To be a penetration tester, you should always start with other IT and tech careers, such as general IT, but make yourself specialized in pen-testing by getting the pen-testing certifications listed below. These certifications can be gained by passing the exams. Other than obtaining relevant certifications, you should also work on becoming a junior ethical hacker or penetration tester. So that you have an opportunity to prove your pen-testing skill and move into a more senior position involving challenging projects or managing those with less experience than you. With the certifications mentioned below, you will be able to step in the career like penetration tester, vulnerability tester, security analyst, or one of the many other titles in this exciting and relevant field.
CEH – Certified Ethical Hacker Certification
- Entry Level
- 4 Hour Multiple Choice Exam With 125 Questions, Optional 6 Hour Practical Exam
- The tester needs to know about the latest hacking and malware tactics
- The CEH has been recognized the world over as a standard for ethical hackers
GPEN – Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Certified Penetration Tester
- Entry Level
- 3 Hour Exam with 82-115 Multiple Choice Questions
- It covers not only technical questions about ethical hacking and penetration testing, but also legal topics relating to pen-testing and other non-technical questions
CPT – Information Assurance Certification Review Board (IACRB) Certified Penetration Tester
- Entry Level
- 2 Hour Multiple Choice Exam With 50 Questions, Practical Exam (30 Days to Complete)
- It tests knowledge of penetration testing in general, and specifically Windows, Unix & Linux vulnerabilities, wireless security, and web application exploits among other things.
- Pass with a score of 70% or better
- It is only valid for 4 years
PenTest+ – Offered by CompTIA, a “vendor-neutral” IT certification organization
- Intermediate
- 2.75 Hour Long Test with up to 85 Practical & Multiple Choice Questions
- It tests the ability to assess weaknesses in a system and the ability to suggest strategies to ameliorate weaknesses
- It contains test questions and a practical portion
ECSA – EC-Council Certified Security Analyst
- Intermediate
- 4 Hour Multiple Choice Exam & 12 Hour Practical Exam
- It is from one of the top certification organizations in the penetration testing industry
- Throughout the 12 hours, the tester must demonstrate the knowledge of network scans, vulnerability analysis, and other important facets of a penetration test.
CEPT – IACRB Certified Expert Penetration Tester
- Advanced
- 2 Hour Exam with 50 Multiple Choice Questions, Practical Exam (30 Days to Complete)
- This test shows the ability to manipulate shellcode and exploit code, perform reverse engineering tasks and other advanced penetration testing techniques
- It is only valid for 4 years
LPT – Licensed Penetration Tester
- Advanced
- 18 Hour Practical Exam
- Those with this certificate are typically considered experts in the field
- It is considered to be one of the most challenging tests
OSCP – Offensive Security Certified Professional
- Advanced
- 24 Hour Practical Exam
- The exam consists of a real-world situation that you have 24 hours to examine
- It measures the ability to gather information about the network, and then submit a detailed report with notes and screenshots to back up the findings
OSCE – Offensive Security Certified Expert
- Advanced
- 48 Hour Practical Exam
- It shows via practical methods that the tester knows how to evade anti-virus software, use creative problem-solving skills, and identify vulnerabilities that might be hard for a lesser qualified ethical hacker to find.
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