I’m a student and it’s going to be another few years before I can get a serious job in the field I’m studying. I’m looking for jobs to do while studying to pay the bills in the meantime. I could go and work as a cashier or something but I’ve been thinking it would be more attractive to pick some sort of skill (eg. being a cook) that I could do to earn money and improve at along the way. Some skill that once mastered pays relatively well. Ideally something intuition-based or hands-on so that I can relax from studying. Any recommendations?
Web application pentesting.
There are heaps of free resources, a company known as PortSwigger who make one of the most used applications, Burp Suite, offer heaps of free learning paths and tutorials to get you familiar with the skills needed to learn how to do this.
There are then heaps of free bug bounty programs which you can sign up to which allow you to start attempting to find vulnerabilities in web applications for companies which are enrolled with these programs.
I’m not gonna lie and say this is an easy skill to learn but it can definitely be rewarding even with some basic knowledge.
If you have relevant links which you have found specifically useful, or otherwise links in reference to the above, I would be interested in taking a look. Thanks.
Burp Suite academy learning, all free with interactive labs, you only need to download and install the community version of the application. https://portswigger.net/web-security/learning-paths
Rhana Khalil also has a lot of guides on these labs if you’re someone who learns best by watching others. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKaK-XPQAbznwIISC46b1oA
NahamSec is another big figure in the bug bounty community who often puts out helpful content for new comers. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZDt7MuC3Hzs6IH4xODLBw
Beautiful, thank you!