Penetration Tester Salary

The average salary for a Penetration Tester is $82,257.

10%

50%

90%

MEDIAN $82,257

Salary

$54k - $132k

Bonus

$968 - $18k

Profit Sharing

$395 - $16k

Commission

$0 - $8k

Total Pay

$50k - $137k

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Job Description for Penetration Tester

The integrity of internal systems connected with the wider Internet is crucial to the operations of many organizations, from financial institutions to health care companies to government agencies. Organizations often employ cybersecurity experts to help protect their vital systems from malicious attacks. One of the basic tasks that must be accomplished to secure a system is to find where vulnerabilities exist. The penetration tester uses a wide variety of tools (some of which may be self-constru…Read more

Penetration Tester Tasks

Conduct IT/Cyber Security assessments / penetration tests (hands-on work), as an individual, self-managed tester, or in small project teams.
Work with customers to determine their need for security assessments, present and explain the employed methodology, and support them with feedback and verification during mitigation.
Document findings for management and technical staff and recommend mitigating actions.
Follow industry best practice methodologies for penetration testing, and be able to use tools for a basis level assessment.
Search for security vulnerabilities in web applications, fat/thin client applications, and standard applications, and assess the secure configuration of operating systems and network devices.

Popular Employer Salaries for Penetration Tester

Booz, Allen, and Hamilton

$79k

International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.

$103k

Paylocity

$98k

Acme, Inc.

$110k

The top respondents for the job title Penetration Tester are from the companies Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. and Paylocity. Reported salaries are highest at Acme, Inc. where the average pay is $109,927. Other companies that offer high salaries for this role include International Business Machines (IBM) Corp., earning around $102,510. Booz, Allen, and Hamilton pays the lowest at around $79,497. Paylocity also pays on the lower end of the scale, paying $97,663.

Penetration Tester Job Listings

Popular Skills for Penetration Tester

Security Testing and Auditing

$83,001

343 responses

Web Security & Encryption

$85,308

194 responses

Network Security Management

$81,564

166 responses

Penetration Testing

$91,555

155 responses

Cyber Security

$84,533

146 responses

Skills in Security Testing and Auditing, Web Security & Encryption, Penetration Testing and Cyber Security are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that pay less than market rate include Network Security Management.

Pay by Experience Level for Penetration Tester

An entry-level Penetration Tester with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $66,889 based on 181 salaries. An early career Penetration Tester with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $76,729 based on 389 salaries. A mid-career Penetration Tester with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $101,022 based on 207 salaries. An experienced Penetration Tester with 10-19 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $117,578 based on 106 salaries. In their late career (20 years and higher), employees earn an average total compensation of $108,650.

Pay Difference by Location

Learn more about cost of living by city.

Washington, District of Columbia

▲22%

▲17%

▲12%

▲9%

▼3%

▼4%

▼6%

Employees with Penetration Tester in their job title in Washington, District of Columbia earn an average of 22.3% more than the national average. These job titles also find higher than average salaries in Chicago, Illinois (16.8% more) and Seattle, Washington (12.5% more). The lowest salaries can be found in New York, New York (5.9% less), San Antonio, Texas (4.4% less) and Phoenix, Arizona (2.7% less).