Xengoreth's WGU BSIT - Sec Thread

xengoreth

I didn't do much studying this week. However, I walked in and took my 220-802 cold and passed, completing my A+. IT Applications - C394 down, putting me at 18 CEUs down for the term. I'll take the Network+ for Networks - C480 on next Tuesday. My strategy here is to knock out all of the certifications first.

Since the Network+ won't likely require study either, I'll actually try to work on finally sitting for the VCP5-DCV and weave that in.

bermovick

How were you able to take the 220-802 cold like that? I've been avoiding doing the 2 A+ courses because I heard they expect you to make 95% on the preassessments before they'll let you take the actual exam.

xengoreth

It's up to the student mentor-- mine might be unusually accommodating. She will just unlock a class and unlock the exam for me, probably due to a demonstrated history of being able to pass and a large amount of experience. The flexibility to do this is really great and it lets you breeze past topics that you already know really quickly!

NicWhite

bermovick wrote: »

How were you able to take the 220-802 cold like that? I've been avoiding doing the 2 A+ courses because I heard they expect you to make 95% on the preassessments before they'll let you take the actual exam.

The pre-assessment can be taken many times. If you go through all the section questions, you will be able to get that score.

plopbangcrash

Xengoreth , you didn't get your vcp5-dcv cert voucher through WGU did you you?

xengoreth

plopbangcrash wrote: »

Xengoreth , you didn't get your vcp5-dcv cert voucher through WGU did you you?

WGU comes with Dreamspark premium, so I got a bunch of vouchers (three maybe?) that end up putting the price at $60.00 for any VCP level test.

I don't think any of the VMware training offered through Dreamspark ends up qualifying you to sit for VCPn-DCV, but if you pass the CCNA that will qualify you to sit for the VCP6-NV and once you have that you can sit for the DCV. Luckily, I've had my DCV Install/Config course.

plopbangcrash

xengoreth wrote: »

WGU comes with Dreamspark premium, so I got a bunch of vouchers (three maybe?) that end up putting the price at $60.00 for any VCP level test.

I don't think any of the VMware training offered through Dreamspark ends up qualifying you to sit for VCPn-DCV, but if you pass the CCNA that will qualify you to sit for the VCP6-NV and once you have that you can sit for the DCV. Luckily, I've had my DCV Install/Config course.

You might check your voucher to verify , but I got mine around May from WGU and the one they offered was for VCP510 which expired in November , not sure if they updated the available voucher afterwards but thought I would give you the heads up in case.

xengoreth

plopbangcrash wrote: »

You might check your voucher to verify , but I got mine around May from WGU and the one they offered was for VCP510 which expired in November , not sure if they updated the available voucher afterwards but thought I would give you the heads up in case.

I just checked. Looks like it's only the VCP5-DCV (VCP550) or the VCP6-DCV. The voucher is good for three exams and when I tried to sign up for the VCP6-DCV, it didn't bark at me about not having the prereq!

Also, I bet your voucher, like mine, is good for any academic versions of the DCV (labeled PSE) exams, so even though the VCP510 is retired, you should probably be able to use yours.

TacoRocket

The Dreamspark Premium vouchers let you take the VCP without the official class.

xengoreth wrote: »

I just checked. Looks like it's only the VCP5-DCV (VCP550) or the VCP6-DCV. The voucher is good for three exams and when I tried to sign up for the VCP6-DCV, it didn't bark at me about not having the prereq!

Also, I bet your voucher, like mine, is good for any academic versions of the DCV (labeled PSE) exams, so even though the VCP510 is retired, you should probably be able to use yours.

xengoreth

Network+ is scheduled for 22-Mar-2016. I'm going to study the material a little, since there are a few concepts not really addressed by the CCNA. WGU provides Udemy's material for this purpose.

I'm trying to decide if I want to take a detour for the VCP or to study for the CCNP. At the beginning of this year I was sure the BSIT was the way to go, but I feel getting an intermediate level cert (or two) might be what my career really needs. I guess the other option is just to push to get the degree done, so I can get to what I finally find the most interesting.

xengoreth

Network+ complete, which knocks out Networks - C480. This class will require very little study for anyone with IT experience.

I've been weaving in studying for 300-101 for my CCNP to help keep the Cisco material fresh in my spare time.

xengoreth

Pending mentor approval, I'm going to work on C299 - Designing Customized Security to get my CCNA Security next.

I'm kind of always working on the VCP5-DCV material as I have time and incidentally as part of my labbing, so I'll schedule the test once I've finished a final trip through the blueprint. I suspect I'm a week or two away from finally sitting for this test.

xengoreth

Just a quick note-- I decided this program was not for me. I also played around with switching to WGU's "Software Development" program but I also decided that sticking with a more traditional CS program might be a little better of a choice when it comes to marketability performing dev work. I've been writing code my whole career in a variety of languages, so the classes so far haven't been a stretch for me.

The birth of my first son in October has altered my plans for 2016 rather significantly but I hope to get back up to speed during 2017. It probably just means I'll have to be a better with time management, which admittedly is one of my weak points.

I'm still taking a series of CCNP courses as par of my CS degree since I am in need of all the upper division credits I can get.

xengoreth

I am eating my own words-- I don't have much to say here but after extensive introspection on the matter, I've decided the opportunity cost of being in school for CS is way too high and I already have significant intellectual capital invested in other areas of IT, which I would like to expand to their full potential.

I was readmitted to WGU effective 01-Apr-2017. So far I have knocked out C179 - Business of IT - Applications, putting me at 78/123 (somehow my degree shrank by 1 CEU). While this was an awful class that was poorly designed and with shoddy materials, I found it was nowhere near as difficult as people make it out to be. I knocked it out with about a total of twelve hours of effort just reading through the materials and taking the quizzes.

Next up are C697 and C698 (Operating Systems I and II). I'll be knocking those out at the same time utilizing a Linux Academy course I've already begun. I have a pretty good background in Linux, so knocking out both tests shouldn't be too taxing.

bermovick

Keep in mind, WGU is supposed to be coming out with BS:CS and MS:CS degrees in the near future. I'm debating enrolling for those once I finish my MS:CIA

xengoreth

Interesting-- I hadn't heard actual CS degrees were in the works. Potentially I will back-burner that for some time down the road but after the BSIT is done, I have an all-consuming certification in mind that will take some years of uninterrupted effort to knock out.

xengoreth

I passed LX0-103 this morning after some moderate study. I mostly stuck with uCertify, but also did a few Linux Academy quizzes. Mostly, I relied on my extensive background with Linux. C697 complete and C698 up next. Hopefully, I will sit for the test next week.

jibtech

xengoreth wrote: »

Interesting-- I hadn't heard actual CS degrees were in the works. Potentially I will back-burner that for some time down the road but after the BSIT is done, I have an all-consuming certification in mind that will take some years of uninterrupted effort to knock out.

The BSCSIA is a degree now.The first group will be starting around 6/1. I had a transcript eval done for it, but decided to stay in the BSITSec path.

xengoreth

Knocked out LX0-104 this morning. It seemed to be even easier than LX0-103. If you know some basic SQL and Bash scripting, this is a very simple test. The uCertify materials are perfectly sufficient for this test although I did a few quizzes from Labsim. At any rate, C175 - Data Management - Foundations up next. I am hoping to knock this out during the week and study something something else over the weekend!

xengoreth

C175 - Data Management - Foundations complete. The uCertify materials were perfectly sufficient for this course, as dry as they are. Moving on to C170 - Data Management - Applications.

supafish9

I'm looking at taking the final over the weekend. Is it pretty similar to the pre-assessment in your opinion?

xengoreth

supafish9 wrote: »

I'm looking at taking the final over the weekend. Is it pretty similar to the pre-assessment in your opinion?

Without going beyond the NDA, I'd think the most I can say is that is similar but perhaps a bit more practically focused. Different pool of questions, obviously, but if you can pass the pre-assessment I'd expect to score similarly on the post assessment. I actually scored 86% on both tests...

supafish9

Sweet - I scored 74 and 76 on the pre-assessment and knocked out the final in the 80s!

gkca

Just passed C175 a few minutes ago, now onto C170 as well

shimasensei

Great progress xengoreth. This thread is an inspiration for me. Just curious, what is your study schedule like? How many study hours (on average) per day / week? I'm assuming you are doing this program with a full-time job and family responsibilities.

xengoreth

shimasensei wrote: »

Great progress xengoreth. This thread is an inspiration for me. Just curious, what is your study schedule like? How many study hours (on average) per day / week? I'm assuming you are doing this program with a full-time job and family responsibilities.

Thanks! I am doing about 15-20 hours per study a week, depending on my schedule. I try to get a few two hour weeknights in and a larger block on Saturdays. I have a wife and six-month old who mean the world to me and a full-time job (usually about 50 hours per week including the commute).

The only thing I've given up is wasting time playing video games. My wife and I cook all of our meals at home, sit down and enjoy our time with the baby, and even catch an episode of a TV show here or there. We enjoy some drinks on Friday and usually spend part of Sunday with relatives. I mean, I could go faster, but I like spending time with my wife and son! But yeah, if you have significant IT experience (which I am guessing you do based on your certifications), it really trivializes a lot of these classes.

xengoreth

C170 - Data Management - Applications objective assessment complete. This one was way easier than C175 - Data Management - Foundations since it was mostly SQL and much less theory and jargon. Working through the performance assessment tonight and maybe submitting to Taskstream tomorrow. After that, I'll be working on C176 - Business of IT - Project Management (aka Project+).

shimasensei

Thanks for that! I am also in a similar situation with a full time job, wife and young son. I was able to knock out a portion of the technical classes with my certs (about 30% of total CUs). I see you've transferred over most of the GEs. From the ones you've taken, what do you think of the GE classes? Can they be completed quickly too? Unfortunately I do not have non-IT credits that I will be transferring over so I'm starting from the bottom on the GEs. I'm currently in the admissions process, target start date is July 2017.

xengoreth

shimasensei wrote: »

Thanks for that! I am also in a similar situation with a full time job, wife and young son. I was able to knock out a portion of the technical classes with my certs (about 30% of total CUs). I see you've transferred over most of the GEs. From the ones you've taken, what do you think of the GE classes? Can they be completed quickly too? Unfortunately I do not have non-IT credits that I will be transferring over so I'm starting from the bottom on the GEs. I'm currently in the admissions process, target start date is July 2017.

That's the thing-- the only Gen Ed course I have to take is C464 - Introduction to Communication, which I haven't done yet. It's fairly well known that course is really easy, but I don't know about the others. I transferred in basically everything but C464 that you could classify as Gen Ed. Good luck on getting admitted-- I can't imagine any of the Gen Ed stuff will be too rough but if a particular class in question is really a subject you are unfamiliar with, I'd imagine it could be quite time consuming.

shimasensei

Thank you:)