Check out OSCP its hands on pentesting cert I am currently taking the class and I am learning so so much from the class.   What books have you read on pentesting?  What sites do you visit on a daily basis about pentesting?

Hey Seen, some thought for the samples of questions you received, those are not necessarily direct Pen Testing security questions.  Those are basic knowledge of networks and linux.  In most of these classes and books you are reading, the author assumes you have the basic concepts of networking and OS related material. 

The first step to pen testing is know what you are attempting to break into.  Knowing basic network concepts will allow you to better understand the network you will be testing against.  If you pop a box and notice that it has an IP of 192.168.40.10 with a subnet of 255.255.255.248 and a gatway of 192.168.40.14, you will know that there are at least 4 other hosts on that subnet that may be accessible.  Best bet for learning networking concepts is pick up a CCNA book.  Cisco will have you jumping through subnetting hoops until you can see something like 192.168.40.8/29 and know that it is the network explained above. 

Most really good pen testers have come up the ranks either from Web App developers (Web App Pen Testers) or Sys Admins who work every day with servers, workstations, routers, switches etc..  You will have guys that can perform a flawless SQLi injection but may not be able to bypass some networking controls on an internal network and vice versa.  So focus on what you are strongest in and start there. 

As for the positions with Audit/policy jobs, well yes some of those might not be that fun.  It won't generally get you too much direct experience, but it will get you experience knowing the policies and procedures that might help you understand what controls may be in place during a pen test.  Compliance != Security.  Knowing what is required for compliance is valuable since many companys/organizations will not go beyond the base requirements.  Plus the work is not too stressful since you are not the one required to fix the issues, you just need to report them.  You may also work along side a pen tester will be called in by request for additional testing of the findings.