Is the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) worth it? What 201 job postings say
201 open job postings from 118 employers name Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). 28% require it; the rest list it as a nice-to-have. It's asked for most in security jobs, where 3% of postings name it.
28% of the 201 postings that name it require it. It signals experience: 91% of the postings that state a level are senior or above.
- Employers name it
- 11820th of 40 we track
- Require it
- 28%of postings that name it
- Level
- Associateour classification
Who should take it?
Built from what the 201 postings ask for, not from opinions.
Take it if you…
- target employers that screen for it28% of the postings that name it require it
- already have years in the field91% of these postings are senior or above
Skip it (for now) if you…
- want it to land your first jobOnly 5% of the postings that name it are junior or intern roles
- see OSCP / OffSec in your target postings192 employers name it, against 118 for Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
Recognition: recognised by a narrower set of employers, 20th of 40 by the number of employers that name it (118). We can't yet measure whether Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) gets a particular person hired: that needs outcomes from people who earned it.
How much it counts in each kind of job
Share of each job family's postings that name Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and how many of those require it.
Job titles
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) shows up most in Security Engineer, Cybersecurity Engineer and Application Security Engineer postings. Ranked by the number of different employers, so one big hirer can't fill the list.
| Job (level and location removed) | Employers | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Security Engineer | 12 | 14 |
| Cybersecurity Engineer | 7 | 8 |
| Application Security Engineer | 4 | 4 |
| Penetration Tester | 3 | 6 |
| Security Analyst | 3 | 4 |
Required or a plus?
How the 201 postings that name Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) ask for it.
Who it's for: seniority
Level stated in the job title, 96 postings.
Who asks for it
Employers with the most postings
- Verkada · 20
- Dark Wolf Solutions · 7
- GuidePoint Security · 6
- SentinelLabs · 6
- Agile Defense · 5
- Accenture Federal Services · 4
- Airwallex · 4
- AnaVation · 4
- ARSIEM · 4
- Elastic · 4
Where the jobs are
43% are fully remote (of 91 postings that say).
70% of the postings are in the United States: the job boards we read lean towards US tech companies, so other markets are under-represented.
What these jobs pay
Advertised US base pay in postings that name Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and publish a salary range (87 postings).
Often asked for together
Other certifications named in the same postings as Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Share of the postings that name Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Postings often list several certifications as alternatives (“CISSP, CISM or equivalent”).
Compared with similar certifications
CISSP, CompTIA Security+ and CISM are named by more employers.
| Certification | Level | Exam fee | Employers | Required | Senior or above | Junior or intern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CISSP | Professional | $749 | 594 | 35% | 97% | 2% |
| CompTIA Security+ | – | – | 356 | 51% | 76% | 13% |
| CISM | Professional | $575–$760 | 353 | 31% | 96% | 2% |
| GIAC (any) | – | – | 302 | 34% | 90% | 5% |
| CompTIA A+ / Network+ / CySA+ / CASP+ | – | – | 296 | 41% | 68% | 18% |
| CISA (auditor) | Professional | $575–$760 | 231 | 31% | 96% | 3% |
| CCSP | Professional | $599 | 196 | 39% | 98% | 1% |
| OSCP / OffSec | Associate | $1,749 with course | 192 | 18% | 95% | 1% |
| Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) | Associate | – | 118 | 28% | 91% | 5% |
Exam and requirements
From the official EC-Council pages, checked 14 November 2026. Formats change: confirm before you book.
Sources: EC-Council: CEH.
How we count
- Source. 199,799 unique open postings from company job boards on Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, crawled November 2026.
- Named only. A posting counts when it names Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), not the bare word “certified”. Certifications offered as a benefit (“we pay for your exam”) don't count.
- Required or a plus. Read from the section and the sentence the mention sits in.
- Checked by hand. In 150 random matches the extractor had never seen, 148 named the right certification and 147 had the right type.
- Minimum sample. Seniority, locations and pay are shown only with at least 30 postings behind them.
- Limits. A posting is what an employer asks for, not who they hire. The boards lean towards tech companies and the US.
FAQ
Is Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) worth it in 2026?
It depends on the job you're aiming at. 118 employers name it in 201 open postings, most often in security (3% of that family's postings). 28% require it. For those jobs it can decide whether your application gets past the first screen.
Will Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) help me get an entry-level job?
Rarely on its own. Only 5% of the postings that name it and state a level are junior or intern roles; 91% are senior, lead or staff. Employers treat it as a mark of experience, not a way in.
How much do jobs that ask for Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) pay?
US postings that name it and publish a salary advertise a median base pay of $165K (middle half $135K–$203K, 87 postings). Compared with a job without a certification at the same company, same job family and level, they advertise 2.5% less. That's what the job pays, not what the certificate adds.
Which certifications are asked for together with Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)?
Most often CISSP (named in 69% of the same postings), CompTIA Security+ (named in 43% of the same postings) and GIAC (any) (named in 41% of the same postings).
Not sure a certification is your gap?
See all 40 certifications side by side, or check the skills employers in your target role ask for.