How to Be a Cybersecurity Researcher

Deep-Dive into Protocols

Don't surface-level learn TLS. Understand it. RFC documents. Handshakes. Cipher suites. Why does TLS 1.2 work but TLS 1.0 fails?

Real research starts with deep fundamentals.

Get Ghidra. Get IDA. Pick a random binary. Spend 10 hours understanding how it works.

This is where breakthroughs happen. You find logic flaws. You understand real-world code complexity.

Keep a research blog. Write-ups. Proof of concepts. Share CVEs you've found. Build reputation.

No one knows you exist if you don't publish. Publishing = credibility.

File responsible disclosures. Work with vendor security teams. Get your name in CVE databases.

This is how you build a career in security research.

OSCP is nice. But a GitHub full of security research is better. Curiosity drives you to find real bugs.

Certifications prove you passed a test. Research proves you found things no one else did.

Most vulnerabilities take weeks to understand. Most CVEs require months of research. The field rewards patience.

You need the curiosity of a hacker and the patience of a researcher.