For those of you who don't know, I work as an IT Security Consultant for a major company that does Security Solutions for Banking Environments.

Recently, there was some downtime expected, so I decided to pursue my degree.

However, we just lost another consultant, and some new opportunities have come my way.

This will be a speed bump for my college education, but an acceleration in my Ethical Hacking pursuits.

I've decided to continue with my IT courses (Systems Analysis, Programming, Database Management, etc) and augment them with more certifications (Linux+, Certified Ethical Hacker, CISSP)

Like I had mentioned before, I want to save my business courses for last, as they will be good foundational prerequisites for my MBA.

I'm also considering an MS in Computer Forensics since it would fall directly in line with my current career.

As a Security Consultant moving to the next level, there are a lot of upcoming perks. World Travel, Protecting Bank Firms, Black Hat Conferences, Working directly with CIOs, six figures. It is something I can see myself doing for a while.

The MBA is still a strong goal, but the opportunities that present themselves have to be taken advantage of first.

I work for a good company and a fantastic supervisor, and I'm finally able to do what I've really wanted to do for some time, get paid to do what I love.

FWIW, I'm extremely happy with my decision. This month I've already made 2 major decisions. 1 is to continue my pursuits as an Ethical Hacker, and 2 is to turn down working at Mission Control for NASA. Next major decision is if I lay down $8000 for my extended warranty (have to decide by Monday).

My advice to anyone who has always thought about a degree, follow your dreams, even if speed bumps come along the way.

I just got back from passing Management Information Systems with a 57. It was pretty easy and didn't go thru but maybe three sections of the flashcard for the test. I have been in IT for about 7 years and have taken classes that has similar concepts.

My question is how do all of these people end up with scores in the 60's and 70's? I have never gotten anything above a 60. I just dont get it. My school doesn't give a letter grade, it only awards the credit so it doesn't really effect me but I was just curious.

Hello. I would like to share with you my experience with my Macroeconomics CLEP I took today in hopes that it will better prepare those who have an interest in taking it.

First of all, I'll admit, I'm a complete dork and I actually enjoy this subject. I know for some, you rank economics up there with pulling teeth, but none-the-less, you CAN pass this test. This was my first computer based CLEP and I loved it. What I really loved was the instant results, instead of waiting 6 weeks for paper based snail mail.

My exam characteristics:

80 questions
90 minutes to take it
5 possible choices per question, not 4

My resources:

InstantCert
Economics, McConnell & Brue, 2008 (My wife's economics textbook, and she had to take the class for 16 weeks!)
Peterson's Practice Exams

Here's a summary of my version:

1) Aggregate Supply & Demand. Did you really think you could take an economics course without these?? Know all about it. Know equilibriums too.

2) GDP: learn it, live it, love it. Know what caused it to increase, what causes it to decrease. Nominal, Real, Fake (just kidding...about the fake one). Equilbrium GDP, Potential GDP.

3) Average & Marginal Propensity to Consume (APC, MPC), know the formula and it's effect on the economy. Also know the Average & Marginal Propensity to Save (APS, MPS). Once again, formula and its effect on the economy.

4) Fiscal & Monetary Policy. This area had about 15-20 questions on it. Remember the big things: Fiscal Policy = Taxes & Gov't Spending. Monetary Policy = Interest Rates & Money supply & the Federal Reserve. Know all about contractionary and expansionary fiscal and monetary policy and when to use it. (I.E. The best fiscal policy action to use during a recession is: ...yadda yadda).

5) Inflation. Define it, its effect on the buying power of money, its effect on the economy, etc.

6) Unemployment & the labor force. The different types (structural, cyclical, frictional, etc.)

7) Money. M1, M2, etc. There wasn't alot of questions on money itself, not in mine at least, but it would be wise to know what types of monies fit each category.

8) Reserve ratios and money multipliers. (1/reserve ratio). Excess reserves. (I.E. If a bank received a new $5,000 deposit and has a reserve ratio of 20%, how much money can the bank loan?).

9) Foreign Exchanges and the appreciaiton, depreciation, and international value of the dollar. (I.E. If the interest rate on American dollars rise, foreign countries will......).

10) Production Possibilities Curves, the multiplier, and the Consumer Price Index. Just the basics.

11) Keynesian, Classical, Rational Expectations, Monetarist schools of thought. Don't worry, just the basics. (IE, Classical = gov't hands off! Let the market do its thing. Keynesian = prices downward inflexible, increase aggregate demand to stimulate economy. RET = people magically anticipate everything.)

I know there is more, but these are the big things I remember.

Some things to remember:

1) InstantCert is a FABULOUS resource for this test. I'm willing to bet if you had a firm grasp on just the flashcards, it'd be enough to get you over a 60 on it.

2) Don't worry about memorizing every formula, I only needed MPC, Reserve Ratio, and the Money Multiplier.

3) Take take take the Petersons practice exams. There are 3, I took two. These are about as close as you are going to get to the actual CLEP. Nothing prepared me more. Did I mention TAKE THE PETERSONS PRACTICE EXAMS?!

4) Unless you are really that good, don't just gaze over the notes and try to take this test. Relax, take a couple weeks to study and feel comfortable with it. I studied for about 3 weeks.

5) Enjoy it! With our economy taking a nose dive and it always being in the news as of late, the test (and studying) enlightens you as to what the heck they're talking about.

Hope this helps, let me know if I can be of further assistance.

This is my first post and I want to start by saying “thank you” for providing such a useful forum. The amount of information available from all of your posts is wonderful and I appreciate all of you sharing so generously of your time and knowledge.

Quick background summary: I am a 49-year old father and husband in MN who never completed his degree out of high school. Instead, I graduated from a technical school. I have been in the Information Technology field for almost 30 years. I started as a programmer but have been doing mostly project/staff management for the past 15 years.

I have also been involved in coaching youth basketball for the past 5 years and truly love it. So much so that I want to do it on an ongoing basis. I’ve attempted to get one of the few coaching positions (9th grade level) in my area the last couple of years but they usually go to teachers who want to earn a little extra money. (By the way, my long-term goal is be a high school coach.)

I decided the best way to get one of these positions is by getting a degree and a teaching certificate. As a result, I had my transcripts sent to Excelsior and subsequently enrolled. I have a total of 38 credits from my previous college experience.

I thought a BS in Technology or MIS would be the best way to go since that’s my background. However, I’m not really interested in furthering my IT career. I’m more interested in getting a degree as quickly as possible. I don’t really care what it’s in. So I recently started thinking that a Liberal Arts degree might be the way to go.

One last thing – The coaching positions are typically filled in the September – October timeframe so I’ve set a personal goal of completing my degree by then.

So, based on all this information, here are the questions I’m hoping I can get some feedback and advice on:

- Is my plan of getting a degree and a teaching certificate even realistic?

- Is the Liberal Arts (LA) degree the best way to go if I want to get a degree as quickly as possible?

- Will an LA degree hinder my efforts of getting a teaching certificate?

- Would I be better served by going after some type of physical education degree?

- Is the 6-month timeframe for degree completion realistic for a father with a full-time job?

I apologize for the long post but I’ve really been struggling with these issues and I think it must be holding me back from taking the first step beyond enrolling.

Thank you in advance for the feedback and advice. I appreciate it.

Randal

Hi all,

Has anybody found a way to test out of the TESC Managerial Communications requirement for TESC BSBA degrees?

Thx, Mike

Has anyone taken this exam, I know it's an essay exam but I'm trying to get an Idea of what questions are asked. I'm debating if I should re-schedule it.

I just scheduled Into to World Religions for tomorrow night at 6:30. I am pretty nervous since alot of the terminology is so different than that of most of the tests I have taken. I have been thru IC once so far and plan to go thru it two more times before tomorrow night. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year to you all.
I know this question is somwhere in the threads but can't seem to find it.

How many Fema credits can I use in total for a Degree in Liberal Arts from Excelsior. I am changing my Major because I need to be done by April/May in order to make this year Havard application.

Thank you all for your help

Feels good to be back

Mapalo

I took this test thinking that I wouldn't pass it. But since I passed it with a
51, does anyone know for sure if I will get some credit for this exam thru Excelsior? My score report says 6 SH recommended but I doubt they will give me that. I just want to know that I didn't take this for nothing. Does anyone have any experience with this test?

Is the excelsior test different from the clep on Lifespan and Development and will instacert help pass it?
Thank You