How Much Does it Cost to Become a Penetration Tester?

Being a professional penetration tester sounds appealing. How could it not? It has all the flash and intrigue of being a hacker, but you get to do what you enjoy legally and for a great salary.

But if you’ve ever looked into the path towards becoming a pentester (short for penetration tester), it can be pretty confusing. That’s because there isn’t one tried-and-true path towards this in-demand career. There are multiple ways to get there and all of them come with their own unique costs and benefits.

Your goal in any of these paths is to establish that you do have the skills necessary to do the job and that you’re a reputable professional, not one of the shady individuals that a client would find in hacking communities on the Dark Web.

It’s hard to ignore the amount of noise around online university programs. The idea is certainly tempting, and it can lead to some real results for your career. If you’re looking to begin a career as a penetration tester, online degree programs can be a good option.

Plenty of schools are offering programs with a focus in cybersecurity and a good number of them are well-accredited. That includes graduate programs as well. If you choose the right school, you can absolutely learn enough and have a degree to start your career.

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Sponsorships Available

Sponsorships Available

There is a downside, though. Online universities still aren’t as highly regarded as traditional universities. To complicate things more, there are less-than-reputable for-profit schools that don’t provide a quality education. If you’re going to take this route, do your research and make sure that you’re getting what you pay for.

Estimated Total Cost: $40,000 – $60,000

The traditional university experience might not be accessible to everyone, but it’s still considered the gold standard in readying yourself for (Read more...)