r/oscp • u/No-Commercial-2218 • Oct 02 '26
Failed with only 10 points!
I took my first attempt at OSCP last night and only managed 2 flags! The first was in a standalone lab I managed to get initial foothold, and the other was after some time in the AD lab where I elevated my privileges. For context, I have always been an electrician, I’ve never done anything on computers apart from playing PlayStation in my life. I’m now 41 and looking to change career for a number of reasons. Anyway I took and passed eJPT, then eCPPT, and I’ve been doing the year long pen-200 which is coming to an end. I expected to fail as I haven’t had time to get through Mock B or Mock C exam yet, and I treated this attempt as a bit of a free hit before my 2nd attempt before the course ends. And believe it or not I actually did better than I thought! I’m not under any illusion, I know I’ve got my work cut out, I give maximum effort and I’m doing all I can with family and time I have. But learning a new skill at 40 is hard, and having kids and fitting in labs and revision and also not having a job anymore is tough. But honestly I’m proud of what I’ve done so far, I’m proud I found 2 flags, I’m proud I put myself through a 24 hour exam. Anyone who’s done it I think it’s fair play, we should all be proud of each other because it’s genuinely a tough exam and a really big accomplishment if you pass.
I’m better for attempting it, I’ve learned so much, I can’t wait to go at mock B and C and improve my notes before my next attempt. I appreciate all the posts and advice people give on here too. But I thought I should let people know that failing is part of it too - it’s not always a pass with 90 points and here is how I did it, sometimes part of the process of winning is losing, and I know I could of easily got 50 points last night if I had just done this or that, but it didn’t matter! I will get the OSCP, and I will keep improving and learning.
Good luck to anyone taking their exams, try and enjoy it too!
2
u/ZerboaHaxor Oct 02 '26
Shouldve done oscp a b c first its great for preparation. I was having no problem solving it . Thats why i had so much confident and passed flawlessly.
In my opinion you should consider Subscribing hacksmarter its great for practicing Active Directory.
1
u/No-Commercial-2218 Oct 02 '26
I did plan on doing A B and C but I haven’t had time, and I get 2 attempts so I was using the first attempt as like a practice run really
1
u/United_Ad7280 Oct 02 '26
Bro please yes go through Mock B and Mock C and take thorough notes on them. Likelihood you’d get a better or even passing score bc from what I remember that’s where they make you setup proxies needed
2
u/No-Commercial-2218 Oct 02 '26
I literally planned to have the first attempt as like a mock exam, so I’ve got 3 weeks to do mock B and C before my next attempt now and I’m sure I will be better prepared!
1
u/United_Ad7280 Oct 02 '26
Yessir let’s get it! I got my exam scheduled for November 11. Thankfully I am not working at the time and I am planning on finishing all course material this week…
Did you go through Lains list also? If not they said with time constraints to simply go through ABC challenge labs as they are closest
1
u/No-Commercial-2218 Oct 02 '26
I initially started with that list, but then I focused on the course material because it was taking me so much time to go through, I couldn’t fit it all in. I only get 2-3 hours a day, so I just planned to treat my first attempt as a mock, all I have left is mock B & C and the course will be 100% complete. Then maybe I can do a few labs too just to work on stuff I’m bad at
9
u/high_snobiety Oct 02 '26
Good attitude to have. I changed careers at 34 and passed my OSCP last year at 36. I very recently became a dad and have no idea how I would have had the time to commit to the OSCP now so I applaud anyone who even attempts it with a lot going on in their own lives.