New Goal: BS IT-Security at WGU.

[jsd]

After just completing my BA Psych in August (and having it conferred in December), I was trying to figure out what to do next. I was thinking maybe a WGU MBA, but I'm not really interested in the business world and it would't help me out too much career-wise in my current field. And I figured after having a BA for checkbox purposes only, I should now go for something that will have higher utility for me.

So a BS in IT Security directly relates to my field, but more importantly it will let me get some industry certificates under my belt along the way, which at this point is more interesting to me than the second degree. But my job won't pay for taking cert exams, though they will pay for tuition! Loophole So I'll pick up some certs, and probably have the added benefit of picking up another degree along the way if I finish the program beyond the cert courses (I plan on it!).

I don't think I'll necessarily speed through this program, at least not at the pace I sped through my Pysch stuff. I have a background in this field, but it's pretty surface level since my job is all proprietary system stuff. Especially with the bigger cert exams like CCNA, I'll need to really hunker down to learn the material well enough to pass a cert exam as opposed to just breezing through a course.

Anyway, my BA cleared out about 40% of the WGU program, 47 out of 123 CUs. That's not too much, but obviously there's not a lot of overlap between Psych and IT The BA automatically cleared all of the Gen Ed requirements, even some of the ones that there was no direct equivalent for -- sort of like a block transfer. That was 36 CUs. My A+ certification cleared up another two courses, a total of 8 CUs. And the free course that Study.com gave me last month, Organizational Behavior, cleared up another 3 CU course. The TEEX cybersecurity courses, as I suspected, were not accepted for this program (and really shouldn't be, tbh -- they're fine as some electives for an unrelated field, but shouldn't really be taken seriously for a degree program in the direct area of study).

If I like the program enough, I'll probably go on to tackle the MS in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

I've gone through the WGU enrollment process and am officially admitted for a 2/1 start. I'll probably be dropping by this thread occasionally as a sort of accountability thread, since those seem popular these days

[Hunter91]

Good luck! I also have my eye on this program. I had no idea the A+ would clear up two courses! That's great news!

[jsd]

Knocked out my first WGU course tonight. I was ready to take the exam day one (on 2/1), but I guess you have to use the specific webcam they give you, not your own existing cam for some reason, and they didn't send that out until my start date (just got it yesterday).

But course #1 is in the books, 4 units down. Should be done with another course within about a week, but it's a certification course (albeit a useless cert) so I have to schedule it at an in-person, Pearson VUE center for proctoring. That'll probably add some time to it, but no biggie. Not trying to complete this all in one term, I can wait an extra day or so.

By the way, I love WGU so far. Very impressed with the student mentor/sraff and the process so far. Much better setup than the last competency based school I attended Hopefully that impression sticks.

[Nixi]

Knocked out my first WGU course tonight. I was ready to take the exam day one (on 2/1), but I guess you have to use the specific webcam they give you, not your own existing cam for some reason, and they didn't send that out until my start date (just got it yesterday).

But course #1 is in the books, 4 units down. Should be done with another course within about a week, but it's a certification course (albeit a useless cert) so I have to schedule it at an in-person, Pearson VUE center for proctoring. That'll probably add some time to it, but no biggie. Not trying to complete this all in one term, I can wait an extra day or so.

By the way, I love WGU so far. Very impressed with the student mentor/sraff and the process so far. Much better setup than the last competency based school I attended Hopefully that impression sticks.

Nice! Is the in-person proctoring just required if you want to do the certification or is it required for the course?

[bluebooger]

I believe the passing the certification exam is how you prove you have mastered the knowledge of the course

and the only way to do the certification exam is at a pearson testing center

[jsd]

Nice! Is the in-person proctoring just required if you want to do the certification or is it required for the course?

Like blue said, the certification exam is actually the course's final (and, er, only) exam. You can't pass the course without it.

[ajs1976]

Why did you go for the BS and not straight to the MS?

[jsd]

Why did you go for the BS and not straight to the MS?

mostly related to this:

I have a background in this field, but it's pretty surface level since my job is all proprietary system stuff.

I just felt more comfortable broadening my skillset a bit (and picking up some certs along the way). I've been in the field for a while, but I don't know. I don't feel very confident in doing the job where the focus isn't super specific, proprietary systems exclusive to my employer. I wan't more transferable skills. So... impostor syndrome, I guess? haha.

If I'm not completely burnt out on school for good by the end of all of this, then I will likely go on to a Masters in a similar field.

[yb1]

what happens if you fail a cert? like lets say you fail Security + exam

[jsd]

You get multiple shots at it. Eventually if you keep failing I think you have to either switch to a degree that doesn't require that particular cert, or you're out on your butt and can't continue.

So I'm not going to take any chances on the certs.