eJPT Course & Exam Review: Key Lessons Learned

TL;DR: The eJPT is a solid entry-level penetration testing certification. The course is well structured, the exam is practical and realistic, and while it won’t make you an expert, it gives you strong fundamentals and confidence to move forward in offensive security.

I recently completed the eJPT (eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester) exam, and in this article I want to share my honest experience with both the training course and the exam, along with the key lessons I learned.

The eJPT is designed as an entry point into penetration testing, targeting students and junior pentesters. It focuses heavily on hands-on practice rather than memorization, which makes it a great first step into offensive security.

Course Overview

The course is taught by Alexis Ahmed and is well structured, starting from core concepts and gradually moving into practical penetration testing techniques. It covers the full workflow a junior pentester is expected to know.

Main Modules

• Assessment Methodologies
• Host & Networking Auditing
• Host & Network Penetration Testing
• Web Application Penetration Testing

The content is rich and practical, backed by clear explanations, detailed notes, and hands-on labs. Each lab includes a description, objectives, and a full solution, which makes learning and self-review much easier.

By the time you finish the course and labs, you should feel comfortable approaching the exam, though your confidence will naturally depend on your prior background.

Course Strengths

• Strong coverage of essential tools like Nmap and Metasploit
• Clear focus on enumeration, service discovery, vulnerability identification, exploitation, and post-exploitation
• Labs closely resemble the exam environment, reducing surprises on exam day
• Beginner-friendly without being overly simplified

Repetition in the Course (Is It a Problem?)

Some topics, especially in the vulnerabilities and exploitation sections are repeated across modules. While this may look redundant at first, I personally found it helpful.

Repetition reinforces key concepts, and in some cases, the repeated lessons include extra details or a different explanation. This duplication is not present throughout the entire course and is likely due to modules being recorded independently.

Overall, it works more as a learning reinforcement than a drawback.

Modules I Skipped (And Why)

Because my exam voucher was about to expire, I skipped the following modules:

• Host & Networking Auditing
• Web Application Penetration Testing

This definitely increased my stress level during the exam, but thanks to the strong overlap between the remaining modules and the exam objectives, it was still manageable.

Exam Experience

The exam consists of 36 multiple-choice questions, but answering them requires interacting with a live practical lab environment. You are given 48 hours, and the passing score is 70%. If you fail, INE provides one free retake.

Exam Environment

Once you click Start Exam:

• The lab environment boots within a few minutes
• You access a Guacamole web-based session connected to a Kali Linux attack machine
• Several target machines are available within scope

⚠️ Important tip: The first thing you should do is download and carefully read the Letter of Engagement (LoE). It contains scope rules, constraints, and valuable hints about the environment.

How the Exam Flows

• You can skip questions, flag them, and return later
• The exam does not enforce a fixed order
• You typically start with enumeration to understand the network topology
• Then move into vulnerability assessment, exploitation, and post-exploitation
• Some questions require retrieving and submitting flags from compromised machines

From my experience and other reviews, it’s best to submit flags immediately once you find them.

Difficulty & Realism

The exam is designed to simulate real-world penetration testing scenarios. You may encounter:

• Tools or configurations you haven’t seen before
• Situations that require quick research and Googling
• Scenarios where you must adapt known techniques to new setups

Everything tested is either directly covered in the course or closely related to the labs. A small number of tasks may require learning a new tool or adjusting your attack strategy on the fly.

What I Liked Most About the Exam

• Focuses on practical skills, not memorization
• Tests the full pentesting lifecycle
• Includes elements of information gathering and light social engineering
• Feels realistic and well-balanced for a junior-level certification

What Do You Need to Pass?

This depends largely on your background:

• If you already have basic knowledge of networking, databases, and web technologies, the course alone is usually sufficient
• If you’re a student or complete beginner, additional practice on platforms like TryHackMe (beginner/junior rooms) is highly recommended

Alexis Ahmed explains the fundamentals very well, but extra practice helps improve speed and confidence. You don’t need deep expertise beyond the scope of the course.

Final Lessons Learned

The eJPT course and exam are valuable and information-dense, but passing the exam does not mean you’ve mastered penetration testing. Instead, the eJPT represents the starting point of your cybersecurity journey. What it gives you is:

• A structured learning path
• Strong foundational skills
• Confidence to pursue more advanced certifications and real-world practice

If you’re a student or someone aiming to enter cybersecurity, I highly recommend the eJPT. INE frequently offers discounted bundles that include fundamentals training, premium subscriptions, and additional learning paths.

Bottom line: eJPT won’t make you an expert, but it will put you on the right path.