carry over $141k median
Information Security Analysts 91% of the skills carry over $125k median
Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers 80% of the skills carry over $168k median
Telecommunications Engineering Specialists 86% of the skills carry over $130k median

Thinking about moving out of Penetration Testers?

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Where this comes from

Work content and transitions from O*NET, the US Department of Labor's occupational database. Wages and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. AI exposure from published research measuring which occupations current AI capabilities overlap with. None of it is a forecast, and none of these numbers are ours: they are public data, put next to each other.

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