Why you should build a career in Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is one of the hottest career paths of this decade. To become a penetration tester, you need to undergo ethical hacking training and get yourself certified as a pentester. The job of a penetration testing professional is to penetrate or breach into computer systems with the intent of finding bugs and reporting them for the benefit of the organisation’s security. From a career point of view, penetration testing or ethical hacking is highly promising and attractive, mainly due to the following reasons:

1. It has a massive demand:
   

   Penetration testers are in massive demand all over the world. Many organisations have increased their spending in terms of cybersecurity. Owing to the surge in cybercrime, penetration testers’ recruitment has become a priority in every firm, whether it is public or private.

2. They enjoy a hefty salary:
   

   Monetary benefits for penetration testers are more than satisfactory. They earn, on an average, USD 95,510 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not to mention that these professionals are among the top paid experts in the entire IT industry.

3. It is a really cool job:
   

   Let’s admit it. Getting paid to break into machines is a really cool job. How many people in the world can say that they attack and breach secured systems to make a living? Penetration testing is an insanely exciting field if you have the technical aptitude for it.

4. Zero per cent unemployment rate:
   

   Penetration testers have a zero per cent unemployment rate. Having job security is one of the most important things when choosing a particular career. Due to the high demand for these professionals and a comparatively menial supply, the skill gap keeps on widening and the threat of unemployment ceases to exist.

5. It is never monotonous:
   

   Think of a regular workday of a penetration tester. Even if you are working for a single organisation, you will have to deal with different attack vectors and systems every single day. Rest assured, penetration testing is one of the least boring professions there is.

6. It has an incredibly wide scope:

Cybersecurity jobs have a wider scope as compared to other fields. After completing your ethical hacking education, you can get a job in any sector anywhere in the world. From information technology to retail, from banking to insurance, from aerospace to military, the job opportunities are countless.

7. Easy to obtain certification:
   

   It is a myth that becoming a penetration tester requires a computer science degree. Surely, that helps, but it is not a mandatory eligibility criterion. Anyone can undertake the training and get a certification in the field. All you need is technical aptitude and a will to keep learning. Some of the most coveted and demanded certifications in this field are CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), CPENT (Certified Penetration Testing Professional). Others include CompTIA PenTest+, Global Information Assurance Certification Penetration Tester (GPEN) and more.

8. You’ll be making the world safe:
   

   At the end, who doesn’t like to make a difference through their work. Knowing that every day you go to work, you are changing someone’s life is a privilege enjoyed by a few. The digital world is synonymous with our second home and anything that helps keep it safe from threats and crime is a noble profession.

So, what do you think about becoming a penetration tester? Clearly, the benefits outweigh the cost of investing yourself in this career. As parting words, remember that if you are choosing penetration testing, you are doing so after well-detailed research about its various aspects. If it helps, you can also speak to someone who has been in the profession for a long time.