Breaking into bug bounty hunting can feel overwhelming. Everyone tells you to “start with the basics” or “play some CTFs,” but without direction, you’re just spinning your wheels.

What new hunters need isn’t just scattered advice, it’s a clear path. A roadmap that shows how to go from complete beginner to a skilled researcher who can land real bounties.

This is that roadmap.

Linux & Networking Basics

Before firing up Burp Suite or launching payloads, you need to master the essentials.

Understand the difference between a 401 Unauthorized and a 403 Forbidden. Know why a 500 Internal Server Error can reveal gold. Learn how requests, responses, and headers interact.

It’s not about being a sysadmin — it’s about knowing enough to read an application instead of just poking at it.

Hands-On Practice

Theory alone won’t cut it. You need to see vulnerabilities in action.

PortSwigger’s Web Security Academy is a perfect starting point, SQLi, XSS, SSRF, IDOR, and more, each with clear labs to break and fix. Don’t skim. Exploit, fix, repeat. That’s how instincts are built.

Learning from the Community

You don’t need a paid course to find your first bug. YouTube is packed with knowledge.

Creators like NahamSec and others have put out years of experience for free. Long videos aren’t a waste, they’re compressed lessons that can save you months of trial and error.

With just YouTube, you can move from “knowing the bug exists” to understanding how to trigger it in the wild.

Structured Training

Once you’ve soaked up community knowledge, sharpen it with something more focused.

HackingHub.io is built around bug bounty workflows, offering labs, tutorials, and exercises modeled on real-world reports. Here, you go from understanding a vulnerability to applying it against scenarios inspired by actual findings.

Private Invites

By now you’ll have picked up some public program wins. The next step is moving to private targets.

YesWeHack Dojo makes that leap possible. Their monthly challenges mimic real-world bugs, and submitting reports there can land you private invitations. This is where your scope — and opportunities — expand.

Staying Sharp

Success doesn’t mean stopping. Bug bounty keeps evolving.

The Critical Thinking Bug Bounty Podcast is a simple way to keep leveling up. Just listen — in the gym, while traveling, while hacking — and you’ll absorb advanced insights directly from experienced hunters.

Books & Reports

Books give you structure. Titles like From Day 0 to Zero Day or Bug Bounty Bootcamp build the frameworks and “why” behind vulnerabilities.

Reports give you reality. Every report is a real bug that worked in the wild, distilled from weeks of someone else’s effort into a 10-minute read. Three reports a day equals dozens of new techniques a week.

Together, books and reports are the perfect combo: theory + proof.

Final Thoughts

Bug bounty isn’t about memorizing payloads, it’s about building a mindset. The ability to connect dots, spot what others miss, and keep learning long after you’ve landed your first critical.

Follow this roadmap, and you won’t just hunt bugs. You’ll sharpen yourself into someone who can out-think, out-learn, and outlast.

Stay curious, stay secure. 🔐🔥