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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Penetration Testers?
Task-level automation exposure for Penetration Testers: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
65%
weighted task index
22 of 22 tasks scored
Median Salary
$116,580 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
435,370 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.1%
employment change
27,000 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$60,470 – $156,590
Highest medians
District of Columbia $156,590
Maryland $144,680
Colorado $139,580
Virginia $139,030
Delaware $137,470
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $60,470
Tennessee $76,470
Guam $76,770
Louisiana $77,000
North Dakota $78,330
State figures come from the 15-1299 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 65%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 41%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 18%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 26/100
Moderate
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
22 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 70%
15 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 25%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 5%
1 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#21754 · Core · 75% automatable
Document penetration test findings.
text generation — Operational reports drafted from data
Prepare technical or operational reports.
#21758 · Core · 70% automatable
Identify security system weaknesses, using penetration tests.
data analysis — Security analysis aided; human validates findings
Analyze security of systems, network, or data.
#21765 · Core · 75% automatable
Write audit reports to communicate technical and procedural findings and recommend solutions.
data analysis — Analytical reports drafted; human validates analysis
Prepare analytical reports.
#21756 · Core · 85% automatable
Gather cyber intelligence to identify vulnerabilities.
information retrieval — Search files and references for info
Search files, databases or reference materials to obtain needed information.
#21761 · Core · 80% automatable
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of hacking trends.
information retrieval — AI monitors developments; human judges significance
Stay informed about current developments in field of specialization.
#21760 · Core · 80% automatable
Keep up with new penetration testing tools and methods.
information retrieval — AI monitors developments; human judges significance
Stay informed about current developments in field of specialization.
#21757 · Core · 30% automatable
Identify new threat tactics, techniques, or procedures used by cyber threat actors.
decision support — Investigation is human fieldwork with judgment
Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
#21746 · Core · 70% automatable
Conduct network and security system audits, using established criteria.
data analysis — Security analysis aided; human validates findings
Analyze security of systems, network, or data.
#21752 · Core · 65% automatable
Develop security penetration testing processes, such as wireless, data networks, and telecommunication security tests.
text generation — AI drafts testing routines; engineer verifies coverage
Develop testing routines or procedures.
#21763 · Core · 55% automatable
Test the security of systems by attempting to gain access to networks, Web-based applications, or computers.
data analysis — AI interprets test output; human executes tests
Test computer system operations to ensure proper functioning.
#21755 · Core · 66% automatable
Evaluate vulnerability assessments of local computing environments, networks, infrastructures, or enclave boundaries.
data analysis — Interprets test results; context and judgment needed
Interpret design or operational test results.
#21762 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare and submit reports describing the results of security fixes.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#21749 · Core · 48% automatable
Develop and execute tests that simulate the techniques of known cyber threat actors.
text generation — AI drafts testing routines; engineer verifies coverage
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment. Develop testing routines or procedures.
#21753 · Core · 58% automatable
Discuss security solutions with information technology teams or management.
interpersonal — Discussing design features with staff is relational exchange
Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
#21745 · Core · 60% automatable
Collect stakeholder data to evaluate risk and to develop mitigation strategies.
decision support — Risk analysis aids; accountability-bearing judgment human
Analyze risks to minimize losses or damages.
#21764 · Core · 55% automatable
Update corporate policies to improve cyber security.
decision support — AI drafts policies; accountability and context are human
Develop organizational policies or programs.
#21744 · Core · 60% automatable
Assess the physical security of servers, systems, or network devices to identify vulnerability to temperature, vandalism, or natural disasters.
data analysis — Equipment specs analysis aided; physical testing human
Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems.
#21759 · Core · 58% automatable
Investigate security incidents, using computer forensics, network forensics, root cause analysis, or malware analysis.
data analysis — Record screening aided, investigative judgment human
Examine records or other types of data to investigate criminal activities.
#21750 · Core · 65% automatable
Develop infiltration tests that exploit device vulnerabilities.
text generation — AI drafts testing routines; engineer verifies coverage
Develop testing routines or procedures.
#21748 · Core · 70% automatable
Design security solutions to address known device vulnerabilities.
text generation — AI drafts security policies; human approves
Develop computer or information security policies or procedures.
#21747 · Core · 55% automatable
Configure information systems to incorporate principles of least functionality and least access.
decision support — Systems design aided; integration and accountability human
Develop computer or information systems.
#21751 · Core · 72% automatable
Develop presentations on threat intelligence.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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