Week 3 of my OSCP preparation

Week 3 of my OSCP preparation

This week I finally got my results for the CPTS and I am pleased to announce that I passed on the first attempt.

Passing the CPTS

Well, it’s finally here. I am officially CPTS certified. A tips and tricks blog will be published along with this post. Both should be up at the same time.

I got the results this week, on Wednesday I think, and ever since posting about it, my DMs have been flooded with people asking for tips and guidance. Do check out my tips and tricks post. It should help.

OSCP prep

I usually have long hours of college on a few days of the week, and this time I also had to deal with additional assignments and project work. Yes, I did study some AD, and even made notes, but I’m not publishing a blog post for it as I had originally planned (more on that later).

After the CPTS results came in, I’ve just been overwhelmed by two things. First, the sheer volume of response: 800+ reactions and over 100 comments on LinkedIn, and 200+ likes on my X/Twitter post. Both are a lot for me. Second, this odd feeling of dread instead of accomplishment.

Yes, I passed CPTS, but part of me feels like I got lucky. I’ve seen posts of people getting stuck at very simple steps, and that could have easily been me if I hadn’t studied the right things. Now I keep wondering if I’ll face something similar in OSCP, where there’s no ChatGPT or any other sort of help with troubleshooting in the exam environment. I feel like I need more hands-on practice.

Lately, I’ve also started questioning if OSCP is the best use of my time and money. Some say it opens doors, while others dismiss it as overrated. As of now, I still plan to go ahead with OSCP. But part of me is tempted to put that $1750 toward CRTE, CRTO, and a Gold HTB Academy subscription to pursue CWEE or CAPE. I just hope I don’t regret spending this much and still ending up underpaid and/or overworked.

Burnout and afterthoughts

The thought of failure or ending up unemployed after investing so much time and money is honestly terrifying. I haven’t been able to focus much over the past few days. And while I’m grateful to have passed CPTS, it didn’t feel as satisfying as I expected. I was told CPTS was very difficult, but aside from a couple tricky sections, many flags felt easier than the Easy-rated machines I struggled with earlier.

That’s part of why I’m not publishing the AD blog this week. I feel burnt out. I need a short break, even if it’s just doing nothing for a couple of days. Maybe I’ll try solving a few machines tomorrow. Who knows?

I also tried working on an AD post today, and I do have a draft, however, it feels like a copy-paste list of commands. I used GPT a lot while making it, and it just doesn’t feel like something I truly wrote or understood. It felt hollow. So instead of pushing something out for the sake of it, I’ll wait until I’ve done the work and can write something that feels real.

Conclusion

I’m taking a short break.

I’ll be back when I feel ready.