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 15 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
15 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 426 380 358
Rank change year-on-year -46 -22 +165
Permanent jobs citing Penetration Testing 178 310 364
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.34% 0.64% 0.74%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.41% 0.71% 0.83%
Number of salaries quoted 140 185 286
10th Percentile £44,750 £45,000 £42,915
25th Percentile £51,250 £55,000 £52,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £70,000 £65,000 £65,000
Median % change year-on-year +7.69% - -6.07%
75th Percentile £87,500 £88,750 £82,500
90th Percentile £90,000 £100,000 £88,750
UK median annual salary £70,000 £66,250 £65,520
% change year-on-year +5.66% +1.11% -2.93%

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 43,077 43,814 44,043
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in England 81.14% 90.86% 89.76%
Number of salaries quoted 25,929 21,493 34,060
10th Percentile £28,750 £35,000 £31,250
25th Percentile £37,500 £46,250 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% - -4.00%
75th Percentile £76,250 £81,250 £79,563
90th Percentile £97,500 £100,000 £98,750
UK median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £60,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% - -4.00%

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 15 January 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 15 January 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 +4 80 £75,000 - 29
South West +20 35 £80,000 +18.52% 21
Midlands +11 28 £52,500 -8.70% 18
South East -22 17 £65,000 +8.33% 30
West Midlands +2 14 £55,000 -15.38% 8
East Midlands -4 14 £51,058 -11.20% 10
North of England -11 12 £55,000 - 27
Yorkshire -10 8 £56,250 +7.14% 8
North West -2 4 £55,000 -12.00% 17
East of England +23 1 £85,000 +198.25% 7
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 5 (2.81%) Microsoft Exchange
2 3 (1.69%) SharePoint
3 1 (0.56%) Confluence
Applications
1 7 (3.93%) Microsoft Excel
1 7 (3.93%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.56%) GNU Octave
Cloud Services
1 54 (30.34%) Azure
2 30 (16.85%) AWS
3 14 (7.87%) Azure Sentinel
4 13 (7.30%) Microsoft 365
4 13 (7.30%) Slack
5 12 (6.74%) Entra ID
6 10 (5.62%) GitHub
6 10 (5.62%) Microsoft Purview
6 10 (5.62%) Power Platform
7 7 (3.93%) GCP
8 6 (3.37%) GitHub Actions
9 3 (1.69%) IBM Cloud
10 2 (1.12%) Mimecast
10 2 (1.12%) Rubrik
10 2 (1.12%) SaaS
10 2 (1.12%) SecurityScorecard
11 1 (0.56%) Datadog
11 1 (0.56%) Dynamics 365
11 1 (0.56%) OpenShift
11 1 (0.56%) Power Automate
Communications & Networking
1 32 (17.98%) Firewall
2 26 (14.61%) Network Security
3 15 (8.43%) TCP/IP
4 14 (7.87%) VPN
5 12 (6.74%) Wireless
6 9 (5.06%) Wireshark
7 7 (3.93%) Intrusion Detection
8 6 (3.37%) VLAN
8 6 (3.37%) Wi-Fi
9 5 (2.81%) DNS
9 5 (2.81%) HTTP
10 4 (2.25%) Ethernet
11 3 (1.69%) Cisco ISE
11 3 (1.69%) Internet
11 3 (1.69%) Modbus
12 2 (1.12%) Cisco Nexus
12 2 (1.12%) ICMP
12 2 (1.12%) LAN
12 2 (1.12%) SSH
12 2 (1.12%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 10 (5.62%) Power BI
2 7 (3.93%) Tableau
3 2 (1.12%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 17 (9.55%) Burp Suite
1 17 (9.55%) Metasploit
2 15 (8.43%) JIRA
3 6 (3.37%) Jenkins
4 2 (1.12%) IDA Disassembler
5 1 (0.56%) Git
5 1 (0.56%) GitLab
General
1 68 (38.20%) Social Skills
2 41 (23.03%) Finance
3 18 (10.11%) Analytical Skills
3 18 (10.11%) Inclusion and Diversity
4 16 (8.99%) Influencing Skills
5 14 (7.87%) Presentation Skills
6 11 (6.18%) Retail
7 9 (5.06%) Banking
8 6 (3.37%) Legal
9 5 (2.81%) Law
9 5 (2.81%) Marketing
10 4 (2.25%) Electronics
10 4 (2.25%) Public Sector
11 3 (1.69%) Aerospace
11 3 (1.69%) Documentation Skills
11 3 (1.69%) Manufacturing
11 3 (1.69%) Military
11 3 (1.69%) Telecoms
12 2 (1.12%) Public Speaking
13 1 (0.56%) Organisational Skills
Job Titles
1 37 (20.79%) Security Engineer
2 34 (19.10%) Analyst
3 30 (16.85%) Security Analyst
4 23 (12.92%) Senior
5 22 (12.36%) Consultant
5 22 (12.36%) Security Consultant
6 16 (8.99%) Cybersecurity Engineer
6 16 (8.99%) IT Manager
7 14 (7.87%) Security Manager
7 14 (7.87%) Senior Security Engineer
8 13 (7.30%) Cybersecurity Consultant
9 12 (6.74%) Tester
10 11 (6.18%) Penetration Tester
10 11 (6.18%) Security Specialist
11 10 (5.62%) Information Analyst
11 10 (5.62%) Information Security Analyst
12 9 (5.06%) Applications Engineer
12 9 (5.06%) Lead
13 8 (4.49%) Auditor
13 8 (4.49%) IT Auditor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (2.81%) JSON
2 1 (0.56%) PyTorch
2 1 (0.56%) TensorFlow
2 1 (0.56%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 36 (20.22%) Security Posture
2 21 (11.80%) Management Information System
3 16 (8.99%) Cyber Defence
3 16 (8.99%) Mobile App
4 12 (6.74%) Cyber Threat
5 10 (5.62%) Security Operations Centre
6 9 (5.06%) Self-Motivation
7 8 (4.49%) Operational Technology
8 7 (3.93%) Insider Threat
8 7 (3.93%) PKI
9 6 (3.37%) Analytical Mindset
9 6 (3.37%) Cyber Kill Chain
10 5 (2.81%) Cloud Native
10 5 (2.81%) Enterprise Software
10 5 (2.81%) SCADA
11 4 (2.25%) Cyber Security Posture
12 3 (1.69%) Data Protection Act
12 3 (1.69%) Linux Command Line
12 3 (1.69%) Onboarding
12 3 (1.69%) Renewable Energy
Operating Systems
1 22 (12.36%) Linux
1 22 (12.36%) Windows
2 7 (3.93%) Unix
3 6 (3.37%) Windows Server
4 4 (2.25%) Android
4 4 (2.25%) Apple iOS
5 2 (1.12%) Kali Linux
6 1 (0.56%) Debian
6 1 (0.56%) Ubuntu
6 1 (0.56%) Windows 10
6 1 (0.56%) Windows Server 2016
6 1 (0.56%) Windows Server 2019
Processes & Methodologies
1 99 (55.62%) Cybersecurity
2 64 (35.96%) Incident Response
3 50 (28.09%) Red Team
4 47 (26.40%) SIEM
5 44 (24.72%) Vulnerability Management
6 40 (22.47%) Problem-Solving
7 38 (21.35%) Application Security
8 37 (20.79%) Information Security
9 32 (17.98%) Vulnerability Assessment
10 31 (17.42%) Vulnerability Scanning
11 29 (16.29%) Security Operations
12 26 (14.61%) DevOps
13 24 (13.48%) Offensive Security
13 24 (13.48%) Vulnerability Remediation
14 23 (12.92%) Agile
15 22 (12.36%) Threat Modelling
16 21 (11.80%) CI/CD
16 21 (11.80%) Mentoring
16 21 (11.80%) SDLC
17 20 (11.24%) Internal Audit
Programming Languages
1 53 (29.78%) Python
2 32 (17.98%) Bash
3 30 (16.85%) PowerShell
4 15 (8.43%) Go
5 9 (5.06%) SQL
6 7 (3.93%) C
6 7 (3.93%) C#
6 7 (3.93%) C++
6 7 (3.93%) R
7 5 (2.81%) JavaScript
8 4 (2.25%) Perl
9 3 (1.69%) Java
10 2 (1.12%) Ruby
11 1 (0.56%) Kusto Query Language
11 1 (0.56%) Scala
Qualifications
1 52 (29.21%) CISSP
2 44 (24.72%) Degree
3 38 (21.35%) Security Cleared
4 36 (20.22%) CREST Certified
4 36 (20.22%) OSCP
5 32 (17.98%) SC Cleared
6 30 (16.85%) Cisco Certification
7 21 (11.80%) CCNA
8 20 (11.24%) CompTIA Security+
9 18 (10.11%) GIAC
10 16 (8.99%) CEH
10 16 (8.99%) CHECK Team Member
11 15 (8.43%) SANS
12 13 (7.30%) CHECK Team Leader
12 13 (7.30%) DV Cleared
13 12 (6.74%) CISA
13 12 (6.74%) GCIH
14 11 (6.18%) CCNP
14 11 (6.18%) GCIA
15 10 (5.62%) Microsoft Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 72 (40.45%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 51 (28.65%) NIST
3 27 (15.17%) Cyber Essentials
4 19 (10.67%) Accessibility
5 15 (8.43%) GDPR
6 7 (3.93%) Actionable Recommendations
7 6 (3.37%) NCSC
8 5 (2.81%) NIST 800
9 4 (2.25%) GRC
9 4 (2.25%) QA
10 3 (1.69%) ITGC
10 3 (1.69%) PCI DSS
10 3 (1.69%) RMADS
11 2 (1.12%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 2 (1.12%) ISO/IEC 27005
11 2 (1.12%) SOC 2
12 1 (0.56%) COBIT
12 1 (0.56%) GxP
12 1 (0.56%) HIPAA
12 1 (0.56%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 13 (7.30%) Virtual Machines
2 10 (5.62%) Active Directory
3 5 (2.81%) VMware ESXi
3 5 (2.81%) VMware Infrastructure
4 2 (1.12%) EMC RecoverPoint
4 2 (1.12%) Hyper-V
4 2 (1.12%) pfSense
4 2 (1.12%) Squid
5 1 (0.56%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 12 (6.74%) Nessus
1 12 (6.74%) Nmap
2 7 (3.93%) QRadar
3 5 (2.81%) Microsoft Intune
4 4 (2.25%) Single Sign-On
5 3 (1.69%) ArcSight ESM
5 3 (1.69%) Kubernetes
5 3 (1.69%) Proxmox
6 2 (1.12%) Cisco CUCM
6 2 (1.12%) CSIRT
6 2 (1.12%) Terraform
6 2 (1.12%) VxRail
7 1 (0.56%) Ansible
7 1 (0.56%) FortiGate
7 1 (0.56%) Progress Chef
Vendors
1 55 (30.90%) Microsoft
2 14 (7.87%) Cisco
2 14 (7.87%) Tenable
3 13 (7.30%) ServiceNow
4 9 (5.06%) Splunk
5 8 (4.49%) VMware
6 7 (3.93%) Oracle
7 4 (2.25%) CheckPoint
7 4 (2.25%) Fortinet
7 4 (2.25%) Palo Alto
7 4 (2.25%) Qualys
7 4 (2.25%) Zscaler
8 3 (1.69%) ArcSight
8 3 (1.69%) Dell
8 3 (1.69%) IBM
8 3 (1.69%) LogLogic
8 3 (1.69%) McAfee
9 2 (1.12%) CyberArk
9 2 (1.12%) SonicWALL
9 2 (1.12%) Sophos