About This Study Plan

This 30-day study plan breaks the PENTEST (PenTest+) exam preparation into 4 focused study sessions with 16 actionable tasks. The plan covers all 5 exam domains — Engagement Management, Reconnaissance and Enumeration, Vulnerability Discovery and Analysis, Attacks and Exploits, Post-Exploitation and Lateral Movement — ensuring complete coverage. Structured 30-day study plan for CompTIA PenTest+ (PT0-003).

4Study Sessions

16Total Tasks

5Domains Covered

Prerequisites

Security+ and basic Linux skills
2–3 hours per day

Study Schedule

Week 1Planning & Reconnaissance

Days 1–2: Engagement planning, scope, rules of engagement, legal
Days 3–4: Passive reconnaissance — OSINT, DNS, WHOIS
Days 5–6: Active reconnaissance — Nmap scanning, enumeration
Day 7: Vulnerability scanning and analysis quiz

Week 2Exploitation

Days 8–9: Network attacks, privilege escalation, lateral movement
Days 10–11: Web application attacks (SQLi, XSS, CSRF, SSRF)
Days 12–13: Wireless and social engineering attacks
Day 14: Post-exploitation, pivoting, and persistence quiz

Week 3Tools, Scripting & Reporting

Days 15–16: Metasploit, Burp Suite, Hashcat, Hydra deep dive
Days 17–18: Python and Bash scripting for pentest automation
Days 19–20: Report writing, risk ratings, remediation advice
Day 21: Hands-on PBQ practice with tools

Week 4Review & Exam Prep

Days 22–23: Full practice exam #1 + review
Days 24–25: Tool identification and scenario practice
Days 26–27: Full practice exam #2 + weak areas
Days 28–30: Attack methodology review, flashcards, and rest

Study Tips

💡

Set up a vulnerable lab (HackTheBox, TryHackMe) for hands-on practice.

💡

PenTest+ PBQs often require interpreting tool output.

💡

Know the pentest methodology phases in order.

Recommended CompTIA Study Resources

Supplement this study plan with the official CompTIA CertMaster labs and practice tests. Download the free exam objectives PDF from CompTIA's website and use it as a checklist — cross off each objective as you master it. Professor Messer's free video series covers every CompTIA exam objective and is widely regarded as one of the best free resources available.