Many years ago I an remember my good friend Bharat Bhise HNA telling me that he decided that he wanted to become an ethical hacker. Bharat was always an absolute wizard when it came to computers and it seemed to make perfect sense that he would go into a career such as this. Back then people like Bharat were few and far between but these days the career path of being an ethical hacker is more popular than ever before. If you, like Bharat, have good intentions and some great computing knowledge, here is why you should consider this profession.
Well Paid
Naturally money is a big factor when it comes to which career path you plan to go down and in the world of ethical hacking you will certainly be rewarded well financially for the work which you do. Starting salaries average at $25,000 and they can rise very quickly indeed. Many who have been in the job for over 2 years are earning an incredible $60,000 a year.
Variation
This isn’t a career whereby you learn a certain skill and then use it for the duration of your life, this industry is changing all of the time. As the industry changes, so too do the criminals and therefore ethical hackers must also be on their toes to deliver the very best service. Each day that passes presents new information, new software and ultimately new threats, this is not a job which you will find boring at all.
Demand
Whether we like them or not computers and software are very much here to stay, at least for the next century or so until we invest some kind of telepathic system. This means that there is plenty of demand out there for the services of an ethical hacker. Because of the high level information which these people need to know, they are in high demand as it will always be easier for a company to outsource this rather than train people in-house. Furthermore there are many people with hacking knowledge, who prefer to go to the dark side of things rather than be a force of good, this makes people in this profession highly valued.
Fun
Honestly there aren’t many careers whereby you can get paid to technically break the law. You of course will not be breaking the law because of the way in which things are set up, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. This is a challenging position which will call on all of your skills to try and take down a company through hacking and for anyone who loves the industry, that sounds like the perfect job. There are only a handful of professions out there which you could honestly consider as being fun, and ethical hacking most certainly is, especially when you actually manage to hack someone’s system.
If you love computing and fancy yourself as a hacker, why not look into this as a career choice?