Today I officially passed the PNPT (Practical Network Penetration Tester) certification by TCM Security. I want to share this experience because the PNPT is not an exam you pass by luck. It rewards persistence, methodology, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. So after training and going over the whole material in the course in depth, as well as the labs given, I decided to take the exam.
My First Attempt
At the time, I felt ready; my technical knowledge was strong and sharp. I started strong, did the OSINT part, flew through everything else, stopping at almost the end. I was stuck; I did not know what I had missed. I did not enumerate enough, I rushed decisions, and I panicked about whether I would pass. That stress led me to skip details and make assumptions instead of fully understanding the environment. Looking back, this attempt taught me a fundamental lesson: enumeration is not a step in the process — it is the process. I strongly recommend making a checklist of what you have done and what you have still to do. Such a simple checklist where you just cross off the done steps is gold. This spares time, does not make you dizzy with a lot of information you have to remember, and gives you a clear mind to continue forward. And remember, this is not CTF, there are no flags that tell you this is the right path or wrong. If you enter the exam with a CTF-y mindset from HTB or THM, you are very prone to failure, like I failed my first attempt.
Writing The Report
During my second attempt, the technical execution went perfectly, especially after I took everything I had missed the first time, but I still did not pass because of the report. After completion and full compromise of the exam domain controller, only the report was left to be submitted. Anxiety took over again. I spent a lot of time on the technical part, forgetting to screenshot some important steps of the process. Which led to my failure to present all of my findings with the clarity expected from a professional penetration tester. This attempt made it very clear to me that the calm state of mind is your best friend any time, no matter an exam or a real engagement.
Passing The PNPT
On my third attempt, everything finally fell into place. I approached the exam like a real client engagement, not an exam. I enumerated properly, stayed calm, and focused on understanding each finding before moving forward, and followed my checklist. I took screenshots of everything and wrote a thorough report for the whole process. I passed the practical part and the report. I was nervous during the debrief, but it turned out to be a very non-pressing and pleasant experience led by the extraordinary team of TCM Security. I managed it, and in the end, drum roll please... 🥁 I received my certification.
Special Thanks To The TCM Security Team
Throughout the entire journey, the TCM Security team was extremely helpful, professional, and supportive. The course materials, practice labs, and documentation provided are more than sufficient to pass the exam if used correctly and thoroughly. All of the PNPT-related courses are high quality, but from my experience, the most essential ones for passing the exam are Practical Ethical Hacking (PEH), Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), and the External Pentest Playbook. The Linux and Windows Privilege Escalation courses are excellent and valuable, but the exam itself focuses more on methodology, enumeration, and decision-making than on advanced, complex privilege escalation tricks. The biggest lessons I learned from this experience are simple but critical.
Enumeration solves more problems than exploits. Stress is often the real enemy, not the technical difficulty. Reporting is not optional — it is a core skill.
And finally, failing an exam does not define your ability; refusing to learn from failure does.
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