My Version of the WGU Story....

justdavey

Congrats!

LarryTR

Last post from OP 10/6/2017...

jibtech wrote: »

Oh, I so hate Cisco.

But, after multiple false starts, ICND2 is complete and I am now CCNA:R&S certified as of this morning!

Today marks 6 months, since I sat for my Security+ and started this journey. As of this morning, I have one class/exam standing between me and a degree. That exam is IINS/210-260 for the CCNA:Security certification.

Back to the books. I am energized, and ready to get this over with!!

WOW! How anti-climactic. Read this whole thread and you get one class/exam away from graduating and poof, end of thread. Hope you come back to fill us in. I feel cheated

jibtech

Don't feel cheated!

I started a new job last month, and that has impacted my study time. Having turkey day in there didnt help either.

Nonetheless, I expect to be taking the last test in the next week or two.

Have no fear, I won't leave you at the altar

LarryTR

Does this mean you had to pay for a 2nd term?

jibtech

Not at all.

The length of this thread may be deceptive, no doubt due to my longer novels/posts. But, I started this whole process in mid-March, and officially started at WGU on July 1st. I actually have until the end of the year to complete the last class.

I was out of work for 7 months, while this whole process was going on. I got a job offer in September, but didn't get to actually start working until 10/16. (Yep, I started working on my birthday. Best present I could ask for.)

I have spent 6 weeks getting into the rhythm, and making sure I know my way around the team and the company. Now that I am somewhat into the swing of things, I have started putting the time into studying again. 3 out of 4 days this weekend, and I am close to ready. Just a wee bit more to go, and I will have my degree!

jibtech

Since I was so recently chastised for not keeping up with my story....

As mentioned above, I started working on 10/16, after about 7 months of not working. First off, I am so insanely happy to be working that it is ridiculous. Good job, good pay, good people. It has been fantastic, but it also derailed my studying.

The second impact to studying was actually more studying. If you remember back a couple pages, I also enrolled in a CISSP course, and received an amazing grant. The only catch was that I had to sit for the exam by 10/31. With me starting work on 10/16, that certainly was made more difficult.

I informed the powers that be of my predicament, and was allowed to push back my exam date.

That sort of explains all that has been going on in the background. I would also point out that there was a turkey and football themed holiday in there, too....

This week, I have finally gotten back into the swing of studying, though clearly with less available hours than before. As of Friday morning, my plan was to dedicate Saturday and Sunday to final prep for the CCNA:Security, take the test this coming week, and then knock the CISSP out.

It was 4 pm on Friday, when I realized that the CISSP was schedule for Saturday morning at 8 am.

Last night was a blurry, caffeine soaked frenzy of studying, followed by a really early morning of practice tests to identify how bad it was going to be. All three practice tests that I took this morning had me in the low to mid 80s. And wouldn't you know it, so did the exam.

250 questions, 6 hours allotted. I sat down at my testing station at 8:20 am, and was in the parking lot with a pass at 10:00 am. When it clicks, it clicks.

Now to find an endorser, and get this CCNA:Security out of the way.

devilbones

Congratulations. Keep up the great work.

jibtech wrote: »

Since I was so recently chastised for not keeping up with my story....

As mentioned above, I started working on 10/16, after about 7 months of not working. First off, I am so insanely happy to be working that it is ridiculous. Good job, good pay, good people. It has been fantastic, but it also derailed my studying.

The second impact to studying was actually more studying. If you remember back a couple pages, I also enrolled in a CISSP course, and received an amazing grant. The only catch was that I had to sit for the exam by 10/31. With me starting work on 10/16, that certainly was made more difficult.

I informed the powers that be of my predicament, and was allowed to push back my exam date.

That sort of explains all that has been going on in the background. I would also point out that there was a turkey and football themed holiday in there, too....

This week, I have finally gotten back into the swing of studying, though clearly with less available hours than before. As of Friday morning, my plan was to dedicate Saturday and Sunday to final prep for the CCNA:Security, take the test this coming week, and then knock the CISSP out.

It was 4 pm on Friday, when I realized that the CISSP was schedule for Saturday morning at 8 am.

Last night was a blurry, caffeine soaked frenzy of studying, followed by a really early morning of practice tests to identify how bad it was going to be. All three practice tests that I took this morning had me in the low to mid 80s. And wouldn't you know it, so did the exam.

250 questions, 6 hours allotted. I sat down at my testing station at 8:20 am, and was in the parking lot with a pass at 10:00 am. When it clicks, it clicks.

Now to find an endorser, and get this CCNA:Security out of the way.

phatm1ke

Congratulations on all your recent success! Very happy to see you are happily employed. Looking back i'm sure you can see even getting laid off was probably a good thing in that it motivated you get the degree. I have one semester left at WGU -- it's good to see some success stories. Make no mistake about it -- this is a success story.

Cheers,

Mike

Blucodex

jibtech wrote: »

Now to find an endorser, and get this CCNA:Security out of the way.

Congrats on the pass!

justdavey

Sweet! Great job. Lots of accomplishments this year! Still very inspiring from this end.

jibtech

So close. So very, very close.

I have been studying hard for 210-260, for the CCNA:Security. I went ahead and got it scheduled for last Friday, as I was feeling pretty good.

For those not familiar with the exam, the passing score is 860/1000. Needless to say, this is not an easy test. All of that said, I managed a 786. With each question being around 14 points, I missed it by about 6 questions.

Fortunately, I know where I struggled. During the test, I struggled with the ASDM interface, as a result of the painful resolution on the test monitor, coupled with my limited familiarity. The low areas on my test results also reflected the content from the ASDM sims.

On the good side, I have been spending some time in the interface, both real world and in the Boson sims, getting more comfortable moving around.

My next eligible test day is 12/21. I am scheduling the test for 12/21 ASAP, so I have one more attempt before the end of the year, in case the retest doesn't go well.

Wish me luck. Last exam for the degree!!

justdavey

Good luck - hope you get a great (pre)Christmas gift.

jibtech

Oh, this feels so good to type....

I sat for the CCNA:Security on 12/15, and missed by a handful of questions, getting a 786. I know I struggled with one of the sims, and that was a huge contributor to the fail.

I dove into the books, focusing on areas where I was weak, and sat for the test again on 12/21. Result was a 733, lower than my previous attempt.

I was a bit disheartened, given the preparation and studying, but I once again struggled with the sims. Navigating around the interface on the test is just not the same as doing so in the real world. With that in mind, I went back to the basics. I watched every single CBT Nugget over agan, taking copious notes on everything. I dialed into the exam topics, focusing at the granular level. I hit the Boson practice tests, and read every white paper they linked. From those white papers, I added to my notes.

This morning, I sat for the IINS exam again. I felt far better with the questions, but struggled with the sim, once again. I spent 45 minutes on that sim, and finally, finally got it.

Minimum passing score: 860

My score: 860

CCNA:Security is done, and with that I have finished all of my courses for WGU!!!! I am a college graduate!!!!!

Thank you so much to everyone here for the encouragement and the insight. This was a huge effort, and meant a great deal to me.

When the adrenaline finally wears off, I will write up an epilogue covering the entire process, but for now, its done!

Happy holidays!

stryder144

Wow! Great, inspiring story, jibtech! Congratulations!

jdancer

Congrats on your achievement. Testing out of gen-ed courses is really the way to go.

Since you finally got that HR checkbox done, I predict lots of more opportunities will be forthcoming.

I think they should sticky your story, just saying.

jibtech

jdancer wrote: »

Congrats on your achievement. Testing out of gen-ed courses is really the way to go.

Since you finally got that HR checkbox done, I predict lots of more opportunities will be forthcoming.

I think they should sticky your story, just saying.

I am actually writing one specifically about accelerating. That will probably be the better one for a sticky. Thanks for the good thoughts though!!

fabostrong

Do you know if they ever started to except the MCSA Windows 10 cert for any credits?

jibtech

fabostrong wrote: »

Do you know if they ever started to except the MCSA Windows 10 cert for any credits?

No idea. It would definitely be worth asking an enrollment counselor, if you have that cert.

fabostrong

Hey, any idea when you'll have the new thread finished? The one about getting credits as fast as possible?

jibtech

Soon, I am hoping. I have a rough draft, but trying to condense it all and have it make sense is always a challenge.

I am also writing some similar documents for work, so I am trying hard not to have crossover....

fabostrong

okay cool. looking forward to it

fabostrong

Hey, was there anything in particular you used to study for the DSST Astronomy exam? This whole chemistry thing isn't working out for me lol.

jdancer

fabostrong wrote: »

Hey, was there anything in particular you used to study for the DSST Astronomy exam? This whole chemistry thing isn't working out for me lol.

Your best bet to do some online searching for flash cards, quizzes, etc. Found two Astronomy DSST Study Guide - Free-Clep-Prep.com and https://quizlet.com/12292971/astronomy-dsst-flash-cards/

Shouldn't be "rocket science".

jibtech

fabostrong wrote: »

Hey, was there anything in particular you used to study for the DSST Astronomy exam? This whole chemistry thing isn't working out for me lol.

Honestly?

Astronomy for Dummies.

Swear on my life.

fabostrong

jibtech wrote: »

Honestly?

Astronomy for Dummies.

Swear on my life.

lol ok cool. That's what I'm gonna go with. Thanks.

Paulieb81

Wow, just wow. I can't explain how inspiring this entire thread has been for me today. I just read the whole things from start to finish.

I too am in a very similar position as you with one major difference, I'm employed at the moment but I am in a position that I'm lucky to be in. I am at a VP level of IT without a degree. I have 20 years experience in IT with only the CompTIA trio of certs. I've taken some college classes and studied on my own for many subjects in IT but with always working full time, I've not had the time to finish college. My situation is that if I lost my job or wanted to go elsewhere it's highly unlikely that i'd find another company to hire me at this level without the degree.

So the past week or so I've been looking at a way to accelerate through college as I'm also very good at tests and come in with a large amount of knowledge for IT, science and math related subjects. It would bore me to death to actually have to sit through college semesters re-learning that stuff.

I appreciate you making this thread more than I could ever explain and pointing the way through how to get a degree on an accelerated fast track for those who are mid career and motivated.

It's been a few months since your last update, and I'd love to hear how things are going and how graduation was. Please let us know also are you still happy at work or are you looking for new opportunities now that you have your degree and are available to a wider array of jobs. Also how well received is the WGU degree in the world? Do people even care where the degree is from or is it more of a checkbox?

devilbones

Paulieb81 wrote: »

Wow, just wow. I can't explain how inspiring this entire thread has been for me today. I just read the whole things from start to finish.

I too am in a very similar position as you with one major difference, I'm employed at the moment but I am in a position that I'm lucky to be in. I am at a VP level of IT without a degree. I have 20 years experience in IT with only the CompTIA trio of certs. I've taken some college classes and studied on my own for many subjects in IT but with always working full time, I've not had the time to finish college. My situation is that if I lost my job or wanted to go elsewhere it's highly unlikely that i'd find another company to hire me at this level without the degree.

So the past week or so I've been looking at a way to accelerate through college as I'm also very good at tests and come in with a large amount of knowledge for IT, science and math related subjects. It would bore me to death to actually have to sit through college semesters re-learning that stuff.

I appreciate you making this thread more than I could ever explain and pointing the way through how to get a degree on an accelerated fast track for those who are mid career and motivated.

It's been a few months since your last update, and I'd love to hear how things are going and how graduation was. Please let us know also are you still happy at work or are you looking for new opportunities now that you have your degree and are available to a wider array of jobs. Also how well received is the WGU degree in the world? Do people even care where the degree is from or is it more of a checkbox?

It depends. I applied to several jobs over the years before I got my degree and no calls back. Applied to the same jobs once I received my degree and was called back immediately. I interviewed and received job offers from them. I too was able to move up the ladder without a degree, however the jobs that I wanted required that I get past the HR gatekeepers.

Squished

devilbones wrote: »

It depends. I applied to several jobs over the years before I got my degree and no calls back. Applied to the same jobs once I received my degree and was called back immediately. I interviewed and received job offers from them. I too was able to move up the ladder without a degree, however the jobs that I wanted required that I get past the HR gatekeepers.

Few if any care where the degree is from as long as it's an accredited school which WGU is (with flying colors I might add). They're just looking to check off a "requirements" box on the job description and and on your end you can use it to ask for more money.

Paulieb81

Thank you for the reply, after reviewing ACE credits, CLEP credits and online schools comparable to WGU, I'm left with one question. Why WGU over all of the others specifically for those interested in an accelerated degree path? Is it that they offer the best credit transfer policy? Or the best selection of degrees?

I've tried to research the top schools with most generous credit transfer policy toward ACE & CLEP credits and that was not a very fruitful search. Any thoughts for those following this thread on comparable colleges in relation to how many credits you can transfer vs required to earn in house for a Bachelors degree?

Squished

Paulieb81 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply, after reviewing ACE credits, CLEP credits and online schools comparable to WGU, I'm left with one question. Why WGU over all of the others specifically for those interested in an accelerated degree path? Is it that they offer the best credit transfer policy? Or the best selection of degrees?

I've tried to research the top schools with most generous credit transfer policy toward ACE & CLEP credits and that was not a very fruitful search. Any thoughts for those following this thread on comparable colleges in relation to how many credits you can transfer vs required to earn in house for a Bachelors degree?

I'm starting an MBA at WGU on May 1st. I went with the program for many reasons, but the main one was how easy and transparent they are when applying. Very straight forward, very efficient, no bullshit. I applied to some local universities and got nothing but excuses and bullshit about why credit didn't transfer, start dates, etc. No thank you, as a Director of IT myself and a very busy schedule I don't have time for that.