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Top Bug Hunters Make 2.7 Times More Money Than an Average Software Engineer (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: A survey of 1,700 bug bounty hunters registered on the HackerOne platform reveals that top white-hat hackers make on average 2.7 times more money than the average salary of a software engineer in the same country. The reported numbers are different for each country and may depend on a bug bunter's ability to find bugs, but the survey's results highlight the rising popularity of bug hunting as a sustainable profession, especially in less developed countries, where it can help talented programmers live a financially care-free life. According to HackerOne's report, it pays to be a vulnerability researcher in India, where top bug hunters can make 16 times more compared to the average salary of a software engineer. Other countries where bug hunting can assure someone a comfortable living are Argentina (x15.6), Egypt (x8.1), Hong Kong (x7.6), the Philippines (x5.4), and Latvia (x5.2).

4 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Top Bug Hunter Vs. Average Software Engineer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok, but how much does an average bug hunter make vs a top software engineer? Or an average bug hunter vs an average software engineer?

  2. How much do the Top Engineers make? by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I mean this is an Apples vs Oranges comparison there.
    You can take the top of nearly any (professional) profession and compare it to the average of others and you see that the best of the best makes more then the average guy does.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  3. Another stupid comparison article by ilsaloving · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So the top bug hunters make more than the average software engineer? Well slap my ass and call me a cantaloupe!

    What about top software engineers compared to average software engineers? What about A-list celebrities vs stuntmen?

    I know! How about we compare the top strawmen vs average strawmen?

  4. my career plan was to be an average developer by j2.718ff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I was planning to be an average developer, but I guess I'll become one of the best bug hunters instead. Because as an average software engineer, I assume that I'd be way better than average at finding bugs than someone who's already made that their career.