Penetration Testing Contracts

Penetration Testing
UK

The following table provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies with a requirement for Penetration Testing skills. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that have cited Penetration Testing over the 6 months to 9 June 2024 with a comparison to the same period in the previous 2 years.

6 months to
9 Jun 2024
Same period 2023 Same period 2022
Rank 376 453 576
Rank change year-on-year +77 +123 -78
Contract jobs citing Penetration Testing 231 249 288
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 0.53% 0.45% 0.33%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 0.63% 0.50% 0.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 168 165 200
10th Percentile £425 £450 £400
25th Percentile £500 £500 £500
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £575 £575
Median % change year-on-year -4.35% - +9.52%
75th Percentile £669 £675 £650
90th Percentile £725 £800 £725
UK excluding London median daily rate £530 £550 £575
% change year-on-year -3.64% -4.35% +21.05%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1 1 0
10th Percentile - - -
25th Percentile £81.75 - -
Median hourly rate £83.50 £80.00 -
Median % change year-on-year +4.38% - -
75th Percentile £85.25 - -
90th Percentile - - -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £83.50 - -

All Process and Methodology Skills
UK

Penetration Testing is in the Processes and Methodologies category. The following table is for comparison with the above and provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 36,914 49,809 79,437
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 85.21% 89.64% 90.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,592 34,469 55,846
10th Percentile £300 £325 £350
25th Percentile £413 £438 £435
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £550 £538
Median % change year-on-year -4.55% +2.33% +7.50%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £649
90th Percentile £750 £750 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £490
% change year-on-year - +2.04% +8.89%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,564 1,687 1,868
10th Percentile £12.75 £10.70 £12.50
25th Percentile £16.00 £15.75 £15.75
Median hourly rate £36.50 £35.80 £25.68
Median % change year-on-year +1.96% +39.41% +11.65%
75th Percentile £61.25 £65.00 £50.00
90th Percentile £72.50 £75.00 £65.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £38.12 £35.00 £20.51
% change year-on-year +8.91% +70.69% -2.36%

Penetration Testing
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Penetration Testing as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Penetration Testing.

Daily rate trend for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Penetration Testing over the 6 months to 9 June 2024.

Daily rate histogram for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Penetration Testing.

Hourly rate trend for Penetration Testing in the UK

Penetration Testing
Top 16 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Penetration Testing within the UK over the 6 months to 9 June 2024. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England +66 188 £585 +2.18% 108
London +51 101 £585 -2.50% 37
UK excluding London +49 99 £530 -3.64% 68
Work from Home +105 88 £550 - 71
North of England +27 30 £650 +23.81% 20
South West +24 23 £525 - 8
North West +21 23 £666 +21.09% 14
Scotland +54 22 £515 -6.36% 7
South East +5 11 £530 -7.02% 15
Midlands +18 10 £600 -17.24% 13
East of England 0 8 £650 +18.18% 3
West Midlands +8 7 £650 -10.34% 11
Yorkshire +4 5 £650 +23.81% 6
East Midlands - 3 £400 - 2
North East - 2 £625 -
Wales +19 1 £363 -27.50% 1

Penetration Testing
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 4 (1.73%) Confluence
1 4 (1.73%) IIS
1 4 (1.73%) JBoss
Applications
1 3 (1.30%) Microsoft Excel
2 1 (0.43%) Microsoft Office
2 1 (0.43%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 1 (0.43%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 3 (1.30%) Dynamics GP
2 1 (0.43%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 48 (20.78%) Azure
2 25 (10.82%) AWS
3 15 (6.49%) GCP
4 9 (3.90%) Azure Sentinel
5 8 (3.46%) Entra ID
6 7 (3.03%) Power Platform
7 5 (2.16%) CloudFront
7 5 (2.16%) Microsoft 365
7 5 (2.16%) SaaS
7 5 (2.16%) Virtual Private Cloud
8 4 (1.73%) Azure DevOps
8 4 (1.73%) GitHub
9 3 (1.30%) GitHub Actions
10 2 (0.87%) AWS CloudFormation
10 2 (0.87%) PaaS
11 1 (0.43%) Azure ExpressRoute
11 1 (0.43%) Cloudflare
11 1 (0.43%) Mimecast
11 1 (0.43%) Oracle CX
11 1 (0.43%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 63 (27.27%) Firewall
2 43 (18.61%) Network Security
3 15 (6.49%) Wireless
4 14 (6.06%) Intrusion Detection
5 12 (5.19%) WAN
6 11 (4.76%) SD-WAN
7 10 (4.33%) VPN
8 9 (3.90%) TCP/IP
9 8 (3.46%) DNS
10 5 (2.16%) Cisco ISE
10 5 (2.16%) SSL
10 5 (2.16%) tcpdump
10 5 (2.16%) Wireshark
11 3 (1.30%) NGFW
12 2 (0.87%) DHCP
12 2 (0.87%) HTTP
12 2 (0.87%) Internet
12 2 (0.87%) LAN
13 1 (0.43%) FTP
13 1 (0.43%) VoIP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 4 (1.73%) Apache Hive
1 4 (1.73%) DB2
1 4 (1.73%) Hadoop
1 4 (1.73%) Tableau
2 1 (0.43%) Oracle Database
2 1 (0.43%) Oracle Exadata
Development Applications
1 19 (8.23%) Jenkins
2 14 (6.06%) GitLab
3 12 (5.19%) Burp Suite
4 9 (3.90%) JIRA
5 4 (1.73%) IDA Disassembler
5 4 (1.73%) Vagrant
6 3 (1.30%) Metasploit
7 1 (0.43%) CircleCI
7 1 (0.43%) Git
7 1 (0.43%) Team Foundation Server
7 1 (0.43%) TeamCity
General
1 60 (25.97%) Finance
2 44 (19.05%) Social Skills
3 33 (14.29%) Public Sector
4 31 (13.42%) Analytical Skills
4 31 (13.42%) Banking
5 11 (4.76%) Retail
6 6 (2.60%) Legal
6 6 (2.60%) Manufacturing
7 4 (1.73%) Presentation Skills
8 2 (0.87%) Law
8 2 (0.87%) Multimedia
9 1 (0.43%) Automotive
9 1 (0.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 1 (0.43%) Influencing Skills
9 1 (0.43%) Marketing
9 1 (0.43%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 39 (16.88%) Architect
2 35 (15.15%) Security Architect
3 34 (14.72%) Consultant
4 32 (13.85%) Security Consultant
5 31 (13.42%) Analyst
6 30 (12.99%) Security Engineer
7 19 (8.23%) Security Analyst
8 18 (7.79%) Senior
9 17 (7.36%) Penetration Tester
9 17 (7.36%) Tester
10 15 (6.49%) Infrastructure Engineer
11 14 (6.06%) Network Engineer
12 12 (5.19%) Cybersecurity Analyst
13 11 (4.76%) Network Infrastructure Engineer
14 9 (3.90%) Security Manager
15 8 (3.46%) Azure Engineer
15 8 (3.46%) DevSecOps Engineer
15 8 (3.46%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
16 7 (3.03%) Cybersecurity Manager
16 7 (3.03%) Senior Cybersecurity Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 5 (2.16%) OAuth
1 5 (2.16%) OAuth2
1 5 (2.16%) SAML
2 4 (1.73%) OLE
3 2 (0.87%) RESTful
3 2 (0.87%) Web Services
4 1 (0.43%) .NET
4 1 (0.43%) ARM Templates
4 1 (0.43%) Azure Blueprints
4 1 (0.43%) EDI
4 1 (0.43%) JWT
4 1 (0.43%) OpenID
Miscellaneous
1 30 (12.99%) Cyber Threat
1 30 (12.99%) Security Posture
2 16 (6.93%) Data Centre
2 16 (6.93%) Management Information System
3 15 (6.49%) Mobile App
3 15 (6.49%) PKI
3 15 (6.49%) Private Cloud
4 12 (5.19%) Security Operations Centre
5 8 (3.46%) Cloud Native
5 8 (3.46%) Cyber Kill Chain
5 8 (3.46%) Operational Technology
6 6 (2.60%) Cyberattack
7 5 (2.16%) Cyber Defence
8 4 (1.73%) Distributed Denial-of-Service
8 4 (1.73%) Hybrid Cloud
8 4 (1.73%) YARA
9 3 (1.30%) IoT
9 3 (1.30%) Renewable Energy
10 2 (0.87%) Insider Threat
10 2 (0.87%) Product Ownership
Operating Systems
1 41 (17.75%) Windows
2 36 (15.58%) Linux
3 8 (3.46%) Kali Linux
4 7 (3.03%) Unix
5 5 (2.16%) Windows Server
6 4 (1.73%) AIX
6 4 (1.73%) Solaris
7 1 (0.43%) Mac OS X
7 1 (0.43%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 115 (49.78%) Cybersecurity
2 68 (29.44%) Information Security
3 54 (23.38%) Cloud Security
4 47 (20.35%) SIEM
5 43 (18.61%) Vulnerability Scanning
6 42 (18.18%) Vulnerability Management
7 41 (17.75%) Application Security
8 40 (17.32%) Threat Modelling
9 39 (16.88%) Security Operations
10 37 (16.02%) DevSecOps
11 35 (15.15%) DevOps
11 35 (15.15%) Incident Response
12 33 (14.29%) Identity Access Management
12 33 (14.29%) Problem-Solving
13 30 (12.99%) CI/CD
14 29 (12.55%) Risk Management
15 28 (12.12%) Ethical Hacking
15 28 (12.12%) Security Architecture
16 27 (11.69%) Red Team
16 27 (11.69%) Vulnerability Assessment
Programming Languages
1 26 (11.26%) Python
2 14 (6.06%) Kusto Query Language
3 10 (4.33%) C++
4 7 (3.03%) JavaScript
5 6 (2.60%) PowerShell
6 5 (2.16%) Perl
6 5 (2.16%) Search Processing Language
7 4 (1.73%) C#
7 4 (1.73%) Java
7 4 (1.73%) SQL
8 3 (1.30%) C
8 3 (1.30%) Go
8 3 (1.30%) Shell Script
9 2 (0.87%) Bicep
9 2 (0.87%) Ruby
10 1 (0.43%) Bash
Qualifications
1 55 (23.81%) Security Cleared
2 52 (22.51%) SC Cleared
3 31 (13.42%) Degree
4 20 (8.66%) OSCP
5 19 (8.23%) CISSP
6 18 (7.79%) CEH
7 17 (7.36%) Computer Science Degree
7 17 (7.36%) CREST Certified
8 14 (6.06%) CISM
9 13 (5.63%) GIAC
10 10 (4.33%) GPEN
11 7 (3.03%) CompTIA Security+
11 7 (3.03%) ITIL Certification
11 7 (3.03%) MCSE
11 7 (3.03%) Microsoft Certification
12 5 (2.16%) AWS Certification
12 5 (2.16%) DV Cleared
13 4 (1.73%) Master's Degree
14 3 (1.30%) CCNA
14 3 (1.30%) Cisco Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 57 (24.68%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 53 (22.94%) NIST
3 20 (8.66%) GDPR
4 15 (6.49%) PCI DSS
5 12 (5.19%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
6 9 (3.90%) HMG Security Policy Framework
7 7 (3.03%) HIPAA
7 7 (3.03%) QA
8 5 (2.16%) COBIT
8 5 (2.16%) NCSC
9 4 (1.73%) Disclosure Scotland
9 4 (1.73%) SLA
10 2 (0.87%) Actionable Recommendations
10 2 (0.87%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.87%) ISO 22301
10 2 (0.87%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.43%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
11 1 (0.43%) GRC
11 1 (0.43%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.43%) PMO
System Software
1 20 (8.66%) Active Directory
2 16 (6.93%) VMware Infrastructure
3 14 (6.06%) vSphere
4 5 (2.16%) Docker
4 5 (2.16%) Snort
5 4 (1.73%) Hyper-V
6 2 (0.87%) Firmware
7 1 (0.43%) Terminal Services
Systems Management
1 24 (10.39%) Terraform
2 13 (5.63%) vCenter Server
3 7 (3.03%) Nessus
4 5 (2.16%) SCCM
5 4 (1.73%) Kibana
5 4 (1.73%) Tivoli
6 3 (1.30%) Kubernetes
6 3 (1.30%) Microsoft Intune
7 2 (0.87%) Ansible
7 2 (0.87%) CASB
7 2 (0.87%) HP Fortify
8 1 (0.43%) Argo
8 1 (0.43%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
8 1 (0.43%) CSIRT
8 1 (0.43%) Nmap
8 1 (0.43%) OpenVAS
8 1 (0.43%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 35 (15.15%) Microsoft
2 18 (7.79%) Google
3 16 (6.93%) VMware
4 11 (4.76%) Splunk
5 9 (3.90%) Qualys
6 8 (3.46%) Cisco
7 6 (2.60%) Oracle
8 5 (2.16%) F5
8 5 (2.16%) SAP
9 4 (1.73%) AppDynamics
9 4 (1.73%) CheckPoint
9 4 (1.73%) IBM
10 3 (1.30%) Checkmarx
10 3 (1.30%) Tufin
10 3 (1.30%) Veracode
10 3 (1.30%) Zscaler
11 2 (0.87%) Palo Alto
11 2 (0.87%) Salesforce
12 1 (0.43%) Barracuda Networks
12 1 (0.43%) Remedy