The Pentester Blueprint guides readers on how to prepare and enter the cybersecurity filed as a penetration tester aka ethical hacker or white hat hacker. While there are a lot of books about technical tools for penetration testing, The Pentester Blueprint describes the role of a penetration tester, what a pentest entails, and the prerequisite knowledge required to start the educational journey of a pentester. The book goes on to detail learning resources and industry certifications that are helpful in becoming a pentester. The Pentester Blueprint evolved from the author’s frequent popular presentations on the same topic at many conferences. <br />Coverage includes:<br /> <ul> <li>Foundation – Discuss the foundational perquisite knowledge needed to become a pentester. Discuss the IT basic skills such as operating systems, networking and security needed to be a pentester.</li> <li>Hacking skills – Discuss developing hacking skills and the hacker mindset.</li> <li>Education options – Discuss learning options such as college classes, security training providers and self-study.</li> <li>Education resources – Discuss education resources including; books, videos, conferences and community.</li> <li>Certifications and degrees – Discuss credentials useful for gaining employment as a pentester including; degrees and certificates.</li> <li>Getting Experience – Discuss methods for developing hacking/pentesting skills such as labs (third party and home), CTFs, bug bounties, pro bono/volunteer work.</li> <li>Developing a plan – Discuss how to assess current skillset and knowledge to find a starting place and the perform a gap analysis to develop a learning plan. Discuss goal setting and educational milestones to track progress.</li> <li>Getting employed as a pentester – Discuss how to find a job as a pentester through networking, social media and community evolvement. </li> </ul>
