How to Differentiate Yourself as a Penetration Tester

The goal of this short post is to teach people how to differentiate themselves as penetration testers. There is a large flux of people wanting to get into this career field. It is important to know how to stand out.

Here are a few suggestions :)

1. Create Content

Content creation does not have to be difficult. In fact, it may be more helpful to think of it as “content documentation”.

Simply document the things you are learning online for others to see. This will help you retain the topics you are learning and build a reputation for yourself..

Some ways to create content:

• Post on social media (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok)
• Blog (there are SO many options to create from or low-cost websites and blogs)
• YouTube videos
• Post code on GitHub or GitLab
• Create study guides or cheatsheets

2. Pick a Niche

All penetration testers can run an nmap scan and use Metasploit. What other skills do you bring to the table?

Pick a niche that complements your penetration testing skillset. What topic do you want to be the go-to person in?

I’ll write a seperate post exploring niches in detail.

Some complementary niches:

• Reverse Engineering and Exploit Writing
• Scripting (i.e. PowerShell, Bash, Python)
• System Adminstration and Active Directory

3. Create Learning Material

Are you a Capture The Flag fanatic? Why not pay it forward and create a challenge yourself? Similarly to creating content, creating challenges will help solidify concepts in your brain and help you build a reputation.

Popular platforms are CTFd, TryHackMe and HackTheBox.

That’s all I have for today! Hope these ideas help!

What other ways can you stand out as an aspiring penetration tester?