One of the best parts of being involved in cyber security, offensive in particular, is that we get to bring experience and know-how from our training and past body of work. All the blood, sweat, and tears aren't for naught; those scars actually will come in handy. Our test's sponsors are in a tough spot. Working in the target environment, they don't often have the perspective that comes with seeing environments across verticals, architecture types, and sizes. Their staff, in many cases, will not have current training in application security that can help them keep up with the trends and upcoming threats.
So now, for the fun part, we need to maintain our certifications, continually refresh our knowledge base, and find ways to bring lessons learned from earlier engagements. Conferences through SANS, ISSA, OWASP, and others are well worth attending...