Also called: Freelance Security Researcher
A freelance hacker who earns cash rewards for finding security bugs in companies' apps.
Bounty hunters pick programs on platforms like HackerOne, hunt for vulnerabilities, and submit reports. One critical bug can pay $10,000 or more; many hunters earn little.
Extremely variable; most do it part-time.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 2 years after high school. Self-taught with lots of practice; capture-the-flag competitions help.
Ways in: Self-taught, Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Cybersecurity, Computer Science.
Growing faster than average. No separate BLS projection; estimate based on related occupations.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI agents now top bug bounty leaderboards and grab easy bugs first; only skilled hunters finding complex flaws keep earning.
Classes: Computer Science, Math, Networking CTE, English (writing).
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1212.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.