Penetration tester (ethical hacker)
Attack systems with their owners' permission to find the weaknesses before criminals do.
- To get started
- 2 to 4 years
- Career change
- Demanding
What you really do
With a contract that allows it, you look for ways into an app or a network, then explain how to fix them. Everything happens within a strict legal framework.
A typical day
- 9 amReading the scope the client has authorised.
- 10 amTesting a bank's mobile app.
- 3 pmChecking a weakness you found.
- 5 pmWriting the recommendations.
The skills
- Curiosity
- Programming
- Networks
- Ethics
- Writing
- Challenge
The path to get there
Training in computer science and security, practice on legal training platforms, specialised certifications.
Career change: Requires a lot of technical practice.
Job prospects
Audit firms, security teams in large companies, reward programmes (bug bounty).
It's for you if…
- You always want to know how a rule could be bypassed.
- You are patient.
- You respect the limits you are given.