Starting with eJPT

Introduction

The InfoSec landscape is vast and constantly evolving , When I first decided to start my journey in cybersecurity, I was quickly overwhelmed by the endless number of certifications , courses and resources available.

I had many questions at the beginning ,for example :

Which certification should i go for first : Security+,CEH,eJPT ,OSCP,PNPT or CPTS HTB ?

In this article, I’ll share why I chose the eJPT as my first cybersecurity certification, how I prepared for it, what the exam was like, and the key lessons I learned along the way.

Starting Point: eJPT (eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester)

eJPT provides a solid hands-on introduction to penetration testing fundamentals unlike Security+ or CEH. While CEH is well known, it’s expensive and mostly just helps you get past HR filters but unlikely to land you a job on its own but on the other hand eJPT is affordable & offers better Learning Experience. I see it as an entry-level cert focused on basic skills while PNPT & OSCP are more advanced.

The Learning Experience

The eJPT course material is designed in a way that even people with little to no experience can follow along. It introduces penetration testing methodologies and covers important topics such as:

1. Network enumeration
2. Vulnerability assessment
3. Web application penetration testing
4. The use of tools like Metasploit in a beginner-friendly way.

Key Lesson: Don’t rush through the theory. I wanted to jump straight into the labs but take your time to understand the concepts and take notes

The exam

The test duration is 48 hours. It’s less of a CTF challenge, and more of a real life situation. It gives you 4 Windows and 3 Linux machines (your setup might vary). You can search online, use tools and even ask ChatGPT (but sadly I didn’t know about ChatGPT at the time or i think it didn’t exist yet I don’t know :) ). It’s an amazing experience and a great way to validate your ability to do a simple pentest

So i completed the courses in 2 months and prepared for the exam by solving CTF challenges and doing TryHackMe and i think If you’ve done a few beginner TryHackMe rooms, you’ll likely find eJPT manageable

but the course itself offers excellent hands-on labs and covers important topics like Metasploit in fact, it is one of the best Metasploit courses so definitely worth focusing on.

I managed to finish the exam in approximately 6 hours, including some breaks and internet connection issues. I recommend taking breaks to prevent burnout .

Completing this exam gave me significantly boost in confidence and I’m glad I attempted it and I successfully passed with an 97% score

→ I really enjoyed eJPT it was a great learning experience and I recommend starting with it.

I’m going to share some of my notes from the eJPT.