What Are The Responsibilities of A Penetration Tester

Summary

A penetration tester is an ethical hacker that finds and exploits security vulnerabilities inside a web based application, a system or network. In simple words, a penetration tester is a paid hacker. You get tons of penetration tools to work with or you design them yourself and then simulate real life cyber attacks and help your organization improve security by showing them these scenarios.

Full Responsibilities

Penetration testing is kind of cool and boring at the same time. You will mostly be stuck with your PC throughout the day. You are also expected to produce documentation over your findings and the methods you use.

Here is the complete list of responsibilities common with a Penetration Tester.

Perform penetration tests on systems, networks and web based applications
Create new tools or tests and use them
Find out and explain the methods attackers use to exploit system weaknesses
Help in cost cutting, cost engagement within a security strategy of your company
Document all your security findings and share it with the senior staff or IT teams
Make improvements to the security system by enhancing the existing technology or by providing support
Test physical security of systems, network devices and servers
Find out security loopholes and fill them up with new password policies and the like
Define and review the requirements for any new security solution needed
Provide feedback over security issues to your organization and then opt to fix them

Career Paths

In order to join a company as a penetration tester, you may need to start with the following jobs:

Network Administrator
System Administrator
Network Engineer
Security Administrator

After that, you can go on for a senior position

Security consultant
Security architect
Senior penetration tester

Related Jobs

Penetration testers are commonly also known by the names

Assurance validator
Ethical hacker

Expected Salary

The median salary of a penetration tester is around $72,878. You should still expect to make around $44,000 – $117,398 in a year.

Requirements

Education

Most penetration testers hold a specialized degree because ethical hacking is more of a technical skill than a theoretical one. If you have the appropriate job or relevant technical real world experience, then you may not even need a degree to begin with.

If you want to improve your standing, you should go to hacking conferences or do a professional certification on ethical hacking.

Work Experience

Overall you need at least 2-4 years of security related work experience with a lot of practice in penetration testing or vulnerability assessment. If you want to become a senior penetration tester, then you should have at least 7-10 years of experience in penetration testing.

Soft Skills

A penetration tester is often compared to a bad guy. This is because as a pen tester, you have to act and think like a bad guy to predict what could come next. Employers demand creativity, curiosity and complex puzzle solving skills in candidates.

You should also have good attention to detail with a little bit emphasis on oral and written communication skills. Some organizations will require you to have a very strong sense of communication skills because you may be required to educate people in your team or organization.