With the increasing number of sophisticated cyber security threats, there is a huge demand for trained professionals to identify and remediate risks in systems. One of the most demanding profiles in this area is penetration tester (also called Ethical hacker). Robyn: If you are planning to enter a lucrative, rapidly growing field in 2024 penetration testing might just be the career for you.
We will cover the right steps to take, skills required and certifications you can acquire in this career path journey for your successful penetration tester title.
What Is a Penetration Tester?
A penetration tester is a pro-cybersecurity that simulates cyberattacks on the systems, networks and web applications to find out security weaknesses before malicious hackers do. These experts, often called “white hat” hackers,” are effective combatants in helping organizations to improve their security postures by detecting and remedying vulnerabilities.
Roles of a Pen tester
- Vulnerability Assessments: Identifying flaws in software, networks and systems
- Cyber Attacks Simulation: Using different hacking techniques to ensure how much the system can hold under cyber attack.
- Findings reporting — Communication of identified vulnerability and instruction on how to fix it.
- Cooperating with IT Teams — Being involved in the day-to-day operations of an organization, and working closely alongside the individuals that staff some or all of its technical objectives.
- Keeping up to Date with New Hacking Methods: Penetration testers need to know how are the new threats and hacking methods
Benefits of being a Penetration Tester
- We will be discussing the reasons for why Penetration testing has created a hype, but before that let’s dive in to how one can become a pen-tester —
- High Salary: Based on Payscale data, penetration testers make over $100k per year that largely depend upon their level of skills and certifications.
- Easy To Find Job:- Since cybersecurity breaches are on the rise, still every organization want their system secured, therefore a huge requirement of professional services can be seen in penetration testing.
- Continuous Learning: Being a penetration tester means that your job profile is ever evolving, hacking knows no bounds and you need to keep learning new things so that our pen testing methodologies can overpower hackers.
- Helping Secure the World: White hat hackers maintain data, systems and networks secure from threat actors.
A Guide on How to Be A Penetration Tester in 2024 with Step by Step
Step 1: Establishing an IT and Networking Strong Foundation
A penetration tester must understand IT fundamentals—computer networks, operating systems and cybersecurity concepts.
Key Areas to Focus On:
Networking Protocols — Familiarizing with the basics TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP and so on
Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, macOS
Learn the Basics of Security: Some common topics to tackle are firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), encryption key management and authentication strategies.
If you are in a position where certifications sound important to your career then I would say start with CompTIA Network and Security+ at first. Building some foundational knowledge is always good idea now if you still unsure whether this path suits for move ahead consider studying an IT related degree like Computer Science, Information Technology etc.
Step 2: Master in Programming & Scripting
If you cannot code, as a penetration tester than you will be unable to create your own tools, write an exploit etc… Software Development. You definitely do not have to be a black belt developer, but understanding some programming and scripting at core languages matter the most.
Recommended Languages:
Configuration of Python: A programming language which is extensively used in the cybersec world for scripting and tooling.
JavaScript – He should know the basic of this language without which we can not do anything with web application Testing.
Bash/Shell Scripting: For Linux command-line operations.
PowerShell — Useful for Windows-based penetration testing
Fortunately there are many online resources and courses to learn these languages, so you can quickly improve your skills on a spare time.
Step 3: Learn Ethical Hacking Techniques
After you created a good IT & coding base, start learning ethical hacking techniques. Pen Testers employ a broad range of security tools and techniques, including but not limited to vulnerability scanning, reverse engineering, exploit development.
Tools You Should Know:
Nmap: For Network Discovery And Scanning
Metasploit: One of the most commonly-used exploitation frameworks.
Wireshark: A packet sniffer used to analyze network traffic.
Burp Suite: It is a penetration tool that performs web application security assessment.
No amount of force-feeding me articles on how to wield these tools will make them my own. I have to practice wielding them by myself, no matter the number of different tactics and paces those who advocate help introduce into this conversation steamrolling beyond us. You can create your own home or small office lab for practice and use VirtualBox, Vmware Kali Linux to perform the hack on vulnerable machines.
Step 4: Become Penetration Tester Certified
To become a penetration tester, one of the most significant steps is earning certifications that attest to your skills. Advantages for the time you invest in learning these certifications are more visible on your resume which makes a developer standout among others.
Today, we are going to share a list of the top penetration testing certifications with you.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): A certification from EC-Council that serves as a solid base for someone aspiring to be penetration tester.
Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP): This is an award-winning certification for learning hands-on pen testing and passing the course.
GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN): The SANS Institute offers this certification that proves you can evaluate and exploit vulnerabilities in systems.
Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT) — An advanced certification that builds further on core penetration testing knowledge by focusing on cutting-edge, real-world exploit development and targeted attack techniques.
All these certifications have hands-on testing and assessments to exhibit that you are sound with practical skills.
Step 5: Get some hands-on experience…
Penetration testing is Will’s area of interest and as with anything technical, experience counts. Real-World Experience = DTCRevenue Site Ownership. There are a few different ways-in which you can get real world experience:
Internships / Entry-Level Work —There are many companies that offer interns and newbie levels in the security of services.
Bug Bounty Programs: This is where white hat hackers locate bugs and vulnerabilities for rewards. HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Synack; these are few among popular bounty platforms.
Capture The Flag (CTF) Competitions CTF competitions are modeled after real world hacking scenarios, so players get to practice their cyber security knowledge against other ethical hackers.
Having a professional portfolio which contains compiled documentation on penetration tests, or CTF challenges you have made your way through is worth more than gold.
Step 6: Keeping Up with The Latest Technologies
The cyber security field is consistently changing. Whether you are a student or work as penetration test, updating your hacking techniques and tools is very important to be good in the field.
Ways to Stay Updated:
Online Courses and Webinars: Take online lectures courses via Udemy, Pluralsight or Learning IT Today.
Follow the industry: Cybersecurity Blogs and Forums/experts (Reddit -NetSec, StackExchange Security etc)
Conferences and Meetups: Be it DEF CON, Black Hat or smaller BSides – these events will help you to stay in touch with other professionals that are interesting bits at the front of cybersecurity.
Fast-Track Your Career with 1-on-1 Coaching
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Career Outlook for Penetration Testers in 2024
The demand for penetration testers continues to grow as companies invest heavily in their cybersecurity defenses. In 2024, this trend is expected to rise, with job opportunities spanning various industries, including finance, healthcare, government, and technology.
Industries Hiring Penetration Testers:
- Financial Services: Protecting sensitive customer data and ensuring compliance with regulations.
- Healthcare: Safeguarding patient records from breaches.
- Government: Securing critical infrastructure and national security information.
- Technology Companies: Preventing data breaches and hacking incidents.
Penetration testers can also work as consultants or freelance ethical hackers, offering their services to multiple organizations.
Conclusion
Becoming a penetration tester is a highly rewarding career that combines technical expertise, problem-solving, and ethical responsibilities. By following these steps, you can position yourself for success in 2024 and beyond.
Start building your skills, gain certifications, and seek out real-world experience to develop a strong foundation in penetration testing. And if you want personalized guidance on your journey, Learning IT Today offers the 1-on-1 coaching you need to succeed.
Explore coaching options here and take the next step toward a thriving career in ethical hacking and penetration testing.
