A lot of people wonder what motivates someone to become an ethical hacker.
What is it that this profession offers beginners and experienced IT people that more and more people are entering the field as ethical hackers.
This article explains that even though ethical hacking is a recent career option, it offers a wealth of opportunities to people with the right mix of technical and soft skills.
By taking up career in ethical hacking, you can benefit yourself in many ways.
Job satisfaction
Ethical hacking is a career that is associated with a high level of job satisfaction.
After all, you are playing an integral role in keeping people safe from fraud and losing a lot of their hard-earned money.
This in itself is one of the best reasons for feeling proud of being an ethical hacker because you play an important role in preventing white-collar crime.
At the same time, you can work remotely as an ethical hacker, which gives you more opportunity to maintain a good personal lifestyle and work-life balance to experience high levels of satisfaction with your job.
Continuing threats
One of the good things about taking up ethical hacking as a career is that the opportunity for growth is always going to be there.
Be it a top-notch clothing brand or an advertising company, all kinds of businesses are moving online and a lot of data is moving to the cloud as opposed to proprietary systems.
This makes it challenging for businesses to ensure that their websites and servers are secure enough to keep the data of their customers and business safe from hackers and other forms of online threats.
In addition, with the current downturn in the economy, hackers and fraudsters are going to try new ways of intruding corporate systems, which is another reason why there is going to be a high demand for the services of an ethical hacker.
Developing soft skills
As an ethical hacker, it is obvious that you have solid technical skills and full command over the ins and outs of hacking.
However, a career in ethical hacking also gives you the opportunity to develop soft skills that include developing your communication as well as problem-solving skills.
Companies value professionals in the IT field who, in addition to being technical experts, are also great communicators and can explain technical issues in general terms to a common audience.
This could make you a very valuable member of any team so that you can enjoy the scope for taking up a leadership position in the future.
New opportunities
The threat of cyberattacks is always going to be present, which means that you can have new opportunities.
Many organizations are hiring in-house ethical hackers, which gives you the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder and make good money as well.
The salaries of ethical hackers are also rising globally, which means that you can become an ethical hacker and work from any part of the world.
Whether your preference is to move from country to country, work remotely, or commit yourself to a single organization, you can make a successful career in ethical hacking in any of these streams.
Enjoy an attractive job status
As more people are becoming aware of ethical hacking, it is becoming a profession that people look up to because they realize the value that ethical hackers contribute to society and business.
People are no longer confused about the difference between ethical and unethical hacking and look up to ethical hackers with more respect and admiration than they used to in the past.
Moreover, ethical hackers are earning high salaries nowadays which is enough to support a family and maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
Learning opportunities
A career in ethical hacking provides you a lot of opportunities to learn new things about the world of hacking.
If you are familiar with black hat hacking, then a career in ethical hacking is a good opportunity to apply your knowledge in a positive way.
You can help your clients identify common threats to their systems and be prepared for them in advance.
In addition, as security systems evolve by the day, you can learn about the latest defense mechanisms by interacting with peers in your professional network and stay on top of your game.
An ethical hacker has in depth knowledge about network security and therefore, different types of businesses are always on a lookout for these professionals who possess all the necessary skills and to secure the online data of their clients.
An ethical hacker can try for the following roles in an organization.
- Network administrator
- Network manager
- Security investigator
- Penetration tester
- Web security manager
- Data security specialist
- Computer forensics investigator
- IT security consultant or manager
To start a career in any field mentioned above, you need to consider possess the following skills/qualifications
Read Article: (How to Become Hacker, Do you have a perfect match of Eligibility or Not?)
Starting a career in a challenging field like ethical hacking is not as simple as it seems.
You need to constantly upgrade your skills and knowledge as per the changing market trends.
Moreover, it is equally important to have in depth knowledge of all essential scripting and programming languages like Java, HTML, Python, ASP and C/C++.
Today, employers prefer to hire those professional ethical hackers who possess soft skills and are passionate, confident and flexible towards their work.
In order to gain the required skills and knowledge to pursue a successful career in ethical hacking, it is recommended to follow the following career path.
Certified Network Defender
As a skilled ethical hacker, you must have an in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of network security.
You should know how exactly a network operates along with various concepts regarding online security controls, topologies, network traffic, and screening of networks, Therefore, you need to enroll in a skill-based certification course which is affiliated by Department of Defense.
Signing up for a Certified Network Defender program is a great way to update your skills and knowledge regarding the fundamentals of network security.
Certified Ethical Hacker
This is the second stage for getting certified as an ethical hacker.
The Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) course helps aspiring hackers understand the basic concepts of ethical hacking and ways to implement them practically. Here, students learn about like footprinting, system monitoring, and hacking, cloud computing, session hijacking, online application hacking, IoT hacking, etc.
This course is frequently updated as per the changing market trends.
C|EH Practical
This program has been developed to assess the skills and capabilities of aspiring hackers. This is an extensive practical exam where the skills, knowledge, and different hacking techniques of candidates are assessed by industry professionals. This is an intermediate-level credential which is mandatory for those who want to grow and upgrade their skills and knowledge in the field of ethical hacking.
Conclusion
If you have a talent for hacking and want to use this skill to build a career, then ethical hacking is the right path for you. It opens up the doors to a successful career as well as gives you the opportunity to create an attractive lifestyle.
Writer: Zoe RamZy is and experienced technical writer working at advertising company