Career in Penetration Testing: What Would a Penetration Tester Do?

IT, cyber, and network security are huge fields in today’s world. As more and more information becomes available and is stored online, there becomes a bigger need than ever before for security of that information. The world needs highly skilled individuals that can protect the infrastructure of networks and systems.

What Would a Penetration Tester Do?

The job of a penetration tester is to find exploits, weak points, or holes in computer systems and software. This would include trying to break into a system in order to find out where the vulnerabilities are. Running a number of tests is required in order to do this. Running these tests and filling out assessments and reports of is a very important aspect of the job. This allows pen testers to report what they have discovered so that any issues can be resolved.

Pen testers do get to use their imagination and creativity when coming up with their own tests to run on systems. Sometimes pre-determined tests will be run, but a lot of the time it will be required to come up with and run custom ones. This does allow the pen tester to get creative and have a little fun when coming up with tests, but also requires skill and technical knowledge to implement.

A penetration tester does hold a significant amount of responsibility. It is their job to run formal tests on web-based applications, networks, or any other computer systems. The security of servers, networks, and systems lies in the hands of the penetration tester. Areas of specialty include wireless networks, databases, software, company websites, and more. Pen testers may be required to work in multiple areas, but may also specialize in just one single area.

Career and Salary

All this responsibility that a pen tester holds does not come without reward. Salaries for IT consultants range from about $55,000 - $88,000 per year. Entry level will be closer to the lower end of the salary of course, but there are plenty of opportunities for advancement. Demand is good for IT consultants with skills in penetration testing. Working in government positions offers a slightly lower salary range of about $52,000 - $87,000 per year. With demand in both the private and public sectors, job outlook seems good for individuals interested in penetration testing.

Technology is constantly becoming a bigger and bigger part of society and demand for security of online information is only increasing.

Want to learn more about careers in penetration testing? Visit the TrainACE penetration testing class for more info. TrainACE also provides IT security classes in many other areas such as CEH, CHFI, cloud security, and more. Visit the main information security page here.

Guest post by Alan Rosinski