Side-by-side distribution
Dentist
$270,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 55.7%
- Live roles
- 106
Penetration Tester
$184,700
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.5%
- Live roles
- 73
Highest-paying jobs
General Dentist
General Dentist
Dentist
General Dentist
General Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist - $10k Sign-On Bonus
Associate / Lead Dentist - $10k Sign-On Bonus
Associate / Lead Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist
Highest-paying jobs
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)
Offensive Hardware Security Engineer, Platform Security
Principal Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Staff Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Penetration Tester
WebApp Offensive Security Software Engineer
Offensive Security Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Elite Dental Partners
|
$270,000 | 21 |
Enable Dental
|
$273,000 | 14 |
|
Tend
|
$300,000 | 6 |
|
Dental365
|
$325,000 | 4 |
Greenlife Healthcare Staffing
|
$161,375 | 4 |
Dentalook
|
$100,000 | 4 |
United Dental Corporation
|
$234,000 | 2 |
Aizer Health
|
$228,800 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| GR GRVTY | $215,000 | 2 |
|
Robinhood
|
$191,444 | 2 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,200 | 2 |
M9 Solutions
|
$120,000 | 2 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$106,000 | 2 |
|
OpenAI
|
$418,500 | 1 |
|
Anthropic
|
$362,500 | 1 |
|
Perplexity
|
$312,500 | 1 |
Dentist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $325,000 | 5 |
Penetration Tester salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $312,500 | 5 |
| New York | $236,000 | 7 |
Dentist vs Penetration Tester: which pays more?
The median for Dentist is $270,000 per year (typically $205,575–$274,000), versus $184,700 for Penetration Tester ($136,250–$218,250). That puts Dentist about 46% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Dentist 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.