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Security Managers vs Penetration Testers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Security Managers 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 Managers Penetration Testers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$104,690
$108,970
Employment · BLS OEWS
141,090
439,380
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
15th pct
88th pct

At a glance

Dimension Security Managers Penetration Testers
Median pay $104,690 $108,970
Employment 141,090 439,380
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+3.8%) Growing fast (+8.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 13,200 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 Low · 15th pct High · 88th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk — —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman — —

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 Managers

  • Public Safety and Security
  • Problem Sensitivity
  • English Language
  • Critical Thinking
  • Oral Expression
  • Law and Government
  • Administration and Management
  • Reading Comprehension

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: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Data base user interface and query software , Development environment software , Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software , Transaction security and virus protection software .

    Specific to Security Managers

    Specific to Penetration Testers

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Security Managers 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 Managers 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. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/security-managers-vs-penetration-testers

    APA

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

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-security-managers-vs-penetration-testers,
  title  = {Security Managers 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. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/security-managers-vs-penetration-testers}
}

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