PJ's WGU Progress Thread - MSCSIA (start date August 2016)

PJ_Sneakers

I started this thread because I hijacked markulous' thread, and I also need to create some sort of accountability for myself as well.

Started in August of 2016.

First term includes:

• Cyberwarfare
• Risk Management
• Cyberlaw

I received credit for the Ethical Hacking class and Forensics class because I already had EC-Council CEH and CHFI.

PJ_Sneakers

Update: 10/19/2016

Cyberwarfare Task 1 and Task 2 are complete. Currently working on Task 3.

I have found this class to be interesting, but the tasks are monotonous and repetitious and I am really just tired of writing. Tasks 1 and 2 were about 40 pages each. My work/home/school balance is leaning heavily towards work and home, with school taking a back seat.

I currently have one section in Task 3 to finish and I'll be done with the class. Thank goodness. lol

netsysllc

Wow you are putting a lot of effort into your papers mine were half that length

PJ_Sneakers

I know. Way too much. My capstone for the BSIT was like 70 pages. I don't know how to write less, apparently.

Trying to keep Task 3 under 30 pages. I'm at 20 now.

PJ_Sneakers

I'm done with Cyberwarfare now, thank goodness. Moving on to Risk Management.

Pending:
Risk Management
Cyberlaw, Regulations, and Compliance
Security Policies and Standards—Best Practices
Secure Network Design
Secure Software Design
Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention, and Response
Capstone

Complete:
Cyberwarfare
Ethical Hacking
Forensics and Network Intrusion

DatabaseHead

Nice progress keep it up.

JGDaily

Great progress! Just curious, are the paper requirements usually that long (20+ pages)?

nespower

Congrats! How difficult has it been so far? I'm currently at WGU and would like to get a Master's eventually.

jamesleecoleman

Cool cool.
I got some credit from the last time I was at WGU. I'm currently taking Cyberwarfare.

PJ_Sneakers

JG: The papers take as long as they take. They could feasibly be less, or more. I tend to write too much. My last one was just under 30 pages.

nes: It's harder than my BSIT was, but I transferred a lot for the BSIT. The grading is more strict. In the BS on a 5 point graded paper, you have to get at least a 3 in each category. In the MS it has to be at least a 4 in each category.

James: Did you do the MS in IT management?

PJ_Sneakers

Risk Management is done. Starting Cyberlaw today.

Pending:
Cyberlaw, Regulations, and Compliance
Security Policies and Standards—Best Practices
Secure Network Design
Secure Software Design
Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention, and Response
Capstone

Complete:
Risk Management
Cyberwarfare
Ethical Hacking
Forensics and Network Intrusion

plopbangcrash

Keep up the good work, PJ!
I am coming close to the finish line on the MSCIA , hoping to be done before New Years.

PJ_Sneakers

plopbangcrash wrote: »

Keep up the good work, PJ!
I am coming close to the finish line on the MSCIA , hoping to be done before New Years.

That is awesome! How many terms have you been going at it?

BTW, done with Task 1 in Cyberlaw. Three more to go.

plopbangcrash

Still on the first term. I have the Ethical Hacking, Forensic and Network Intrusion and Capstone left to complete.
You should be able to breeze through Secure Network Design and Secure Software Design when you get to them.

PJ_Sneakers

I'm jealous of your progress! I finished my BS in one term, but I promised my wife I would go slower this time.

I'm looking forward to the network and software classes. Thankfully, a couple OA's to break up the monotony.

The CEH is not too bad. Like Sec+ with Kali thrown on top. CHFI is like CEH with some forensics thrown on top. Neither test is terribly difficult if you know the material.

solemnitas

I started in September and I'm on about the same pace as you. I just submitted the task for risk management and I'm moving on to Cyberlaw. From what I've read it looks pretty simple compared to cyberwarfare and risk management. What's your opinion of the tasks? Hoping to finish up this class and Secure network design before Christmas.

PJ_Sneakers

So far Tasks 1 and 2 were simple enough. Task 3 is pretty straightforward too. Task 4 is probably the most complex one, but I haven't gotten there yet. Right now I am done with Task 1 and I have Task 2 in the oven. Working on Task 3.

plopbangcrash

CEH completed, waiting for the actual score to submit. I have the CHFI scheduled for Tuesday and I am waiting to talk with a capstone course mentor to approve my abstract and concept as my course mentor will be out until December so I can't officially join the course until they are back but want to get the proposal started and get everything except the oral defense done before Christmas.

PJ_Sneakers

plopbangcrash wrote: »

CEH completed, waiting for the actual score to submit. I have the CHFI scheduled for Tuesday and I am waiting to talk with a capstone course mentor to approve my abstract and concept as my course mentor will be out until December so I can't officially join the course until they are back but want to get the proposal started and get everything except the oral defense done before Christmas.

Nice!!!!

I just got Task 2 through TaskStream so I am about 1/3 done with TFT2. Currently about 60% finished with TFT2 Task 3, I'm hoping to have it submitted by Wednesday so I can start on Task 4.

Cyberwarfare slowed me down so much that I feel rushed to get my "on-time progress" checked off but I know I still have about ten weeks left in my term. I'd like to knock out the Network Security and Software Security classes within about a month's time. Were those classes particularly difficult?

plopbangcrash

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

Cyberwarfare slowed me down so much that I feel rushed to get my "on-time progress" checked off but I know I still have about ten weeks left in my term. I'd like to knock out the Network Security and Software Security classes within about a month's time. Were those classes particularly difficult?

I would budget 1-2 weeks on Secure Network Design and 2-4 weeks on Secure Software Design, depending on your familiarity with the subjects. They both have relatively low cut scores for the assessment.

I passed CHFI this evening so I am down to the Prospectus, Capstone and oral defense. I will probably try to submit the Prospectus around the 10th unless I find some extra motivation somewhere. Still waiting for the official score reports for CEH (and I guess CHFI now) so that I can submit them and have the courses marked complete.

relegated

Would I save time/money by getting the CEH and CHFI before starting the MSCSIA program or not really since its competency based?

Are these difficult exams? Have never looked deep into them but I have my security+ and SSCP, considering CISSP.

How much time per day would you say you spend per day on school? Are you able to watch things in the car when you drive?

PJ_Sneakers

Thanks pbc, I appreciate the advice. I just got Task 3 approved, so hopefully I'll get Task 4 knocked out next week.

relegated, I think getting it as part of your tuition is pretty cost effective. You're looking at about $1200.00-ish to challenge both exams and to go through the approval process to meet the prerequisites. You skip all of that hassle, plus get retakes through WGU as part of your tuition.

relegated

Ah, gotcha, didn't know they cost that much would obviously be better to go through the school then.

jamesleecoleman

PJ_Sneakers

I didn't do the MS in IT management. I'm interested in the MBA though. I was at WGU and then got kicked out so now I'm back on probation. I'm having a difficult time with Cyber Warfare. It seems that I'm missing stuff that I'm thinking that I'm putting into my papers. I'm done with Secure Network Design... it was an easy test. I'm working on Security Policies and Standards - Best Practices – VLT2 task 1 at the moment. I wanted to get Cyber Warefare done by this weekend but the course mentor didn't email me back yet. So I plan on working on two tasks and turn them in before Sunday night.

PJ_Sneakers

Dude, I feel you on that Cyberwarfare class. Make sure you read the class mentor's guides completely. I had Task 1 and Task 2 in that class sent back to me once each. I just did not specifically make my writing meet the structure of the rubric. Once I did that I got them through.

jamesleecoleman

I've been doing my best to read the guides but sometimes I get lost, especially when I think I've put in the right information. I swear it was easier the first time I did this stuff. I really want to be done with this semester before the end of December. I started in October.

PJ_Sneakers

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I've been doing my best to read the guides but sometimes I get lost, especially when I think I've put in the right information. I swear it was easier the first time I did this stuff. I really want to be done with this semester before the end of December. I started in October.

I suggest printing the rubric, and then taking a highlighter to mark all of the verbs and nouns in the different sections. Then label each main heading of your paper the same as the the rubric section, and then using sub-headers based off of the verbs and nouns in the section. You can then write specifically to those verbs and nouns.

An example would be:

A1. Justification
Justification for Blah BLah BLah Management Policy Statement
Paragraphs and stuff
Justification for Bleh Bleh BLeh Management Policy Statement
More paragraphs and stuff

Etc.

Works pretty well for me.

solemnitas

I had my first task returned for Cyberware. After that I just went line by line in the rubric and stopped worrying so much about writing a good paper. It's about hitting the bullets in the rubric, not about creating the best product.

PJ_Sneakers

solemnitas wrote: »

I had my first task returned for Cyberware. After that I just went line by line in the rubric and stopped worrying so much about writing a good paper. It's about hitting the bullets in the rubric, not about creating the best product.

To be fair, you still have to write a good paper. You just have to follow the rubric. If you do write a bangin paper that meets the rubric, you can get a WGU excellence award, which is kinda neat.

People tend to get butt hurt because they get their paper returned to them, but WGU is not like a traditional grading scale where you get an A, B, C, D, or F. For WGU think of it as having to write a B or higher (or a C or higher on some assignments) just to pass the paper.

In many ways it's harder than traditional school where you can get a mixture of grades and still pull off a pass. With WGU you have to consistently meet the requirements. You don't get a D or a C and then fix it with a few A's and B's or some extra credit/leniency later in the term. You have to redo that assignment until you pass the cut or you just don't get to move on.

jamesleecoleman

I enjoy having the papers sent back to me if there's something major but when one small thing is missed or a few small things, its frustrating at times. Last time I was there, I could get away with papers that were six pages that just hit the main points and everything would be solid but now it seems that they expect a little more.

PC509

The worst part is that you have to follow the rubric to a T. Many times, you're repeating yourself. I found it easier to write the paper with the rubric headings (1A. 1B. 1C.) with the requirements of that section. Sometimes, it was repeating what was said in the previous section.

Sometimes, you have to word it different, but that section is repeating what you previously said.

Some sections contain the same ideas and wording as previous sections, but say it in a different way.



Throughout the whole thing, I started just doing what I could without doing it perfect and turn it in. Several times, it was accepted first time. Not what I'd call a good paper by any means. I figured it'd get returned, but it covered the material and answered what was asked. Just not pretty. Other times, they give good feedback and I only have to focus what didn't meet their standards. So, rather than working on 4 sections, it's just a single section that I need to edit. The rest of the time, the feedback was very vague, but at least I knew what did pass and what didn't...