The Student Room Group
Reply 1
Original post by FXastt
I am currently 17 in college studying computer science however I'm interested in hacking and want to make something of it. I was just wondering if it was a good career path and how to actually get employed as an ethical hacker. It would be helpful if a hacker can contribute his thoughts to this thread, thank you.


I have the same aspiration...want to know abt this as well :smile:
Reply 2
Look into Cisco (or other similar brand) Security Certifications and the knowledge required for a starter. CompSci is a good start, more specific courses are available if you are 100% that's the direction you want to take. There are a few courses certified by GCHQ which could be of interest to you.
Reply 3
Original post by FXastt
I am currently 17 in college studying computer science however I'm interested in hacking and want to make something of it. I was just wondering if it was a good career path and how to actually get employed as an ethical hacker. It would be helpful if a hacker can contribute his thoughts to this thread, thank you.

There are many opportunities out there, and the best thing about it is that you dont need a degree to become an ethical hacker. Many companies offer apprenticeship schemes (with a high salary) in cyber security, which they would fund for you to sit professional exams to gain a professional qualification (worth more than degrees).

Have a look at GCHQ and CGI cyber security schemes to understand more on what goes on.
Original post by FXastt
I am currently 17 in college studying computer science however I'm interested in hacking and want to make something of it. I was just wondering if it was a good career path and how to actually get employed as an ethical hacker. It would be helpful if a hacker can contribute his thoughts to this thread, thank you.


Hi FXastt!

Cybersecurity, Penetration Testing, and other "ethical hacking", or white hat professions can be pretty challenging to get into directly! Something I've sometimes heard people in the industry recommend is to try and find certifications like C|EH (Certified Ethical Hacker) or CompTIA Security+ (among many others). These can give you a leg up in terms of learning and demonstrable skills, but can also cost quite a lot. There are also online learning programmes you can sign up for (like lynda.com), which cost much less, and of course, a huge amount of free materiel to learn from on places like Youtube and Reddit (which you might already be using).

If you do plan on going to university, a computing/hacking society would be a great place to practice, hang out, and learn with others. And I don't know if you've heard of Hackathons, but if not, look up your closest one – they're almost always free, and are great places to really quickly get building and hacking with other people.

I hope this helps!
Antoni
Reply 5
Original post by FXastt
I am currently 17 in college studying computer science however I'm interested in hacking and want to make something of it. I was just wondering if it was a good career path and how to actually get employed as an ethical hacker. It would be helpful if a hacker can contribute his thoughts to this thread, thank you.

Hi! Ethical hacking is a great career. In terms of getting employed, if you plan on university I suggest the following:

-Firstly, try and get onto the GCHQ Cyber First Advanced Summer course - I've been on it and believe me the links and insights you get from there are extremely invaluable
-Get onto an NCSC certified Cyber degree - a surefire way of knowing you'll have a good knowledge base at the end of your degree.
-Take a year in industry and try and land an internship in security testing or ethical hacking
-Your uni should have the facility (likely through a society) that lets you sign up to CTFs and Hackathons - go to as many as possible.
-Take online courses. Areas like Udacity, Udemy, EdEx have some fantastic online courses on penetration testing!
-Read the news: there's a lot of info there about new vulnerabilities, how they're handled etc.
-I strongly recommend the Cyber Security Challenge - especially through uni, you'll be able to do some fantastic competitions!
-Summer internships
-Actually practising any skills you know on your own lab at home
-IF you have the time, pursuing your security plus cert through uni
-Sign up to the NCSC bursary scheme with Cyber First that allows you to do all the above with much more guidance and ease.

Note: much of the learning will be done on the job! A uni literally told me they don't teach full on hacking for security reasons. It's a career where you will always be learning and keeping up to date with things.

I'd recommend a degree with some decent hacking modules but this is definitely not needed! Warwick have a fantastic degree (BSc Cyber Security). They take a very offensive approach to teaching the course and you'll love it if you're interested in hacking as a theme throughout your degree.

Alternatively, you may look into apprenticeships. There are many that are with organisations like BT, GCHQ, MOD, Deloitte that really do give you an insight into hacking and will set you up with what you need to develop your skills independently.

You can also find a random ethical hacker and email them. A bit bizzare, but I hit up a bunch of uni professors who did Cyber and they had a lot to tell me about it! Good luck :biggrin:
Watch Mr Robot
Moved to Computer Science forum. :smile:
Reply 8
Original post by Anonymous
Watch Mr Robot

If Mr Robot is the only reason you wanna become a hacker, you should quit already.

May as well become an ethical drug dealer after watching breaking bad lmao
hello hello

i am really interested in becoming and ethical hacker but i am not really sure what i need to learn before i can get a job, so far i no that it would be harder for me to go the bachelor degree route, has one got any advice?? or a list of courses that i would need to achieve before i can get a job