Side-by-side distribution
Cybersecurity
$123,310
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 42.2%
- Live roles
- 1,309
Penetration Tester
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 40.5%
- Live roles
- 158
Highest-paying jobs
Research Engineer, Cybersecurity RL (Reinforcement Learning)
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Full Stack Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Staff Security GRC Analyst
Security Risk Analyst, Risk Engineering
Pre-Sales Engineer, Cybersecurity
Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield)
Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield)
Cybersecurity Mid Market Sales Engineer
Principal Security GRC Analyst
Highest-paying jobs
Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)
Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Security Engineer, Level 5, Offensive Security
Senior Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Offensive Security Engineer
Staff Security Engineer (Penetration Tester)
Sr. Staff Security Engineer – AI, VMR, Offensive Security
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Offensive Security Engineer
Staff Offensive Security Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 50 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$117,700 | 42 |
CACI
|
$143,125 | 20 |
Leidos
|
$122,275 | 19 |
GDIT
|
$137,328 | 16 |
|
SpaceX
|
$162,500 | 11 |
Workday
|
$154,500 | 11 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$45,760 | 11 |
Samsara
Cybersecurity salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $271,450 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $175,000 | 10 |
| Seattle | $158,523 | 14 |
| Denver | $156,600 | 6 |
| Boston | $146,000 | 11 |
| New York | $145,000 | 20 |
| Austin | $133,694 | 9 |
| Atlanta | $131,250 | 9 |
| Chicago | $116,961 | 13 |
| Dublin | $93,980 | 3 |
Penetration Tester salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $257,500 | 4 |
| New York | $225,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $198,088 | 8 |
| Seattle | $194,044 | 6 |
Cybersecurity vs Penetration Tester: which pays more?
The median for Cybersecurity is $123,310 per year (typically $97,638–$152,500), versus $160,000 for Penetration Tester ($139,950–$202,522). That puts Penetration Tester about 30% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Cybersecurity and Penetration Tester are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.