Bug Bounty Hunter

Part of the Cybersecurity Career Guide — This article is one deep-dive in our complete guide series.

By HADESS Team | February 28, 2026 | Updated: February 28, 2026 | 5 min read

You find security vulnerabilities in production systems and get paid for each valid report. No boss, no fixed schedule, no scope documents written by someone else. You pick the target, find the bug, write the report, and collect the bounty.

What You Will Do

Bug bounty hunting is freelance hacking with direct financial incentives. You choose programs on platforms like HackerOne, Bugcrowd, or Intigriti, read their scope, and start looking for security issues.

Your typical workflow:

• Reading program scopes and identifying attack surface
• Performing reconnaissance — subdomain enumeration, port scanning, technology fingerprinting
• Testing for common vulnerabilities — IDOR, SSRF, XSS, SQL injection, authentication bypasses
• Looking for business logic flaws that automated tools cannot detect
• Chaining multiple low-severity issues into high-impact exploits
• Hunting for subdomain takeovers and misconfigurations
• Testing APIs, mobile backends, and third-party integrations
• Writing clear, reproducible reports with step-by-step proof of concept
• Following up with security teams during triage and remediation

The earnings range is huge. Some hunters make a few thousand a year part-time. Top hunters earn six figures or more. The difference is skill, persistence, and the ability to find bugs where others have already looked.

Skills You Need

Bug bounty hunting requires broad technical skills and the patience to go deep on targets that thousands of others are also testing.

Focus on these areas:

• Reconnaissance and OSINT — finding hidden attack surface before others do
• Web application security — the foundation of most bounty programs
• API security — testing REST, GraphQL, and webhook endpoints
• JavaScript analysis — reading client-side code for secrets, endpoints, and logic
• Automation and scripting — Python, Bash for building custom recon pipelines
• Vulnerability chaining — combining findings for maximum impact
• Report writing — clear reports get higher payouts and faster triage
• Cloud security basics — S3 buckets, Azure blobs, GCP misconfigurations

Build and track these skills in the skills library and identify gaps with the career path explorer.

Certifications

Certifications are not required for bug bounty hunting — your results speak for themselves. But they help if you want to transition into consulting or full-time pentesting:

• CEH — general baseline, useful for HR-gated roles
• eWPT — practical web app testing, directly applicable to bounty hunting
• OSCP — proves depth, respected across the industry

Plan your certification path with the certification roadmap planner.

Salary Range

Bug bounty hunters earn between $20K and $200K+, but this is not a traditional salary. Your income depends entirely on the bugs you find and report. Beginners often earn nothing for months before landing their first bounty. Consistent hunters who specialize in high-value targets and write excellent reports can earn well into six figures.

Understand how this compares to full-time security roles using the salary calculator.

How to Get Started

1. Start learning web security fundamentals — you need a solid base before hunting live targets 2. Practice on intentionally vulnerable apps in the labs before touching real programs 3. Take the skills assessment to understand your readiness 4. Create accounts on HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Intigriti — read program scopes carefully 5. Start with programs that have wide scope and are less crowded 6. Build recon automation — write scripts that help you find attack surface faster 7. Read disclosed reports — study what successful hunters find and how they write it up 8. Track your progress and build your professional profile with the resume builder 9. Browse security roles on the job board if you want to go full-time

Bug bounty hunting is not passive income. It requires real skill and real effort. If you want a structured plan to get there, talk to the career coach.

Related Guides in This Series

• Application Penetration Tester: Go Beyond the Web Layer — HADESS | 2026
• Exploit Developer: Turn Vulnerabilities into Working Code
• Network Penetration Tester: Break Networks Before Attackers Do

Take the Next Step

Start your career assessment. Go to the start your career assessment on HADESS.

Explore career paths. Check out the explore career paths.

Get started free — Create your HADESS account and access all career tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

What certifications do I need for this role?

Certification requirements vary by employer and seniority level. Use the certification roadmap planner to build a sequence based on your target role and current qualifications.

What is the salary range for this role?

Salaries vary significantly by location, experience, and employer type. Use the salary calculator for your specific market rate.

How do I transition into this career path?

Take the skills assessment to identify your current strengths and gaps relative to this role. The assessment generates a personalized learning plan to close the gap.

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HADESS Team consists of cybersecurity practitioners, hiring managers, and career strategists who have collectively spent 50+ years in the field.