Penetration Tester

← All career guides Security Penetration Tester Simulates real-world attacks against systems, networks, and applications to expose exploitable weaknesses before adversaries do. Find relevant jobs→Print learning guideOpen Hitchhiker's guide→ Skill coverage 88% 7 of 8 skills Course coverage 79% 11 of 14 courses Skill coverage shows how much of the role's capability map already has a published course. Course coverage shows how much of the mapped course pipeline for this role has shipped. Role skills 8 Published coverage 7 Relevant courses 11 Capability map Skills Importance describes how central each capability is to the role. Course coverage shows where you can build the skill in the current OpenSkills catalog. 01 Offensive techniques 5 capabilities Reconnaissance Importance: Essential (5 of 5) Maps attack surfaces through passive and active information gathering. Course coverage Penetration Testing Fundamentals Reconnaissance and OSINT (planned) Exploitation Importance: Essential (5 of 5) Identifies and safely exploits vulnerabilities within agreed scope. Course coverage Penetration Testing Fundamentals Ethical Hacking Fundamentals AI Red Teaming Mobile Application Penetration Testing Red Team Operations Web application testing Importance: Essential (5 of 5) Probes web applications and APIs for injection, auth, and logic flaws. Course coverage API Security OWASP Top 10 Web Application Penetration Testing (planned) Network penetration Importance: Very important (4 of 5) Attacks network services, protocols, and segmentation controls. Course coverage Network Penetration Testing Cloud Penetration Testing Social engineering Importance: Important (3 of 5) Tests human-layer defenses through phishing and pretexting engagements. Course coverage Social Engineering Assessments (planned) 02 Engagement practice 3 capabilities Scoping and ethics Importance: Essential (5 of 5) Defines rules of engagement and operates within legal boundaries. Course coverage Penetration Testing Fundamentals Ethical Hacking Fundamentals Reporting Importance: Essential (5 of 5) Documents findings with impact, evidence, and actionable remediation. Course coverage Penetration Testing Fundamentals Ethical Hacking Fundamentals Scripting and tooling Importance: Very important (4 of 5) Automates testing workflows and adapts offensive tooling. Course coverage Linux Shell Scripting Offensive Security Scripting and Tooling Learning path Relevant courses Print all introsPrint all cheatsheets Core foundations The concepts this role is built on. Network Penetration Testing Penetration Testing Fundamentals Web Application Penetration Testing, Reconnaissance and OSINT (planned) Supporting knowledge Adjacent knowledge that improves day-to-day judgment. API Security Ethical Hacking Fundamentals Linux Shell Scripting Offensive Security Scripting and Tooling OWASP Top 10 Specializations Deeper paths for particular environments or directions. AI Red Teaming Cloud Penetration Testing Mobile Application Penetration Testing Red Team Operations Social Engineering Assessments (planned) Put the map to work Find Penetration Tester roles. Search multiple job sources at once with queries tailored to this career, then use the skill map above to evaluate what each role actually asks for. Open job search→ Keep exploring More in Security Cybersecurity Analyst→ Security Engineer→