WGU : MS ISA - How does it all flow?

evarney

So the I have been looking into this WGU : Masters in ISA and wondering what it is like and what the pace I would need to keep to ram this through in a single session if I have no social life or anything else to do outside study.

1. I wonder, do you really learn much at all?

2. Can anyone leave their impression of each of these courses?

• Current and Emerging Technology
• Cyber law, Regulations and Compliance
• Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques
• Cryptography
• Ethical Hacking
• Vulnerability Assessment
• Forensics and Network Intrusion
• Security Policies and Standards & Best Practices
• Risk Management
• Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response
• Information Security and Assurance Capstone Project

3. Are the mentors good? Do they serve a purpose? Do they drag their feet or 'blue falcon' you when you need to move fast?

4. Do you get to start with any course you want in this degree?

5. Were the CEH certs what you started off with?

nster

Considering the 2-3 month success stories, mentors don't seem to slow students down. If you do get such a mentor, you can ask for a replacement easily

nelson8403

I can't speak for what you'll learn, if you have experience it'll supplement your experience, if not you'll definitely learn something.

I'd pick out the classes that interest you the most, then divide them up, say Current and Emerging Technology (pretty easy class) do that first, then maybe your next interested one, say Cryptography, do third. Risk management maybe 5th etc.. try to spread out the most interesting with the monotonous in between. You don't want to get into a lull and then fail to meet self-expectations. Most are papers with the exception Cryptography (only webcam based exam) and the two certifications.

I enjoyed my mentor she was very hands off, but understanding when I made requests she thought were a little adventurous, and she never flat out denied me access to something. We talked every week through the process sometimes 5 minutes sometimes 20, but she was understanding with the pace I wanted to achieve.

I did not have any certs, I'd rather WGU pay 1,000 to certify me than go and pay that out of pocket. (They're 500 each)

cyberguypr

All you need to know is that VLT2 is a concoction of satan. Most of the courses are the same, read the material, research, do papers. I honestly can't recall what was on each course because after I finished them all seem the exact same and it's hard to determine what came from where. For example, I'm doing Cyber Law right now and the paper I just got graded covers the same topic as one of the first classes I took, just from a different angle. I'm sure I could've switch those two papers between classes and they would've passed.

In regards to mentors I can say that I just didn't have any chemistry with the first one I had. She wasn't bad, it's just that the connection was not there. She was very understanding I wanted to go fast and had no issues completing 60% of the degree on my first term. Midway through the program I requested a mentor change and I am very happy with my current one. She has a totally different approach and seems to work better for me. Another thing to understand if that usually mentors don't go doing everything you say, especially at the beginning. You gotta prove you can deliver, then you can start demanding stuff.

As to the order of classes, there's a suggested plan, but you are up to deviate. I had no issues modifying mine.

ajmatson

Not to dredge up an older topic but I am currently in the MSISA as well and I have to agree with VLT2, I was told by my mentors that those grading are not "technical" and that papers need to be dumbed down for them to understand so that you are not given a low grade for not meeting the "essence" of ISO 27001/2. I fought that and in the process of appealing Task 1 as I feel as an IT degree I should not have to dumb down my paper to receive a good grade. That is not the purpose of this degree. Their review of my first task has remarks such as "not sure how DDoS applies as a risk to the Web Site", really do they even know what a DDoS is and how its performed?