EJPT: eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester

What eJPT is and who runs it

The eJPT — eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester — is an entry-level penetration testing certification now owned and run by INE Security (INE, which absorbed eLearnSecurity). It’s aimed at people with little to no professional pentest experience who want to prove practical, hands-on skills rather than multiple-choice theory. The current version, eJPTv2, replaced the old quiz-style format with a fully practical exam performed against a live lab network. INE positions it as a foundational red-team credential and a stepping stone toward harder certifications.

Cost and what’s included

INE sells the eJPT bundled with training rather than as a bare exam. The certification page lists options such as an “eJPT + Prep Bundle” (three months of novice-level training plus the exam voucher and a free retake) and “INE Fundamentals Annual” (a year of training with the voucher included). INE’s own page doesn’t print a price; listings and resellers commonly cite $249 (USD) for the bundle, but that figure isn’t shown on INE’s page, so confirm the current amount at checkout — INE runs frequent sales.

Time: the exam and the report

This is the part people get wrong. The eJPT exam gives you 2 days (48 hours) of access to a live, browser-based lab. There is no written report and no report window — the exam is auto-graded. INE uses dynamic and static flags so your instance is unique, and results are typically returned within a few hours. You answer a set of questions whose answers you must find by actually compromising the target network, so there’s no report writing — but also no partial credit for a good methodology you didn’t finish.

How hard it is, honestly

For a genuine beginner it’s challenging but fair; for anyone with some CTF or TryHackMe/HTB mileage it’s approachable. The 48-hour window is generous — many finish in well under a day. The bundled INE course covers what you need, so most failures come from weak enumeration or not reading questions carefully, not from obscure tricks. Passing requires 70% overall plus minimum scores in each domain, so you can’t skip a whole topic and coast on the rest.

Is it worth it — and for whom

It’s worth it if you’re breaking into offensive security and want a cheap, practical first credential that demonstrates real exploitation rather than memorization. It carries less hiring weight than OSCP, and some experienced people skip it. But as a confidence-builder and résumé line for junior roles, the price-to-value ratio is hard to beat. There are no prerequisites — anyone can attempt it — and the certification is valid for three years.

How to prepare

Work through INE’s bundled novice-level path first, then drill enumeration until it’s second nature — most of the exam rewards thorough scanning and service discovery. Supplement with TryHackMe’s Junior Penetration Tester path or easy Hack The Box machines. Practice pivoting and basic Metasploit workflows, keep clean notes, and read each exam question carefully before hunting its flag. A stable internet connection matters, because the lab runs entirely in-browser.

SourcesINE Security — eJPT certificationINE — eJPTv2 is here