As 2024 is now over, I am glad that I managed to beat my targets set for earnings by a significant amount after all bugs were triaged and paid.
Synack Red Team has no year wrapped to share, but... $ target achieved and then some. No more $ targets as it's a bit much with young kids and a job! Highlights of the year: meeting fellow hackers at the UK SRT meetups and witnessing epic SRT Slack meltdowns. #SynackRedTeam pic.twitter.com/gF88yEt6lV
— Daly (@_d4ly_) December 14, 2024
With hindight, I honestly don't think these types of financial targets are particularly healthy based on how PTaaS and bug bounty works. Unless you are the absolute top of the tree and loved by the platform you work on and getting the first dibs on every target, it's pretty stressful trying to reach these types of target, not to mention that with bug bounty there is sometimes the gauntlet of will or won't you get paid.
Unfortunately for me, I'm not one of those lucky ones who is absolutely loved by the platform they hunt on. I am relatively new to all of this having started in Aug 22, though I have made an impact in that time. I do have some perks from "level", my locality, and being a mentor, but I am not yet in that real inner circle of "special ones". This isn't a whinge, this is the reality of PTaaS platforms as they want people who have been on the platforms for a long time, and have been consistent throughout. Makes sense, right?
I always want to earn as much as I possibly can, but I also want to enjoy doing it. Raising bugs for the sake of raising bugs isn't really my thing, and I found it stressful. For instance, I like to try & learn new things and I enjoy server side bugs. I really don't want to be first on a templated bug as that's someone else's work. That's why for 2025, I plan on completing a few more qualifications and potentially raise a few more CVEs, but I am not setting any targets for myself financially.