Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

Mentor got my message.

I am referred to scheduling. The only debate I have is whether to call them now, so that I can schedule the exam this Saturday. But the lady was nice enough for Security+ to schedule release the voucher when I called. They normally take 4 days, and I don't want to abuse them. The expedited exams I will do for the MCITP:EA stuff (when I'm ready for that).

My server and MCITP:EA guides (MS Press and one Sybex 642 book) are in my office. Just waiting for my RAM and hard drives and I'll be good to go. (Actually....I do need to make sure my MSDNAA stuff works, as well as Dreamspark for Server 2008...when I get the necessary funds, will upgrade to Technet Professional so I can get legal ENTERPRISE versions of 2008 and SQL.

).

LAT1 is getting worked on today. Yay.

jmasterj206

Have fun with LAT1. It is time consuming. I was able to get it done in a week, but I spent considerable hours on it. The Taskstream evaluators weren't spectacular for me on this one.

uhtrinity

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Passed MGC1 on saturday without even studying a lick. 72% and the cut score is like 51%.

Beginning to think there won't be any challenging classes in this degree path.

The leadership courses are easy if you have spent any amount of time in a business environment and have heard HR speak.

The hardest exams for me were for the MS certs. Much harder compared to the WGU, CIW, and Comptia exams.

All his MS exams are done aleady so his BS is gonna be a piece of cake.

RockinIT

I'm excited to start on the 1st.

Does anyone have any advice as to what classes I should push for my 1st term? Try and keep it all certs? Mix in some gen ed stuff?

RockinIT wrote: »

I'm excited to start on the 1st.

Does anyone have any advice as to what classes I should push for my 1st term? Try and keep it all certs? Mix in some gen ed stuff?

Well based on the classes you're taking (btw, I like your style

), I can tell you that you will be doing EWB (spend that 1st day of your term to knock that out!) and BAC1 will be added to your classes as well. That's 4 CUs right there. Since BAC1 is Foundations in Math, I recommend you take QLC1, QMC1 and QLT1 just to get that out of the way! (I hate Math too...). That's 9 CUs + the 4 CUs you must take to equal 13 CUs. I wouldn't even worry about your certs right now until you get the math out of the way. Once you complete your 13 CUs, then find classes that you can knock out relatively easy, like perhaps TSV1....

(The Security+ Forum here is definitely your friend!

). You can knock that out with 2-3 weeks study and that's tops! That's 19 CUs....then after you get the hang of it, find something you think might be easy and knock that out.

Hyper-Me

earweed wrote: »

All his MS exams are done aleady so his BS is gonna be a piece of cake.

I still maintain that WGU should have given me an honorary bachelors degree

uhtrinity

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I still maintain that WGU should have given me an honorary bachelors degree

Heck, they should give me an honorary Masters ..... I have 250+ credits

eansdad

RockenIT - Your missing a few course in your sig.

So how long are people taking to finish a BA at WGU? I'm sure it is faster then the B+M 4yr path but I'm just curious to see how fast it can be done.

RockinIT

eansdad wrote: »

RockenIT - Your missing a few course in your sig.

So how long are people taking to finish a BA at WGU? I'm sure it is faster then the B+M 4yr path but I'm just curious to see how fast it can be done.

Oops! I missed quite a few. I went off my transcript eval as opposed to the actual degree outline. Thanks for the heads up!

eansdad wrote: »

So how long are people taking to finish a BA at WGU? I'm sure it is faster then the B+M 4yr path but I'm just curious to see how fast it can be done.

Actually it's a BS but on to how long it takes. It depends on what you're starting out with. I started out transferring in all the math, science, and humanities. I've managed to take around 20 CUs and will be finished after 2-1/2 years.
If you have certs to transfer in to satisfy some of the class requirements it'll help too. I had 0 certs before starting at WGU.

ugh I cannot get myself motivated at all to study for this CWSP cert for my next class. I need an OS cert for the DOD requirement so I figured the CWNA and the CWSP would fit that requirement. Since its required for the class its a positive I guess.

tpatt100 wrote: »

ugh I cannot get myself motivated at all to study for this CWSP cert for my next class. I need an OS cert for the DOD requirement so I figured the CWNA and the CWSP would fit that requirement. Since its required for the class its a positive I guess.

As I said in another thread, some folks need the mental gun to the head to get stuff done. I am sure you will do what you need to do to get it done.

erpadmin wrote: »

As I said in another thread, some folks need the mental gun to the head to get stuff done. I am sure you will do what you need to do to get it done.

uggghh for the IAT level 3 which I am at I need the CWNE for an OS requirement.

but...

If I pass one Server OS test from Microsoft I can use that, really? Guess I will do the MCITP:SA track now...

veritas_libertas

tpatt100 wrote: »

uggghh for the IAT level 3 which I am at I need the CWNE for an OS requirement.

but...

If I pass one Server OS test from Microsoft I can use that, really? Guess I will do the MCITP:SA track now...

There is no way I would go after the CWNE unless I had been a Wireless Administrator:

To earn the CWNE certification, the following requirements must be met:
Pass The Appropriate Exams

Professional Experience

Three Letters of Endorsement

60 Points in the CWNE Points Schedule

Continuing Education Requirement

RELATED LINKS
CWNE Application

CWNE Endorsement Form

1. Pass The Appropriate Exams Candidate must pass PW0-104, PW0-200, and PW0-300 exams, and hold a valid CWSP certification at the time of application for CWNE.
Candidates must first submit CWNE application prior to taking exam PW0-300. Upon approval of the candidate's application, the candidate will receive an exam voucher for PW0-300.
2. Professional Experience A minimum of 2 years of verifiable, documented, full-time professional work experience with enterprise WLANs. This experience may include pre- or post-sales engineering, consulting or support services, or instructing experience in:
WLAN Administration

WLAN Security

WLAN Protocol Analysis

WLAN Quality of Service

CWNE professional experience may include:
Work requiring 802.11/WLAN education

Work requiring habitual memory of 802.11 topics shared with others doing similar work.

Management of projects and/or other employees involving 802.11 hardware and/or software.

Work requiring creative writing and oral communication on 802.11 topics.

Teaching, instructing, training and the mentoring of others on 802.11 topics.

Research and development on 802.11 technologies and systems.

Applicable titles such as officer, director, manager, leader, supervisor, administrator, designer, engineer, instructor, professor, consultant, architect, etc.

3. Three Letters of Endorsement Applicant endorsement forms
Three letters of endorsement from people familiar with your work history. All references will be verified and asked to provide specific information about you and your experience. Please notify your references that they will be contacted shortly after our receipt of your application. If your references are available for verification, your application will be processed faster.
4. 60 Points in the CWNE Points Schedule Candidates must have at least 60 points as defined in the points schedule of the CWNE Application.
5. Wi-Fi Implementation 1000+ word detailed description of a Wi-Fi implementation in which you have played a significant role. Describe your role, the tasks you performed, the problems you encountered, the goal of the implementation, and the Wi-Fi hardware and software used. Please provide supporting documentation (e.g. site survey, floor plan, network topology map, etc.). If the supporting documentation cannot reasonably be submitted electronically, other arrangements can be made. Please be available to answer questions about your implementation via email in a reasonable amount of time as your answers will be considered part of your application. Your role in this project must be verifiable by a manager, peer, or customer, and that persons contact information must be provided.
6. Continuing Education Requirement While there is no recertification requirement for CWNEs, there is a continuing education requirement to maintain active CWNE status. The CWNE continuing education program is a points-based system where the candidate must document 25 continuing education points bi-annually. Details such as continuing education points can be found in the CWNE Continuing Education Policy, found here.

themagicone

Need advice people... It's the 15th of September. I have 45 days left of my term. I took on 6 more CU's thinking it would take me 3-5 weeks to complete them. But here I am a day later and I'm done with them (except take a proctored test that I'm waiting to be scheduled, but I'll have no problem passing it). I have 45 CU's done (that includes the 6 above). Should I take more on or just study ahead and wait till the new term to add anything to my AAV? My next term I want to start with AKV1, GTT1, GVT1, SSC1 and SST1. I grouped the programing classes together, figured it'd be easier. So May be I should do LET1 for the last 45 days? Humm not sure what to do, any ideas?

The LET1 is the class with a lot of writing isn't it? That in 45 days would be like a break to you it seems.lol
The Java and JavaScript classes do go together real well as the syntax is kind of similar. I had originally started to take the Java along with Javascript when they made the change in March that eliminated the Java classes from the NDM track. I was ready to start the term taking my Sec+ and JavaScript tests the first 3 weeks of March and was prepared to start taskstream for the first JAVA class on the first day of my term and it would have been done within 2 days. That was only taking a 30 day break on the end of my term.
Unless you just need a break then go for it with the LET1.

veritas_libertas wrote: »

There is no way I would go after the CWNE unless I had been a Wireless Administrator:

Yeah I feel the same. WGU doesn't even require the CWNA test just the CWSP which gives you no "title" unless you take the CWNA test. I might do it just to get the CWSP.

Have you seen this?

https://www.cool.navy.mil/ia_documents/ia_iat_flow.htm

For level 3 there is a bunch of certs you could do.

knwminus wrote: »

Have you seen this?

https://www.cool.navy.mil/ia_documents/ia_iat_flow.htm

For level 3 there is a bunch of certs you could do.

I saw that earlier at work and hated that the Navy would deal with a messed up cert. I didn't even want to post that link that's how upset I was.

However, from what I saw on that link, you could do a 70-270 and be a "MCP" and that would give you your O/S requirement (AFAICT). However, I could not tell if by doing the 70-680 by itself would allow you to fulfill that requirement (I only saw it as part of the MCITP:EA). I figured tpatt would know better than I if he looked at it, but I just hated that the Navy would be so lazy (my bosses would never let that fly....we have extended validation certs and use TLS only to access our ERP environment....according to Qualys' SSL Labs (which in itself was a recent acquisition....), my environment is rated A....as opposed to some of my banks that I bank at which are rated Cs and Bs (they need to get out to those in other countries that can't use the higher encryption....that's what I gathered).

I've actually had that happen to me on a couple of government sites.

Strange that since the gov't is supposed to be so security conscious that link there doesn't have a valid certificate.

earweed wrote: »

Strange that since the gov't is supposed to be so security conscious that link there doesn't have a valid certificate.

Especially since the (US) gub'ment is the reason folks (after this year) have to renew entry-level certs every three years.....whether you are DoDing or not...

I saw the OS requirement though and according to the chart XP will satisfy the OS but Vista and W7 aren't on there. The only MCTS that'll work are the server 2k8 tests and that's only for level 1. XP satisfies but not W7. I guess it's because the military all still use XP.

knwminus wrote: »

Have you seen this?

https://www.cool.navy.mil/ia_documents/ia_iat_flow.htm

For level 3 there is a bunch of certs you could do.

Yeah that was why I said I would just do the Microsoft certs. WGU with the CWSP exam will eat up a couple of months for me and I have six months to knock out an OS cert.

tpatt100 wrote: »

Yeah that was why I said I would just do the Microsoft certs. WGU with the CWSP exam will eat up a couple of months for me and I have six months to knock out an OS cert.

Maybe I am misreading but from the certs you have listed, why do you have to do another cert?

knwminus wrote: »

Maybe I am misreading but from the certs you have listed, why do you have to do another cert?

They are past the three year mark (OS certs). That was why CompTIA made their change because they (the government) wanted people to "refresh" their Security+ or A+ every three years. I did my Microsoft stuff on NT, then 2000, then quit after 2003. So now I will have to do a 2008 Server test.

Ah I see. That's interesting.

Just take either the 640 or 642. You could probably knock it out in a few weeks time with your experience and background.