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Security Management Specialists vs Penetration Testers

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Security Management Specialists and Penetration Testers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Security Management Specialists Penetration Testers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$81,270
$108,970
Employment · BLS OEWS
1,128,200
439,380
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
73rd pct
88th pct

At a glance

Dimension Security Management Specialists Penetration Testers
Median pay $81,270 $108,970
Employment 1,128,200 439,380
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+3.0%) Growing fast (+8.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 108,200 31,300
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 73rd pct High · 88th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 80th pct · 43% of tasks —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes —

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Specific to Security Management Specialists

  • Public Safety and Security
  • Oral Expression
  • Problem Sensitivity
  • English Language
  • Active Listening
  • Oral Comprehension
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Speaking

Specific to Penetration Testers

    Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

    Tools & technology

    Shared: Data base user interface and query software , Operating system software , Internet directory services software , Development environment software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Web platform development software , Object or component oriented development software , Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software , Program testing software , Transaction security and virus protection software .

    Specific to Security Management Specialists

    Specific to Penetration Testers

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Security Management Specialists or Penetration Testers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Security Management Specialists vs Penetration Testers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/security-management-specialists-vs-penetration-testers

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Security Management Specialists vs Penetration Testers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/security-management-specialists-vs-penetration-testers

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-security-management-specialists-vs-penetration-testers,
  title  = {Security Management Specialists vs Penetration Testers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/security-management-specialists-vs-penetration-testers}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.