Starting the WGU - MS: CSIA (start date Marcht 2017)

TLeTourneau

I'm looking forward to it, it seems like a natural progression. I haven't had my courses updated yet as I was just added to the roll but it will be interesting to see the course load. I am hoping I can keep my mentor from my undergrad, she was great to work with!

Add: ok, I mis-typed March in the title...

bermovick

Your classes won't actually populate until March 1 unfortunately, and you won't get to keep your undergraduate mentor (I checked too)

TLeTourneau

Thanks for the reply. They must have changed things since my undergrad. It used to be that you could access the materials once the courses were selected but you couldn't do any assessments, oh well.

For the mentor, they said they would let me know. According to the enrolment counselor a few of the mentors do both undergrad and graduate programs but not many. We'll see, if not it's not a huge deal she was just very good to work with.

TLeTourneau

Well, everything is ready to go for the March 1 start date and I am looking forward to it. If I can't access the course material early hopefully I can at least set my courses early so I know what to focus on.

What is anyone's advice on starting with the certification courses the first term? I have access to all kinds of study material for them immediately.

Thanks!

TranceSoulBrother

Depends on how fast you want to go. CEH and CHFI didn't have any necessary correlation to other courses for me. I just used the study resources for them. With your listed certs and available resources, you shouldn't have a problem.

devilbones

How many certs do you get with the MS:CIA?

cdx

@devilbones

C|EH and CHFI

TLeTourneau

And it has begun with C688 - Cyberwarfare, although it's been a slow start as I have a bug of some sort. Task one doesn't look overly difficult but I am going to go through the study material before writing anything just to be sure. I've also signed up for a WGU Writing Essentials webinar just to refresh as it's been some time since I have had to write a paper.

Anyways, it looks like it should e interesting and perhaps occasionally fun. Here is the plan so far, it is the standard recommended course plan:
Term 1
C688 - Cyberwarfare
JIT2 - Risk Management
TFT2 - Cyberlaw, Regulations, and Compliance

Term 2
C700 - Secure Network Design
VLT2 - Security Policies and Standards
C706 - Secure Software Design

Term 3
C701 - Ethical Hacking
C702 - Forensics and Network Intrusion

Term 4
FXT2 - Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response
LQT2 - Information Security and Assurance Capstone Project

Of course the plan can change if I am able to accelerate but that is not a priority for me at this point.

Now of a mod would just fix the title of the thread for me!

mzx380

I am thinking about taking this program sometime next year after I finish the MBA:ITM
Looking forward to seeing your progress as well as your opinions on the coursework.

TLeTourneau

I'm having a hard time getting into Cyberwarfare for some reason... not sure why though.

TLeTourneau

Well I finished Cyberwarfare last week and should have Risk Management submitted by tomorrow night. Then, if things go well, on to Cyberlaw with five weeks left in the term. I like hard deadlines!

TLeTourneau

Risk Management is done, no revisions required so that was nice. Cyberlaw is getting pushed back a term. I made the mistake of starting the program and then deciding to sell our house. The house sale and purchase of our new home ate up a fair bit of time. In addition, I work in an incident response roll so the hours can be unpredictable which hasn't helped with my studies. That being said I am looking forward to my next term and getting caught up with my degree plan, Cyberlaw here I come!

TSaL

Cyberlaw is not too bad, maybe slightly more reading and research than RISK. I'm currently working on Cyberwarfare which is a lot of reading but very interesting. Congratulations on the new house!

TLeTourneau

Well TFT2 tasks 3 & 4 were submitted yesterday evening and at about 1:00 AM respectively. We'll se how it goes, it is the last day of my term so any revisions will probably push it into next term. My course mentor has requested that the evaluations be moved up but so far they have not been.

TLeTourneau

Task 3 passed and 4 came back for revision, oh well. I get a NC for it for term 1 but it will be completed immediately for term 2. I took the pre-assessment for Secure Network Design and had no issues with it so I should have TFT2 and C700 done in the first couple weeks if not sooner. Then I should be able to get VLT2 done and add Secure Software Design to the term and be caught up.

devilbones

TLeTourneau wrote: »

Task 3 passed and 4 came back for revision, oh well. I get a NC for it for term 1 but it will be completed immediately for term 2. I took the pre-assessment for Secure Network Design and had no issues with it so I should have TFT2 and C700 done in the first couple weeks if not sooner. Then I should be able to get VLT2 done and add Secure Software Design to the term and be caught up.

Do you have to resubmit all of the papers again or just the ones that you missed? Were there any repercussions for not finishing a class that you started?

TLeTourneau

devilbones wrote: »

Do you have to resubmit all of the papers again or just the ones that you missed? Were there any repercussions for not finishing a class that you started?

Just the one that needs to be revised and only the parts that need revision.

TLeTourneau

So TFT2 and C700 are done, now on to VLT2. Five days into the term so I should have enough time to get VLT2 done and add Secure Network Design. Feeling good about the term so far.

Blucodex

Nice work. Keep it up!

NotHackingYou

Good progress!

jimmydffx

TLeTourneau - I'm slated to start this program next month. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing how the experience is going so far and how much further you have to go. What sort of pitfalls would you advise a newb to look out for?

TLeTourneau

jimmydffx wrote: »

TLeTourneau - I'm slated to start this program next month. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing how the experience is going so far and how much further you have to go. What sort of pitfalls would you advise a newb to look out for?

From my perspective the biggest pitfalls are time management and perseverance. You really need to allot enough time to do the work and you need to have the focus to stay on task. There is very little in the way of hand holding, you are primarily accountable to yourself for your progress or lack thereof. If you haven't been through this model before it can be a bit overwhelming at first.

jimmydffx

TLeTourneau wrote: »

From my perspective the biggest pitfalls are time management and perseverance. You really need to allot enough time to do the work and you need to have the focus to stay on task. There is very little in the way of hand holding, you are primarily accountable to yourself for your progress or lack thereof. If you haven't been through this model before it can be a bit overwhelming at first.

Got it. I've heard that if you're lost in the weeds on things though that you have a course mentor of sorts.

TLeTourneau

jimmydffx wrote: »

Got it. I've heard that if you're lost in the weeds on things though that you have a course mentor of sorts.

Yes, there are course mentors that are SME's that help when asked. They can be very helpful.

jimmydffx

Excellent! That should help when some of the more nitty gritty subnetting/supernetting issues crop up.

NotHackingYou

Did you do the required reading for VLT2 or just jam out the papers? I have VLT2, FXT2, LQT2 left to graduate.

devilbones

NotHackingYou wrote: »

Did you do the required reading for VLT2 or just jam out the papers? I have VLT2, FXT2, LQT2 left to graduate.

I think they want like 70% of your paper to be based off the reading, the remaining 30% can be from you own experiences.

TLeTourneau

Sorry for not replying NotHackingYou, I missed the notifications. I pretty much just powered through and wrote the papers. For several I did not use references or only used the required reference such as ISO or NIST. It worked out well for me.

TLeTourneau

Time for an update, I finished my second term courses a few days ago and start my third term tomorrow. Term three is CEH and CFHI, should be fun.

ThePawofRizzo

Thanks for the follow up. I am still about a year from completing another Bachelor's (online) from a local state school, but pondering WGU and this track when I complete it. I am used to no hand-holding from the current coursework. Is there any benefit to earning the C|EH, etc. prior to starting at WGU.....Would such help from a time crunch perspective, class credit, etc.? I've pondered doing C|EH this Summer as my Bachelor's coursework will likely not offer a class I can take over that term.

TLeTourneau

The only real advantage would be that you wouldn't have to take the course, it would be shown as satisfied. You may be able to accelerate enough to cut down the number of terms and save the tuition however if you take the normal four terms there wouldn't really be any cost savings as the costs of the certification are included with the tuition.