GIAC Penetration Tester

I came from help desk with almost no offensive security background and GPEN felt impossible at first. The practice questions exposed every gap - especially around exploitation fundamentals and privilege escalation chains. Passed on my second attempt and landed a junior pen tester role shortly after.

The pivoting and tunneling questions forced me to actually understand the concepts rather than just memorize steps. That depth is what GPEN demands.

Good coverage of the methodology and scoping material. Wished there were more post-exploitation scenarios, but it got me through the exam.