My Journey into eJPT

During a casual chat with one of my seniors about certifications, he strongly suggested I start with the eJPT. Out of curiosity, I explored the official eJPT resources, then dove into Reddit threads and Medium posts to read about other people’s journeys and tips. The more I read, the more it clicked: this wasn’t just my first paid certification — it was the perfect launchpad for a beginner in penetration testing and a way to validate my skills.

When it came to purchasing the certification, I reached out to INE’s support to ask about ongoing offers. They suggested keeping an eye on their LinkedIn page for monthly discounts. A few days later, a reasonable 50% offer appeared, and I grabbed it immediately.

You can purchase eJPT alone or as a bundle with 3 months of the Fundamentals course. I highly recommend the bundle: it provides guided, hands-on labs that build a strong foundation and smooth the learning curve for beginners.

🎯 What Exactly Is eJPT?

The eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester (eJPT) certification, offered by INE (formerly eLearnSecurity), is an entry-level, hands-on penetration testing credential designed for anyone interested in offensive security. Unlike traditional exams, it’s not about memorizing theory — it’s about applying skills in a real-world lab environment. The exam evaluates your ability to perform host, network, and web application testing, exploit vulnerabilities, and pivot across networks — essentially simulating a real penetration testing engagement.

• Exam Type: Browser-based virtual lab
• Duration: 48 hours
• Questions: 35 hands-on tasks
• Passing Score: 70%
• Validity: 6 months from purchase

Exam Guidelines and Key Points

Before you start, read the Lab Guidelines and Letter of Engagement.
Key things to know about the exam:

• In‑browser Kali (RDP via Guacamole) — preconfigured with all tools; no need to install anything.
• Kali has no internet — use your host browser for research; use the Guacamole clipboard to copy/paste.
• Save everything locally: lab resets wipe the VM, so store notes, screenshots, and scan results on your machine.
• Flags are dynamic per session and tied to your lab instance.
• Lab + quiz open for 48 hours; you can answer questions in any order.
• Scope: start in the DMZ and pivot into reachable internal networks — treat it like a real engagement.
• Recommended tools are preinstalled (Nmap, Metasploit, Hydra, WPScan, etc.).
• Ensure a stable internet connection and read both documents fully before starting.

Exam Question Categories

Particularly, the exam questions can be classified into four main categories: Assessment Methodologies, Host & Network Auditing, Host & Network Penetration Testing, and Web Application Penetration Testing.By focusing on these core activities, you can structure your workflow and efficiently tackle the exam tasks.

• Assessment Methodologies: Planning your approach, gathering information about targets, and analyzing potential attack vectors.
• Host & Network Auditing: Discovering live hosts, enumerating services, identifying operating systems, checking patch levels, and mapping networks.
• Host & Network Penetration Testing: Exploiting vulnerabilities, escalating privileges, performing lateral movement, and retrieving sensitive data.
• Web Application Penetration Testing: Fingerprinting applications, enumerating users and content, exploiting web vulnerabilities, and accessing protected data.

Additional Resources

Besides this, I solved these TryHackMe rooms to practice the similar skills in different environments:

• Ignite — Beginner warmup for web recon and basic exploitation.
• Startup — Web misconfigurations, FTP/anonymous services, and privilege‑escalation practice.
• RootMe — Intro CTF-style box for host enumeration and local privilege escalation.
• Blog — Web-app focus: content enumeration, WordPress/SMB interactions, chaining small web flaws.
• Blue — Windows lab for SMB/Windows enumeration, credential harvesting, post‑exploit workflows.
• Blueprint — Intermediate: chain web exploits into pivoting and lateral movement.

Outcome & Takeaways

The fundamentals course may feel repetitive at times, but as a beginner, it helps you get used to the process and workflow. Invest in the fundamentals, practice consistently, take personal notes, and approach the exam methodically. While I finished in a few hours, most take 8–10 hours in average — so don’t rush. Enjoy the process, trust yourself, and take frequent breaks if you feel burned out. The learning and confidence you gain are invaluable.Due to time constraints, I couldn’t complete the full fundamentals course, so I focused only on solving the labs within the modules.

Cybersecurity isn’t a milestone — it’s a journey. eJPT helps you assess what you know and what you need to know, teaching you to think, act, and pivot like a real pentester.

You can Verify it here: