From: Tim (tim-pentest@sentinelchicken.org)
Date: Fri Jul 28 2006 - 12:19:36 EDT
Hello,
> I am currently a Java developer but I'm seriously thinking of changing paths to a career in security and pen testing.
> What I would like to know is what is being a pen tester really like?
I haven't been pentesting as an official job all that long (1.5 yrs),
but I'll throw my comments in.
> I understand the functions a pen tester performs, but I would really
> love to hear what it is actually like on a day-to-day basis, on the coal
> face so to speak. What are the good things about the job, and what are
> the bad?
The good things about the job:
The variety of technical challenges
The excitement involved in finding new vulnerabilities.
The pay
The bad things about the job:
Testing can be very tedious, especially when you haven't found many vulns
Some clients will treat you as simply fulfilling an audit item, and
won't care much about actually fixing their shoddy code
You've usually got to keep your findings under wraps, which means most
of your work won't go towards building up your 1337 reputation.
> Your experiences/advice would be hugely appreciated.
I think the two most important personality traits for being a good
pentester might be:
Patience, and predisposition to enjoy gambling
Strong desire to understand all things technical
Having a background in a wide variety of technologies is very important,
but of course can be learned if you have the desire. Having deep
knowledge of a couple of areas of technology is also good, but you've
got to be willing to branch out.
HTH,
tim
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