I also am hoping to get a job as a pen tester one day. I'm majoring in computer science at the local university. I'm still taking my core requirements, not into the actual cs stuff just yet, although I will be taking 1 class this fall on sql programming. I'm just reading books at home and I have set up an old computer and am running it as a server and trying out things on it that I'm learning from my books. Right now I'm reading "The Basics of Hacking and Pen Testing" by Pat Engebretson. I also have Ninja Hacking which I haven't gotten started in yet. I hope to teach myself a bit of the security stuff as I go through college since they don't offer a security major here. Then after I finish my bachelors I may enroll somewhere and work on getting my masters in security. I'm just working with what's available to me, so hopefully, I'll be able to make it all work out for me. Good luck to you Sam Kennedy in your journey to becoming a pen tester! I hope you are successful!