OSCP 2020: Bitting the Bullet (My OSCP Journey Log with PWK 2.0 Study Materials)
After much deliberation on which way I want to take my cyber career, I've finally decided to bit the bullet, clear my plate of all other certification study efforts, and restart my work on OSCP.
In mid-2018, I was fortunate enough to have my employer fund the course, lab time, etc. However, I enrolled at a time when I thought my after-work hours would be relatively available for study. Boy was I wrong.
The role I stepped into and the amount of overtime and stress entailed, was enough to make anyone come home, plop on the couch, and instantly pass out. This roll continued at that pace for almost 2 years, but alas that rigorous schedule is finally over. I'm back to a more balanced schedule, less stress, and actually have a pretty good workout routine going on, seeing some nice results...
Which leads me to back to OSCP. I have the study materials and the technical experience to attack this head on. What I don't have however is lab access. I'm not planning to
purchase any lab time until I've been through the course materials again and ready to dedicate 2 - 3 hours per night in the labs. In the meantime, what are people using for lab work
other than the OSCP labs? Vulnhub? Hack the Box?
In the meantime however, I'm opening this thread to track my progress, share ideas/frustrations, and hopefully give something back to the community here. I know a lot of
us are working on this certification and some are intimidated by its reputation of rigor and challenge. However, I continue to hear stories of people with just a few years of practical infosec experience who
are able to pass the OSCP in a relative short period of time. I don't think there is anything to be intimidated by, as long as you are confident in your ability to learn, practice, and stick with it, no matter how long it takes.
I've been in this field since I was 16. I'm now 41, and man does the time fly. I can recall 'hacking' back in the day with cult of the dead cow tools, l0phtcrack, etc. Back then, there were certainly no certifications available, and if you were a 'hacker', you were probably viewed as a black-hat. The field hadn't matured to what it is today. I can recall wanting to learn so many years ago, but afraid I'd land myself in hot water just in my desire to learn, so I simply hung that hat a long time ago. Virtual machines weren't available to where you could practice in an isolated environment. The Internet had just become a "thing" and I can remember being one of the first in my neighborhood to have "the Internet", accessible by my first-edition Mac computer with a whopping 80 MB hard drive!
Anyway...I've eliminated all of the management type of certs I thought I wanted to work on this year. I'm not ready to leave the technical side of the field. I love it too much. Already in my current role, I delegated alot of the work, spent less and less time inside the labs, and frankly became a bit saddened by the fact that I was no longer doing the "fun stuff". I was the guy in 400 meetings per day. That's not why I got into this field.
Pentesting however I think provides a nice technical career trajectory, where no matter what your age or experience, you can continue to learn and improve, and become a master at the craft, while still staying highly-technical. That's what excites me. I was deterred initially thinking that that the salaries in pen-testing weren't near what I would make now, but I think that is all pretty much relative to the company, experience, and role.
That said, let's get OSCP underway.
