Beginners guide to ethical hacking is super important to build a flourishing career. Reason being, the demand for ethical hackers is soaring high across the globe.

This is due to the huge surge of cyber attacks intended to disrupt the entire infrastructure. Hence, the need for trained ethical hackers to combat those threats becomes paramount.

Ethical hacking is legal practice where access is given to the hacker to penetrate into the system and detect potential vulnerabilities. It requires enormous expertise. 

A Complete Beginners Guide to Ethical Hacking in 7 Crucial Steps

Learning ethical hacking from scratch isn’t a cakewalk. It requires strong determination, passion, ability to work under high pressures, stay well-informed about changing cyber trends and a lot more to excel in this domain.. 

Here is a step by step beginners guide to ethical hacking that will give you a complete roadmap to a successful career. Read carefully and share your valuable thoughts. 

1.	Self Introspection
2.	Stay Informed about Cyber Trends
3.	Earn a graduate degree
4.	Enhance your Credibility
5.	Work Rigorously Hard on Soft Skills
6.	Build a Rock-Solid Resume
7.	Apply for Internship Programs

1. Self Introspect First 

Understand that ethical hacking is not for everyone, hence it is important to self-introspect first – Can you work under a stressful environment? Will you be able to learn complex coding skills? 

Besides technical expertise, it requires mathematical and statistical skills, a strong presence of mind, well-versed with new approaches to combat critical cyber attacks etc. 

2. Stay Well-Informed about Cyber Security Trends 

The competition is enormously high in ethical hacking, if you want to stay on top then it is super important to be well-informed with ever-changing trends in the booming cyber world. . 

The more you grasp and upgrade your knowledgebase, the more likely you will be able to bag excellent job opportunities.

3. Earn a Graduate Degree 

Graduation is the prerequisite to qualify for an ethical hacking job. It is advisable to opt for bachelors degree in computer engineering or related field in IT domain. 

Moreover, you will learn complex coding and gain hard-core technical knowledge during the graduation. Degree holds a great value once you start your job hunt. 

4. Enhance your Credibility 

As the competition in the ethical hacking domain is tremendously high, it is paramount to enhance your credibility to get hired by employers. 

This can be accomplished with the help of a certified ethical hacking training program. It offers quality intensive training from certified trainers and helps you bag excellent work opportunities. 

5. Work Rigorously Hard on your Soft Skills 

Did you know that technical skills aren’t enough to get hired? Well, recruiters are looking for individuals who have excellent proficiency in soft skills. 

To give a fair idea, soft skills include communication, creativity, interpersonal skills, ability to work under high pressures, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving abilities etc. are super important to qualify high paying jobs.

6. Build a Rock-Solid Portfolio/Resume 

Now, the next step is to work on building a professional resume or portfolio. This should be highly prioritized as it depicts your overall skills and abilities. Make your skills stand out. 

Make sure you create a profile that leaves a lasting impression on potential employers. Highlight your objective, skillset, experience, past projects, academics and certification. 

7. Apply for Internship Program

If you are an aspiring ethical hacker with no experience, the best way to kickstart your career is by applying to internship programs. 

Look for reliable and trusted professional platforms to connect with employers such as Linkedin, Naukri, Angelist, Indeed, Glassdoor are some of the best platforms. 

Recommended Reading : In demand top Ethical Hacking Skills

Read An Awe-Inspiring Story of a Self-Taught Ethical Hacker Earns Over 7 lakhs Working with Tech Giants

Learning is a never ending cycle. The more you invest your time into learning new skills you actually love, the more likely you will expand your knowledge and ultimately bag excellent career opportunities in the long run. 

Here is an inspiring story of an ethical hacker – Ankit singh from UP. He has incredibly turned his passion for learning ethical hacking skills into a flourishing career while doing a computer engineering course. 

During holidays, he invested his valuable time into learning ethical hacking from videos over the internet and even registered on a couple of online learning platforms to upskill and gain more insights to ethical hacking. 

He eventually got an opportunity to participate in an ethical hacking event and won a cash prize of over 20,000$. That’s not all, Ankit is now working for tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Apple etc. and also found vulnerabilities for other websites too. 

To know more about his story, head over to the credible news source – The Better India and get inspired by more success stories. 

Can you Work As a Freelance Ethical Hacker?

Yes, absolutely you can work independently as a freelancer and collaborate with clients across the globe.

The best part about freelancing is that you will be your boss, work on diverse projects remotely, enhance your knowledge, gain excellent exposure and win high paying projects. 

By working on diverse projects, you will have a strong portfolio that can be extremely helpful winning more excellent projects. More exposure, more payouts and success. 

So how can you become a successful ethical hacker as a freelancer? Well, by working on honing your skills and making yourself stand out and credible to potential employers. 

This is why certification programs can certainly prove to be beneficial for you. Reason being, it offers quality intensive workshop training from top industry experts, real-time exposure, continuous learning support and a lot more. 

Recommended Training: Ethical Hacking CertificationTraining 

Recommended Workshop: Workshop on Ethical Hacking (Live)

Most Important Frequently Asked Questions 

Q1. What are the essential skills to become an ethical hacker? 

Ans. Computer networking, Linux, reverse engineering, hardware knowledge, database management, cryptography, problem solving skills and coding skills such as Python, SQL, C/C++, JavaScript, PHP, Java, Ruby, and Perl. 

Q2. Is learning ethical hacking online worth it? 

Ans. Yes, it is absolutely worth it due to flexible learning schedules, unlimited learning sources, Live workshops from top industry experts, in-depth case studies, learning new ethical hacking approaches and continuous learning support. 

Q3. Is it easy to learn ethical hacking if any individual is from a non-IT background?

Ans. It can be difficult for non-techies but doable. Passion beats everything. No matter which background and skills you have, it should not hold you back from learning. Yes, you can learn ethical hacking from scratch with your firm determination. Go ahead!  

Q4. What is the average salary of an ethical hacker in India? 

Ans. The average salary of an ethical hacker ranges from 2.50 to 40 Lakh per annum plus bonuses.

Q5. What are the best career options for ethical hackers? 

Ans. Ethical hacker, Penetration tester, IT security consultant, Forensics Investigator, Cyber security auditing professional etc. 

Final Thoughts, Time to Make a Choice 

This brings us to the end of this article. We hope you have got a fair idea on this stance – “Beginners Guide to Ethical Hacking”. The whole guide acquaints you with a complete roadmap alongwith most frequently asked questions that will help you make the right career choice.

Note that the ethical hacking domain isn’t for everyone, only pursue if you have the capability to work under stressful environments, strong presence of mind, high attention to details, excellent technical writing reporting skills, leadership skills and much more. So, think carefully before making a decision. 

If you have a passion for learning complex coding and technical skills and love to play with challenges, then an ethical hacking career is surely your best bet no matter which background you have. 

Time to lift your learning spirits high and indulge yourself into learning the most in-demand and popular skill across the world. Learn, rise and shine.