From helpnetsecurity.com
If you ask Yago Hansen, a hacker specialized in Wi-Fi and RF security, curiosity and a willingness to learn and improve your skills are the two things that you absolutely must have to embark on a (white hat) hacking career.
A love for money, on the other hand, is not. “In my mind, hackers are security researchers who spend a lot of their life in testing, learning and getting better at what they do because they love it, not because they can earn a lot of money,” he told Help Net Security.
“A desire to share their time, knowledge and work with others just so they can make those lives and society better is a logical extension of that.”
That’s not to say that hacking can’t be a lucrative career but, he noted, for those who are just interested in money there are many other well-paid jobs within the infosec industry.