Failed my first eJPT attempt after about 3 weeks of prep. I'd done the INE course materials but clearly hadn't built enough hands-on lab time — I was treating it too much like a knowledge exam. Second attempt after 5 more weeks of practice I passed at 84%. If you're studying for the ejpt, the biggest shift for me was moving from passive video watching to active lab work every single session.
The main gaps on my first attempt were network pivoting and post-exploitation. I could identify vulnerabilities fine but chaining steps together under time pressure in an unfamiliar environment was where I fell apart. Between attempts I spent about 60% of my practice time specifically on those scenarios using TryHackMe and HackTheBox beginner paths.
Metasploit fluency matters more than people give it credit for. I'd gotten a bit snobbish about wanting to do things manually but in a timed exam you need to move fast. I spent about 8 hours specifically on Metasploit modules in the two weeks before my second attempt and it made a noticeable difference.
The exam itself is 48 hours with around 20 questions tied to a live lab environment. Don't let the time window make you complacent — I burned most of my first attempt on a rabbit hole. Take notes as you go, document every host you find, and move on when you're stuck for more than 20 minutes.
The INE course is good but not sufficient on its own for the lab sections. TryHackMe's Jr Penetration Tester path is probably the best supplemental resource — the rooms map closely to what the exam actually tests.
Note-taking is underrated. I used a simple markdown file to track IP addresses, open ports, and credentials as I found them. With 15-20 hosts in the lab it's easy to lose track of what you've already checked.
The pivot and post-exploitation gap is super common on first attempts. I failed mine for exactly the same reason — could enumerate fine but lost time when I needed to move laterally between network segments. Second attempt passed at 79% after specifically grinding those skills for 3 weeks.
Metasploit advice is spot on. There's a contingent in the community that treats using it as cheating but on a certification exam it's the right call. Know your modules, know your options, move fast.
Also: revert your machines if something starts acting weird. Don't waste an hour debugging a misconfigured exploit when a revert fixes it in 2 minutes.