Will AI replace penetration testers?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.1% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. For 1 physical task, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Test the security of systems by attempting to gain access to networks, Web-based applications, or computers. (1h 10m a shift)
• Develop and execute tests that simulate the techniques of known cyber threat actors. (47m a shift)
• Document penetration test findings. (47m a shift)
• Identify security system weaknesses, using penetration tests. (41m a shift)
• Develop infiltration tests that exploit device vulnerabilities. (29m a shift)

On Indeed, job postings in the IT Systems & Solutions sector are at 77% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 10.8% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 27,000 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $116,580 a year ($56.05 an hour), 129% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $55,940 and $188,470 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.1% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 495,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 27,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 435,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.28% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 94th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 495,000 in 2035.

O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: UNIX, Structured query language SQL, Splunk Enterprise, Python, Oracle Java

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Information Security Engineers (17m touched, $117k median pay)
• Information Security Analysts (4h 17m touched, $129k median pay)
• Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (3h 26m touched, $104k median pay)
• Computer Systems Analysts (3h 6m touched, $106k median pay)
• Computer Systems Engineers/Architects (3h 7m touched, $117k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 22 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.