Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU

cyberknife

Hello All:

I am happy to find this forum as I am about to start my MSISA @ WGU. Any advise/suggestion would be greatly appreciatated. Does anyone know how much writing is involved. Thanks!

Psoasman

@Reseven - congrats!! Way to go!

Reseven

Thanks guys.

Next up for me... a break. My wife wanted me to take my time and do it in 2 terms. I figured it was winter and what a perfect time to park myself in front of the computer and get down to business. She told me if I did it in one term then afterwards I owe her. She put up with me (and I know at times it wasn't exactly pleasant *cough*java*cough*) throughout this thing so break time it is. I have some projects around the house to finish like remodeling the kitchen. I told her I'd take her camping a few times before summer arrives.

That certainly hasn't stopped me from thinking about my next move. I must admit that the WGU Masters in security has caught my eye. I see that ICND1 is a part of that, so I may do that one on my own to see what I think. I know that security has always interested me. A guy I went to school with had an uncle who did pen testing for Savvis. He had some interesting stories. His uncle also made a decent salary. I'm not gonna lie, money can be a great motivator. So I think sometime this spring I may grab a decent book for the ICND1 and start reading. But for now... break time!

Heading out for a nice seafood dinner on Monday or Tuesday.

Matavi

I started working on BNC1 a week ago doing the readings, but after a mentor call I was told to go ahead and take the pre-assessment, which I avoided due to descriptions in the course material. I scored 21% above the cut off, which isn't hard seeing as how the cut off is 51%. I've been going over the materials for the sections I did poorly in and both the skillsoft and practice quizzes seem kind of... off to me. The skillsoft extremely so.

To be honest I'm not a big fan of the material overall and if I have to spend much time on it I'm going to be bashing my skull into my desk. How much do I really need to focus on this and what's the best way to get what I need. Right now I'm mainly skimming the chapters and copying definitions into a definitions sheet for review. I've got a call with my mentor on Tuesday and I'm hoping she's not going to want me to have done all the quizzes and skillsoft and what not for every chapter/section.

Addendum: I did do some thread searching and saw posts referring to the webinars and a notecard set. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is: how close is the pre-assessment to the actual thing and do I have an argument to go ahead and schedule the exam with it being 5 days for scheduling if I can get another 72%+ on a second pre-assessment.

boredgamelad

The pre-assessment is very close to the actual test. If I remember right I got a 78 on the pre-assessment and a 76 on the actual test. Same goes for MGC1 (I scored very closely to the pre-assessment).

cjrau23

Hello everyone,

I am new to the board here and will be posting regularly now. The reason for this post is because I am very seriously considering get a Network Administrative Degree from WGU. I attended Illinois State University the past few year not really knowing what I wanted to do as a career. I was going to major in economic, as well as a minor is computer science. When I took some IT classes I immediately thought to myself this is what I want to do. Networking is the part of the field that really interests me. I am a very self motivated learner and love having flexibility so when I came across WGU I thought it was too good to be true.

I was wondering if anyone on this board has any experience in taking Networking classes at WGU. I have read hundreds of reviews and I really want to speak with someone if they have gone through the same thing I am going to do. Any information on classes there, any hidden costs, tips, would greatly be appreciated. I look forward to hearing your answers and thanks in advance!

cjrau23

I forgot to add I was wondering if anyone knew what would be the best course of action. Should I get some CERTS out of the way first? My B.S. first? Or do some of both at the same time? Thanks again!

gunbunnysoulja

I'm finally getting the ball rolling with getting admitted to WGU for BSIT. I completed my readiness assessment last night, which was a breeze. I also have my transcript evaluation and all I have left to take is CUV1, BOV1, CJV1, TPV1, BNC1, MGC1, KET1, KFT1, SBT1 and QZT1 (41 units total). My A.S. for CIS transferred in, along with A+/Network+/Security+/MCDST, waiving WFV1, AGC1, BBC1, CLC1, LAE1, LUT1, QBT1, AXV1, CPV1, INC1, INT1, DFV1, BVC1, GAC1, HHT1, DHV1, DIV1, CWV1, CRV1, QLT1, DEV1, CTV1, DJV1, IWC1, IWT1, CVV1 and RIT1.

I have an appointment with my Enrollment Counselor on Saturday. Is this different than the admittance interview?

demonfurbie

not by too much if i remember correctly, but id venture to say you can prob do it in one term the only slow downs i see are the java classes

wycked67

Anybody in the BDIT-security wish they went a different direction?

wycked67

Good Job!

Darthn3ss

I'm about to start on the MCSA Server 2008 Admin; Is there an ideal path to take for it? Should I just follow the Microsoft path of 70-640, then 642 and 646?

Lara986

BS IT-Software....will this help me get a job more related to programming? Right now my fall back is QA, I don't really know what it is I want to do but I know if nothing else I would like to do QA. What do you think?

Nemowolf

Lara986 wrote: »

BS IT-Software....will this help me get a job more related to programming? Right now my fall back is QA, I don't really know what it is I want to do but I know if nothing else I would like to do QA. What do you think?

If your asking will a degree in software development get you a software developer/programmer job ... i think that is fairly selfevident. Just as with any degree, it is up to you to persue the education and then follow through with a job/career using those skills. This degree along with any other does not guarantee a job.

QA is a very different skillset and does not require programming persay but instead a knack for analytical thinking and keen observation skills depending entirely on what your doing QA in. QA for a mobile game developer may mean testing out a level doing anything and everything you could think of to break the game on six phones over the course a month or two. QA for a financial software developer may mean plugging in provided sample commands to an interface to verify that the output matches the syntax and equations for example.

I apologize if this comes off snarky as a side note.

Madmd5

Was curious about this and thought I'd ask. Called the IT enrollment guy at WGU and asked him what the overall job placement rate is specifically in the field of IT. He said he didn't have that information, do any of you have any ideas or advice on who to ask?

Hypntick

That's a pretty good question actually. Just looking at the makeup of the forum users here who go to WGU for IT, I would think the majority of us are already in the industry. Wouldn't mind seeing those figures, if they have them available.

nosoup4u

I'm guessing it varies from state to state and circumstance. I assumed most people that went to WGU for IT had some background in IT or at least are above average technically.

gunbunnysoulja

I plan on tackling at least 18 CU the first term (needed for full-time VA benefits, but will hopefully do more), and I'm not sure which classes would be ideal to start with to knock-out the quickest? I would like to hold off on KET1 & KFT1, and plan on starting with TPV1 as I studied P+ before and have PM experience, but I'm not sure how the members would rank the difficulty of the following classes: CUV1, BOV1, BNC1, MGC1, & CJV1.

Lara986

Nemowolf wrote: »

If your asking will a degree in software development get you a software developer/programmer job ... i think that is fairly selfevident. Just as with any degree, it is up to you to persue the education and then follow through with a job/career using those skills. This degree along with any other does not guarantee a job.

QA is a very different skillset and does not require programming persay but instead a knack for analytical thinking and keen observation skills depending entirely on what your doing QA in. QA for a mobile game developer may mean testing out a level doing anything and everything you could think of to break the game on six phones over the course a month or two. QA for a financial software developer may mean plugging in provided sample commands to an interface to verify that the output matches the syntax and equations for example.

I apologize if this comes off snarky as a side note.

Thanks, since the degree said IT-Software I just wanted to make sure it was what I thought it was. I haven't seen an IT degrees in any of the colleges here so just double checking

Someone else said most people are going to WGU are people in the industry, that is true but there is actually many college students looking at WGU but because academic (universities) people still look down on online schools...I heard of WGU because my husband is a software developer and suggested I go here. I think WGU might be much harder for people like me but it will probably be a lot more worth it.

Madmd5

Would the IT enrollment guy be the person to ask? or who at WGU would have access to those figures, if indeed they are available.

demonfurbie

gunbunnysoulja wrote: »

I plan on tackling at least 18 CU the first term (needed for full-time VA benefits, but will hopefully do more), and I'm not sure which classes would be ideal to start with to knock-out the quickest? I would like to hold off on KET1 & KFT1, and plan on starting with TPV1 as I studied P+ before and have PM experience, but I'm not sure how the members would rank the difficulty of the following classes: CUV1, BOV1, BNC1, MGC1, & CJV1.

i know out of that list i did mgc1 over a 2 week time including the waiting

Psoasman

^^^ agreed. BNC1 and MGC1 are the easiest. If you are on FA, you might save those for terms where you need to keep your SAP high enough. CUV1 and BOV1 took me about 10 weeks total.

gunbunnysoulja

Awesome. So BNC1/MGC1 are at-home web cam proctored classes? Do I get to decide which classes I want in my AAP? Hoping to start with BNC1, MGC1, CUV1, and TPV1. With EWOB, that should fulfill my requirements for 18 CU (full term for VA). Hopefully I can do more as well!

Psoasman

Based off what you have to complete, you can probably do them in whatever order you want. Doing those 4 should be a good start.

Are they using EWOB as a credit course again? When I started, it was called orientation and we were supposed to have it done before we officially started the courses.

If you need a filler class, then either the CJV1 or SBT1 would work. If you are good at programming, the KET1 course can be done quickly.

gunbunnysoulja

Thanks for the information. Oops, I saw elsewhere EWOB was 1CU, so that way probably my mistake assuming it was "still" valid. I guess it makes sense that it isn't considering I have a meeting on Thursday to go over EWOB, lol...

I've done a Technical Writing course at college before, so I should be okay in that avenue. I had hoped it would transfer but I guess SBT1 can't be fulfilled via transfer.

The only programming I've really done aside from side work with web/app dev was Visual Basic in college. I heard KET1/KFT1 can take a while. I have no java experience.

demonfurbie

umm i did tech and cap over a 3 day weekend .... note i do alot of papers at work so i have gotten good at them

jsb515

I'm thinking about attending to get my BS Network Admin, has anyone finished this major here? if so how was it?

geekoncall

OK, My term just started today. I was with mentor to have course opened and get start from today. I see on screen that she opened 4 courses (13 CU) to get start but I still can't see that change in my student portal.

My degree Plan still says I need to get approval from "Mentor which she already done". According to mentor, some time it takes a week (7 days) to get that updates. Is that for REAL? any other experience as same? I mean WHAT ... 7 days of my term I have to wait just to get system update so I can get access to courses?

Any comment on this please, thanks.

nosoup4u

When my mentor adds a class, it can take about 30 mins for it to show in my AAV, then accept the classes.

Log out and when you log back it, it might prompt you to accept the classes and your AAV

geekoncall

Thanks for your replying, appreciated. Its already 3 hours passed since I finish AAV, I saw she added course and system showed courses was added on her end. But I can't see that change, per my Mentor, system is being upgraded to something new it might take up to one week to be able to see that changes in my account?

I already done logging out etc but no change. Just not feeling comfortable to be on wait for one week of paid term