At TCM Security, we pride ourselves on listening to our community and adapting to feedback to ensure our certifications remain relevant, accessible, and aligned with the needs of aspiring and seasoned cybersecurity professionals. Today, we’re excited to announce a significant update to our certification lineup that reflects your valuable input and our commitment to continuous improvement.
What’s Changing with TCMS Certifications?
A Shift in Terminology
Based on feedback from the community, we are moving away from the term “Junior” in favor of “Associate” for our beginner-level certifications. This change reflects the practical skillsets candidates achieve without the potential stigma sometimes associated with the term “Junior.”
For advanced certifications, we are adopting the term “Professional” to better represent the higher level of expertise and challenge these certifications demand.
Reclassification Based on Difficulty
The Practical Malware Researcher and Practical OSINT Researcher certifications have been reclassified as Professional-level based on community feedback and their demonstrated level of difficulty.
Updated TCMS Certification Lineup
Here’s how our certifications will be categorized moving forward:
Associate-Level Certifications
PJPT – Practical Junior Penetration Tester (unchanged)
PWPA – Practical Web Pentest Associate (formerly PJWT)
PIPA – Practical IoT Pentest Associate (formerly PJIT)
PMPA – Practical Mobile Pentest Associate (formerly PJMT)
PSAA – Practical Security Analyst Associate (formerly PJSA)
Professional-Level Certifications
PNPT – Practical Network Penetration Tester (unchanged)
PWPP – Practical Web Pentest Professional (formerly PWPT)
PMRP – Practical Malware Research Professional (formerly PJMR, reclassified due to difficulty)
PORP – Practical OSINT Research Professional (formerly PJOR, reclassified due to difficulty)
Why Are We Making These Changes?
Our goal has always been to empower learners and professionals with certifications that truly reflect their capabilities. By refining our terminology and classifications, we’re ensuring that each certification level:
- Accurately represents its complexity and expectations.
- Provides clearer progression paths for individuals seeking to advance their careers in cybersecurity.
- Aligns with industry norms and the language used by hiring managers, helping our certification holders stand out in a competitive market.
What Does This Mean for You?
If you’ve already earned one of our certifications, you will automatically be updated to the new certification and badge.
Future certificates and marketing materials will reflect the new naming conventions.
The content and rigor of our exams will remain consistent with their current standards, ensuring that they maintain their value in the industry.
Thank You for Your Feedback
These updates wouldn’t have been possible without your input. At TCM Security, we believe in building a community-driven platform that evolves alongside the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. Your insights fuel our growth, and we’re excited to continue offering certifications that help you achieve your professional goals.
Stay tuned for more updates and resources designed to support your learning journey. If you have any questions about the certification realignment or need assistance, feel free to reach out to our team.
Thank you for being an integral part of the TCM Security community!
About the Author
Heath Adams, also known as “The Cyber Mentor,” is the CEO of TCM Security. While Heath is an ethical hacker by trade, he also loves to teach! Heath has taught courses to over 1,000,000 students on multiple platforms, including TCM Academy, Udemy, YouTube, Twitch, and INE.
Heath has held many certifications, including CISSP, PNPT, QSA, GSNA, OSCP, ECPTX, and eWPT. He also holds an MBA degree.
Finally, Heath is also a husband, animal dad, tinkerer, and military veteran.
About TCM Security
TCM Security is a veteran-owned, cybersecurity services and education company founded in Charlotte, NC. Our services division has the mission of protecting people, sensitive data, and systems. With decades of combined experience, thousands of hours of practice, and core values from our time in service, we use our skill set to secure your environment. The TCM Security Academy is an educational platform dedicated to providing affordable, top-notch cybersecurity training to our individual students and corporate clients including both self-paced and instructor-led online courses as well as custom training solutions. We also provide several vendor-agnostic, practical hands-on certification exams to ensure proven job-ready skills to prospective employers.
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