Penetration Testing Job Trends in England

Penetration Testing
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in England requiring Penetration Testing skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 31 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 425 412 441
Rank change year-on-year -13 +29 +35
Permanent jobs citing Penetration Testing 282 226 458
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.34% 0.58% 0.52%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.46% 0.62% 0.62%
Number of salaries quoted 186 173 361
10th Percentile £41,625 £41,900 £38,750
25th Percentile £48,165 £55,000 £48,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £65,000 £67,500 £65,000
Median % change year-on-year -3.70% +3.85% -
75th Percentile £88,625 £81,250 £82,500
90th Percentile £98,750 £95,000 £97,500
UK median annual salary £65,000 £67,500 £65,000
% change year-on-year -3.70% +3.85% -

All Process & Methodology Skills
England

Penetration Testing falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills in England.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 61,595 36,399 73,671
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 74.07% 93.30% 83.66%
Number of salaries quoted 41,041 19,603 54,687
10th Percentile £30,000 £29,750 £29,000
25th Percentile £41,250 £41,250 £39,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £60,000 £59,000 £55,000
Median % change year-on-year +1.69% +7.27% -12.00%
75th Percentile £80,000 £78,750 £72,500
90th Percentile £100,000 £102,500 £93,750
UK median annual salary £60,000 £57,500 £55,000
% change year-on-year +4.35% +4.55% -9.69%

Penetration Testing
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Penetration Testing relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in England.

Penetration Testing job vacancy trend in England

Penetration Testing
Salary Trend in England

Salary distribution trend for jobs in England citing Penetration Testing.

Salary distribution trend for jobs in England citing Penetration Testing

Penetration Testing
Salary Histogram in England

Salary distribution for jobs citing Penetration Testing in England over the 6 months to 31 May 2026.

Salary histogram for Penetration Testing in England

Penetration Testing
Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Penetration Testing within the England region over the 6 months to 31 May 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London -7 120 £85,000 +17.24% 26
South West -14 47 £50,000 -27.27% 9
South East -3 43 £72,500 +3.57% 24
Midlands -39 29 £51,058 -24.36% 6
North of England -48 28 £56,000 -8.20% 6
West Midlands -42 19 £62,500 -7.41% 5
Yorkshire -38 15 £55,000 - 5
East Midlands -20 10 £51,058 +27.65% 1
North West -16 7 £56,000 -8.20%
North East -44 6 £75,000 +3.18% 1
East of England -16 4 £30,000 -
Penetration Testing
UK

Penetration Testing
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 7 (2.48%) Microsoft Exchange
2 6 (2.13%) SharePoint
3 3 (1.06%) IIS
4 2 (0.71%) Confluence
5 1 (0.35%) Apache
5 1 (0.35%) Drupal
5 1 (0.35%) nginx
5 1 (0.35%) WordPress
Business Applications
1 1 (0.35%) Magento
1 1 (0.35%) SAP EHS
1 1 (0.35%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 70 (24.82%) AWS
2 64 (22.70%) Azure
3 28 (9.93%) Microsoft 365
4 25 (8.87%) GCP
5 14 (4.96%) Entra ID
6 11 (3.90%) Azure Sentinel
7 9 (3.19%) GitHub
8 6 (2.13%) SaaS
9 5 (1.77%) GitHub Actions
9 5 (1.77%) Microsoft Purview
10 4 (1.42%) Amazon EKS
10 4 (1.42%) AWS CloudFormation
10 4 (1.42%) Azure Key Vault
10 4 (1.42%) Mimecast
11 3 (1.06%) Azure DevOps
11 3 (1.06%) OneDrive
11 3 (1.06%) Rubrik
12 2 (0.71%) Cloudflare
12 2 (0.71%) Figma
12 2 (0.71%) IaaS
Communications & Networking
1 49 (17.38%) Firewall
2 26 (9.22%) Network Security
3 20 (7.09%) Wireless
4 19 (6.74%) VPN
5 12 (4.26%) Internet
6 11 (3.90%) DNS
7 10 (3.55%) TCP/IP
8 8 (2.84%) Cisco ISE
8 8 (2.84%) Cisco Nexus
9 7 (2.48%) VLAN
9 7 (2.48%) Wi-Fi
10 6 (2.13%) Intrusion Detection
10 6 (2.13%) LAN
10 6 (2.13%) WAN
11 4 (1.42%) DHCP
11 4 (1.42%) HTTPS
12 3 (1.06%) DMARC
12 3 (1.06%) DMZ
12 3 (1.06%) SSL
12 3 (1.06%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (1.77%) SQL Server
2 3 (1.06%) Amazon RDS
3 1 (0.35%) InterSystems Cache
3 1 (0.35%) KNIME
3 1 (0.35%) MongoDB
3 1 (0.35%) Power BI
3 1 (0.35%) Redis
Development Applications
1 21 (7.45%) Burp Suite
2 20 (7.09%) Metasploit
3 7 (2.48%) JIRA
4 6 (2.13%) Bitbucket
5 4 (1.42%) Jenkins
6 3 (1.06%) Git
7 2 (0.71%) Gatling
7 2 (0.71%) NUnit
7 2 (0.71%) Yeoman
8 1 (0.35%) Cucumber
8 1 (0.35%) GitLab
8 1 (0.35%) IDA Disassembler
8 1 (0.35%) JMeter
8 1 (0.35%) JUnit
8 1 (0.35%) Postman
8 1 (0.35%) Selenium
8 1 (0.35%) Vagrant
General
1 95 (33.69%) Social Skills
2 70 (24.82%) Finance
3 29 (10.28%) Law
4 28 (9.93%) Public Sector
5 25 (8.87%) Analytical Skills
6 21 (7.45%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 20 (7.09%) Banking
7 20 (7.09%) Retail
8 9 (3.19%) Legal
9 7 (2.48%) Marketing
9 7 (2.48%) Pharmaceutical
10 5 (1.77%) Telecoms
11 4 (1.42%) Financial Institution
12 3 (1.06%) Back Office
12 3 (1.06%) Influencing Skills
13 2 (0.71%) Aerospace
13 2 (0.71%) Public Speaking
13 2 (0.71%) Social Housing
14 1 (0.35%) French Language
14 1 (0.35%) German Language
Job Titles
1 55 (19.50%) Senior
2 47 (16.67%) Penetration Tester
2 47 (16.67%) Tester
3 46 (16.31%) Consultant
4 45 (15.96%) Security Consultant
5 34 (12.06%) Analyst
6 27 (9.57%) Security Analyst
6 27 (9.57%) Security Manager
7 22 (7.80%) Lead
8 21 (7.45%) Cybersecurity Consultant
9 19 (6.74%) Senior Analyst
9 19 (6.74%) Senior Security Analyst
10 17 (6.03%) Security Specialist
11 16 (5.67%) Security Engineer
12 14 (4.96%) Team Leader
13 12 (4.26%) Senior Penetration Tester
13 12 (4.26%) Senior Tester
14 10 (3.55%) IT Support
15 9 (3.19%) Cybersecurity Manager
15 9 (3.19%) Head of Security
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 4 (1.42%) .NET
2 3 (1.06%) .NET Framework
2 3 (1.06%) OAuth
2 3 (1.06%) RESTful
3 2 (0.71%) AngularJS
3 2 (0.71%) ASP.NET
3 2 (0.71%) ASP.NET Core
3 2 (0.71%) Entity Framework
3 2 (0.71%) OAuth2
3 2 (0.71%) OpenAPI
3 2 (0.71%) OpenID
3 2 (0.71%) RxJS
3 2 (0.71%) Swagger
3 2 (0.71%) Vitest
4 1 (0.35%) ARM Templates
4 1 (0.35%) LDAP
4 1 (0.35%) Memcached
4 1 (0.35%) Playwright
Miscellaneous
1 64 (22.70%) Security Posture
2 34 (12.06%) Mobile App
3 31 (10.99%) Cyber Defence
4 27 (9.57%) Cyber Threat
5 16 (5.67%) Management Information System
6 13 (4.61%) Self-Motivation
7 11 (3.90%) Security Operations Centre
8 9 (3.19%) Data Centre
9 7 (2.48%) Blog
9 7 (2.48%) Cyber Security Posture
10 6 (2.13%) Onboarding
10 6 (2.13%) Operational Technology
11 5 (1.77%) Insider Threat
12 4 (1.42%) Cloud Native
12 4 (1.42%) Cyberattack
12 4 (1.42%) Enterprise Software
12 4 (1.42%) Public Cloud
13 3 (1.06%) CCTV
13 3 (1.06%) Hybrid Cloud
14 2 (0.71%) Analytical Mindset
Operating Systems
1 41 (14.54%) Windows
2 35 (12.41%) Linux
3 19 (6.74%) Android
3 19 (6.74%) Apple iOS
4 10 (3.55%) Windows Server
5 4 (1.42%) Unix
6 2 (0.71%) Windows Server 2016
7 1 (0.35%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 186 (65.96%) Cybersecurity
2 97 (34.40%) Red Team
3 86 (30.50%) Incident Response
4 62 (21.99%) Vulnerability Management
5 61 (21.63%) Offensive Security
5 61 (21.63%) Security Testing
6 57 (20.21%) Mentoring
7 56 (19.86%) Application Security
8 55 (19.50%) SIEM
9 52 (18.44%) Information Security
10 51 (18.09%) Problem-Solving
11 47 (16.67%) Cloud Security
12 41 (14.54%) Security Operations
13 38 (13.48%) Agile
14 32 (11.35%) Threat Modelling
15 31 (10.99%) Disaster Recovery
16 30 (10.64%) Business Strategy
16 30 (10.64%) Business Transformation
16 30 (10.64%) Coaching
16 30 (10.64%) OWASP
Programming Languages
1 47 (16.67%) Python
2 43 (15.25%) PowerShell
3 29 (10.28%) Bash
4 15 (5.32%) Java
5 14 (4.96%) Go
6 7 (2.48%) Perl
7 6 (2.13%) C#
8 5 (1.77%) Bicep
8 5 (1.77%) C
8 5 (1.77%) C++
8 5 (1.77%) Ruby
9 4 (1.42%) SQL
10 3 (1.06%) Objective-C
10 3 (1.06%) Rust
11 2 (0.71%) Kusto Query Language
11 2 (0.71%) PHP
11 2 (0.71%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.35%) JavaScript
Qualifications
1 83 (29.43%) CREST Certified
2 70 (24.82%) OSCP
3 57 (20.21%) CISSP
4 48 (17.02%) Security Cleared
5 41 (14.54%) SC Cleared
6 34 (12.06%) Degree
7 33 (11.70%) CISM
8 28 (9.93%) CEH
9 26 (9.22%) CHECK Team Leader
10 25 (8.87%) CHECK Team Member
11 23 (8.16%) Cisco Certification
12 21 (7.45%) CCSAM
13 17 (6.03%) CCNA
13 17 (6.03%) CompTIA Security+
14 15 (5.32%) CCNP
15 13 (4.61%) DV Cleared
16 12 (4.26%) GIAC
17 10 (3.55%) GPEN
18 8 (2.84%) OSCE
18 8 (2.84%) SANS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 76 (26.95%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 39 (13.83%) NIST
3 37 (13.12%) Cyber Essentials
4 35 (12.41%) GDPR
5 17 (6.03%) PCI DSS
6 16 (5.67%) Actionable Recommendations
6 16 (5.67%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 12 (4.26%) GRC
7 12 (4.26%) NCSC
8 6 (2.13%) Accessibility
8 6 (2.13%) SOC 2
9 5 (1.77%) QA
10 3 (1.06%) COBIT
10 3 (1.06%) Data Quality
10 3 (1.06%) Def Stans
10 3 (1.06%) NIST 800
11 2 (0.71%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 1 (0.35%) GxP
12 1 (0.35%) HIPAA
12 1 (0.35%) WCAG
System Software
1 34 (12.06%) Active Directory
2 6 (2.13%) VMware Infrastructure
3 3 (1.06%) Docker
3 3 (1.06%) EMC RecoverPoint
3 3 (1.06%) VMware ESXi
4 1 (0.35%) Virtual Desktop
4 1 (0.35%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 16 (5.67%) Kubernetes
2 14 (4.96%) Nessus
3 11 (3.90%) Microsoft Intune
3 11 (3.90%) Nmap
4 7 (2.48%) Terraform
5 5 (1.77%) Ansible
6 4 (1.42%) CSIRT
7 3 (1.06%) FortiGate
7 3 (1.06%) SCCM
7 3 (1.06%) VxRail
8 2 (0.71%) Jamf Pro
8 2 (0.71%) Single Sign-On
9 1 (0.35%) CASB
9 1 (0.35%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
9 1 (0.35%) Consul
9 1 (0.35%) Packer
9 1 (0.35%) Progress Chef
9 1 (0.35%) Puppet
9 1 (0.35%) Red Hat Satellite
Vendors
1 63 (22.34%) Microsoft
2 17 (6.03%) Cisco
2 17 (6.03%) Splunk
3 13 (4.61%) Sophos
4 10 (3.55%) Zscaler
5 9 (3.19%) CrowdStrike
5 9 (3.19%) Qualys
5 9 (3.19%) VMware
6 8 (2.84%) CheckPoint
6 8 (2.84%) Fortinet
6 8 (2.84%) Palo Alto
7 5 (1.77%) TOWER Software
8 4 (1.42%) Aruba
8 4 (1.42%) Okta
9 3 (1.06%) Dell
9 3 (1.06%) Veeam
10 2 (0.71%) Darktrace
10 2 (0.71%) DevExpress
10 2 (0.71%) Rapid7
10 2 (0.71%) Tenable