Penetration Testing
UK

The following table provides summary statistics for permanent job vacancies with a requirement for Penetration Testing skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the salaries offered in vacancies that have cited Penetration Testing over the 6 months to 19 April 2024 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
19 Apr 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 447 472 539
Rank change year-on-year +25 +67 -129
Permanent jobs citing Penetration Testing 537 675 930
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 0.55% 0.63% 0.61%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.64% 0.66% 0.64%
Number of salaries quoted 420 445 652
10th Percentile £38,750 £42,500 £35,000
25th Percentile £47,500 £50,250 £50,000
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £62,500 £67,500 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -7.41% +12.50% -
75th Percentile £82,500 £90,000 £77,500
90th Percentile £95,000 £103,250 £90,000
UK excluding London median annual salary £55,000 £55,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year - -4.35% +4.55%

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

Penetration Testing is in the Processes and Methodologies category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills.

Permanent vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 83,814 101,905 146,218
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in the UK 86.22% 95.67% 95.49%
Number of salaries quoted 59,590 59,680 83,719
10th Percentile £29,000 £34,000 £33,250
25th Percentile £40,000 £45,000 £43,750
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £61,500 £60,000
Median % change year-on-year -10.57% +2.50% +9.09%
75th Percentile £72,500 £82,500 £80,000
90th Percentile £92,500 £100,000 £96,250
UK excluding London median annual salary £50,000 £54,882 £52,500
% change year-on-year -8.90% +4.54% +9.38%

Penetration Testing
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Penetration Testing as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Salary Trend

3-month moving average salary quoted in jobs citing Penetration Testing.

Salary trend for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Salary Histogram

Salary distribution for jobs citing Penetration Testing over the 6 months to 19 April 2024.

Salary histogram for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Top 18 Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Penetration Testing within the UK over the 6 months to 19 April 2024. 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
England +60 486 £65,000 -3.70% 112
UK excluding London -52 246 £55,000 - 73
London +98 241 £70,000 -14.56% 37
Work from Home -3 228 £60,000 -13.29% 73
South East -21 60 £42,500 -39.29% 22
South West +13 57 £55,000 +7.84% 16
North of England +36 55 £57,500 +7.48% 18
Midlands 0 53 £55,000 -8.33% 5
North West +24 42 £60,000 +12.15% 14
West Midlands +4 33 £55,000 -8.33% 1
East Midlands 0 20 £65,000 -3.70% 4
Yorkshire +73 12 £44,250 -15.91% 3
East of England +19 9 £42,500 -22.73% 3
Scotland -81 7 £60,000 -4.00% 6
Wales +1 3 £58,000 -3.33% 2
Northern Ireland +25 1 £80,000 +10.34%
North East -8 1 - - 1
Channel Islands - 1 £100,000 -

Penetration Testing
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 6 (1.12%) Microsoft Exchange
2 4 (0.74%) SharePoint
3 2 (0.37%) Apache
4 1 (0.19%) Drupal
4 1 (0.19%) IIS
4 1 (0.19%) nginx
4 1 (0.19%) WebSphere
4 1 (0.19%) WordPress
Applications
1 3 (0.56%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 1 (0.19%) Magento
Cloud Services
1 114 (21.23%) Azure
2 80 (14.90%) AWS
3 50 (9.31%) Microsoft 365
4 26 (4.84%) GCP
5 16 (2.98%) Cloud Computing
6 13 (2.42%) Entra ID
7 10 (1.86%) Azure DevOps
7 10 (1.86%) Google Workspace
8 9 (1.68%) SaaS
9 8 (1.49%) Amazon ECS
9 8 (1.49%) Cloudflare
9 8 (1.49%) PaaS
10 7 (1.30%) Azure Sentinel
10 7 (1.30%) Dynamics 365
10 7 (1.30%) IaaS
11 6 (1.12%) Mimecast
12 4 (0.74%) Azure Service Bus
13 3 (0.56%) Power Platform
13 3 (0.56%) PowerApps
13 3 (0.56%) WhatsApp
Communications & Networking
1 131 (24.39%) Firewall
2 77 (14.34%) Network Security
3 43 (8.01%) Wireless
4 32 (5.96%) Intrusion Detection
5 31 (5.77%) DNS
6 18 (3.35%) TCP/IP
7 17 (3.17%) Wi-Fi
8 14 (2.61%) VPN
9 12 (2.23%) Wireshark
10 10 (1.86%) Broadband
10 10 (1.86%) Internet
10 10 (1.86%) NAS
11 9 (1.68%) LAN
12 8 (1.49%) SSL
13 7 (1.30%) SAN
14 6 (1.12%) BGP
14 6 (1.12%) WAN
15 5 (0.93%) HTTP
15 5 (0.93%) NGFW
15 5 (0.93%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 11 (2.05%) SQL Server
2 6 (1.12%) NoSQL
3 5 (0.93%) MongoDB
4 4 (0.74%) InfluxDB
5 3 (0.56%) Data Lake
6 1 (0.19%) Azure SQL Database
6 1 (0.19%) Redis
Development Applications
1 45 (8.38%) Burp Suite
2 44 (8.19%) Metasploit
3 9 (1.68%) Jenkins
4 7 (1.30%) Git
5 5 (0.93%) JMeter
5 5 (0.93%) Postman
5 5 (0.93%) SoapUI
6 4 (0.74%) JIRA
7 3 (0.56%) Cucumber
7 3 (0.56%) Selenium
8 2 (0.37%) Bitbucket
8 2 (0.37%) GitLab
8 2 (0.37%) SpecFlow
8 2 (0.37%) sqlmap
9 1 (0.19%) Snyk
General
1 169 (31.47%) Social Skills
2 93 (17.32%) Analytical Skills
3 70 (13.04%) Finance
4 49 (9.12%) Legal
5 40 (7.45%) Law
6 31 (5.77%) Presentation Skills
6 31 (5.77%) Retail
7 26 (4.84%) Telecoms
8 24 (4.47%) Games
9 23 (4.28%) Banking
10 22 (4.10%) Public Sector
11 21 (3.91%) Aerospace
11 21 (3.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
12 18 (3.35%) Marketing
13 14 (2.61%) Influencing Skills
13 14 (2.61%) Military
14 8 (1.49%) Automotive
14 8 (1.49%) Manufacturing
15 7 (1.30%) Aviation
15 7 (1.30%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 141 (26.26%) Tester
2 138 (25.70%) Penetration Tester
3 82 (15.27%) Analyst
4 71 (13.22%) Lead
5 70 (13.04%) Senior
6 63 (11.73%) Security Analyst
7 44 (8.19%) Consultant
8 37 (6.89%) Security Engineer
9 36 (6.70%) Team Leader
10 33 (6.15%) Security Manager
11 30 (5.59%) Cybersecurity Analyst
11 30 (5.59%) Security Consultant
12 23 (4.28%) Senior Penetration Tester
12 23 (4.28%) Senior Tester
13 22 (4.10%) Test Team Leader
14 21 (3.91%) Architect
14 21 (3.91%) Security Tester
15 20 (3.72%) Security Penetration Tester
16 18 (3.35%) Cybersecurity Manager
16 18 (3.35%) Security Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (2.79%) OAuth
2 12 (2.23%) OAuth2
3 8 (1.49%) Laravel
4 5 (0.93%) .NET
5 4 (0.74%) EDI
5 4 (0.74%) SOAP
5 4 (0.74%) XML
6 3 (0.56%) OpenID
6 3 (0.56%) Web Services
7 2 (0.37%) HTML
7 2 (0.37%) React
7 2 (0.37%) RESTful
7 2 (0.37%) Spring
7 2 (0.37%) Spring Boot
7 2 (0.37%) WPF
8 1 (0.19%) Django
8 1 (0.19%) Kafka
8 1 (0.19%) Loki
8 1 (0.19%) SAML
8 1 (0.19%) SignalR
Miscellaneous
1 63 (11.73%) Cyber Threat
2 39 (7.26%) Management Information System
2 39 (7.26%) Security Posture
3 34 (6.33%) Cyberattack
4 31 (5.77%) Mobile App
5 27 (5.03%) Onboarding
6 25 (4.66%) Self-Motivation
7 22 (4.10%) Operational Technology
8 16 (2.98%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
9 14 (2.61%) Cyber Defence
9 14 (2.61%) IoT
10 13 (2.42%) Data Centre
11 11 (2.05%) Hybrid Cloud
12 10 (1.86%) Video Conferencing
13 9 (1.68%) Embedded Systems
14 7 (1.30%) Analytical Mindset
14 7 (1.30%) Cyber Security Posture
14 7 (1.30%) Data Protection Act
14 7 (1.30%) Security Operations Centre
15 5 (0.93%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 81 (15.08%) Windows
2 68 (12.66%) Linux
3 40 (7.45%) Kali Linux
4 27 (5.03%) Apple iOS
4 27 (5.03%) Windows Server
5 26 (4.84%) Android
6 17 (3.17%) Unix
7 11 (2.05%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.74%) Mac OS X
9 2 (0.37%) AIX
9 2 (0.37%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.37%) Windows 10
10 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2012
10 1 (0.19%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 383 (71.32%) Cybersecurity
2 158 (29.42%) Information Security
3 115 (21.42%) Computer Science
3 115 (21.42%) Problem-Solving
4 99 (18.44%) Incident Response
5 98 (18.25%) Application Security
6 89 (16.57%) Red Team
7 87 (16.20%) Security Testing
8 86 (16.01%) Vulnerability Scanning
9 71 (13.22%) Mentoring
9 71 (13.22%) SIEM
9 71 (13.22%) Vulnerability Assessment
10 62 (11.55%) Security Operations
11 59 (10.99%) Vulnerability Management
12 55 (10.24%) OWASP
13 46 (8.57%) Risk Management
14 44 (8.19%) Malware Analysis
15 43 (8.01%) Patch Management
15 43 (8.01%) Reverse Engineering
16 41 (7.64%) Agile
Programming Languages
1 55 (10.24%) Python
2 32 (5.96%) Bash
3 16 (2.98%) SQL
4 15 (2.79%) Java
5 12 (2.23%) PowerShell
6 11 (2.05%) C#
7 9 (1.68%) PHP
8 8 (1.49%) Go
8 8 (1.49%) JavaScript
8 8 (1.49%) Rust
9 4 (0.74%) T-SQL
10 3 (0.56%) Ruby
11 2 (0.37%) C++
12 1 (0.19%) Bicep
12 1 (0.19%) Perl
12 1 (0.19%) Shell Script
12 1 (0.19%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.19%) VB
Qualifications
1 123 (22.91%) Degree
2 105 (19.55%) CISSP
3 94 (17.50%) CREST Certified
4 70 (13.04%) OSCP
5 66 (12.29%) Computer Science Degree
6 63 (11.73%) Security Cleared
7 55 (10.24%) CISM
8 50 (9.31%) SC Cleared
9 45 (8.38%) CompTIA Security+
10 33 (6.15%) CEH
10 33 (6.15%) CHECK Team Member
11 32 (5.96%) CompTIA CySA+
12 29 (5.40%) CISA
13 28 (5.21%) Cisco Certification
13 28 (5.21%) GIAC
14 27 (5.03%) CHECK Team Leader
15 23 (4.28%) Network+ Certification
16 19 (3.54%) (ISC)2 CCSP
16 19 (3.54%) CCSP
16 19 (3.54%) Cyber Scheme
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 100 (18.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 67 (12.48%) NIST
3 61 (11.36%) Cyber Essentials
4 31 (5.77%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
5 30 (5.59%) QA
6 29 (5.40%) GRC
7 27 (5.03%) SOC 2
8 24 (4.47%) GDPR
9 22 (4.10%) PCI DSS
10 10 (1.86%) NCSC
11 9 (1.68%) Accessibility
12 8 (1.49%) NIST 800
13 7 (1.30%) DO-254
14 6 (1.12%) Actionable Recommendations
14 6 (1.12%) HIPAA
15 5 (0.93%) COBIT
16 4 (0.74%) HMG Security Policy Framework
17 3 (0.56%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
17 3 (0.56%) JSP 440
17 3 (0.56%) JTAG
System Software
1 48 (8.94%) Active Directory
2 27 (5.03%) VMware Infrastructure
3 8 (1.49%) Virtual Machines
4 6 (1.12%) Docker
5 4 (0.74%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.56%) Virtual Servers
7 2 (0.37%) Firmware
8 1 (0.19%) Microsoft Virtual Server
8 1 (0.19%) VMware Server
8 1 (0.19%) XenApp
8 1 (0.19%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 24 (4.47%) Nessus
2 16 (2.98%) Kubernetes
3 13 (2.42%) Nmap
3 13 (2.42%) WSUS
4 11 (2.05%) Ansible
4 11 (2.05%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
5 10 (1.86%) Single Sign-On
6 8 (1.49%) Microsoft Intune
6 8 (1.49%) QRadar
7 7 (1.30%) SCCM
8 5 (0.93%) CASB
8 5 (0.93%) DatAdvantage
8 5 (0.93%) Grafana
8 5 (0.93%) Progress Chef
8 5 (0.93%) Terraform
9 4 (0.74%) HP Fortify
10 3 (0.56%) FortiGate
11 2 (0.37%) CSIRT
11 2 (0.37%) Suricata
12 1 (0.19%) Prometheus
Vendors
1 92 (17.13%) Microsoft
2 27 (5.03%) VMware
3 22 (4.10%) Qualys
4 21 (3.91%) Cisco
5 19 (3.54%) Google
6 12 (2.23%) Splunk
7 10 (1.86%) Apple
8 6 (1.12%) HubSpot
8 6 (1.12%) Oracle
9 5 (0.93%) Darktrace
9 5 (0.93%) HP
9 5 (0.93%) Palo Alto
9 5 (0.93%) Rapid7
9 5 (0.93%) Red Hat
9 5 (0.93%) Varonis
9 5 (0.93%) Veeam
10 4 (0.74%) Alibaba
10 4 (0.74%) IBM
10 4 (0.74%) Kenna
10 4 (0.74%) ServiceNow