If you have a passion for computing, and hacking in particular, then you could forge a career in what  they call ethical hacking. My friend Bharat Bhise HNA and I studying computer science at college and hacking was something which we both loved to do, on a small level of course. Bharat decided to pursue a career in ethical hacking whereas I went into software design. I have long regretted that decision and when I see Bharat, and how happy he is with his decision, there is a lot of me which wishes that I had made the smart choice which he did. There are so many benefits to a career in ethical hacking and these are just some which you can count on if you have what it takes.

Variation

It is vital that a profession is able to offer you a lot of variation in your day to day job, if not things can get very boring, very quickly. In the world of ethical hacking however the landscape is constantly moving, there are always new ways to hack being discovered, new security systems being created and a new knowledge which you need to have. Your role will be to keep on top of all of this in order to perform the best job possible, and it will involve a lot of learning, studying and practicing.

Salary

The salaries for ethical hackers are very high and the reason for this is that those like Bharat who do it, possess knowledge that very few people do. Another reason for the high salaries is that these men and women must be incentivized to continue fighting the good fight, when in fact the knowledge that they have could easily be used to make much more money, doing far darker things.

Do What you Love

Let’s be honest, it is a great amount of fun when you have spent time on a certain system or network and you make a breakthrough, the downside of hacking, in most cases of course is that it is illegal. When you are an ethical hacker however you are going to be getting paid for doing something that you love, and something which is incredibly fun. Imagine being told as a child that you would work in a job which paid you to legally hack into someone’s system! That dream is now a reality.

High Demand

My grandfather used to tell me to become an undertaker so that I would never be out of a job, and in some respects an ethical hacker is in the same boat. Because of the dangers of a security breach ethical hackers are absolutely necessary for businesses and there is much more demand for them than there is supply. Furthermore computers are not going anywhere and as long as there are computer systems and networks, there will be criminals out there looking to exploit gaps in cybersecurity systems. There will always be work for you if you decide to pursue this as a career choice.