Current WGU students what made you pick the program you picked?

I can't lie I went with IT security because I wanted CCNA and less microsoft certs. I think security is the future. what made you guys pick the speciality you went with ? and is IT security a good choice...

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Valsacar

Security is a good choice, but it is a broad field so you'll need to specialize later.

I went with the MSISA because Security is what I enjoy... and the certs :P

Iristheangel

I went into IT-Security because it's been my passion since I was 16. I already had a bunch of Microsoft certifications anyways so there was no need for me to get a different degree that already included them.

Hypntick

I chose Network Administration as it had a nice mix of certifications, however I do wish it included ICND2, but i'll finish that when i'm done. Along with everyone here however, security is where i'd like to be but will pursue that avenue on my own time.

Timber Wolf

I choose IT Security because i already had my CCNA to transfer in.

N2IT

I went with the MBA program management and strategy. I heard good things about the school and so far I have learned a lot about HR and eBusiness. I've had my bachelors since 2001 and it was time to transition into more of a business role. I've held lead positions and know management is my calling.

Dealing with technology for several years gives me the perspective of the employee and my years as a lead obviously gives me the experience as a leader and manager.

hiddenknight821

I transferred to WGU's IT:Security program from a B&M school, and I was majoring in Information Security and Forensics there. Didn't finish there because of the money issue. I have been interesting in security, because it touches many aspects of IT. I wouldn't want to bore myself with one area for the next several years.

afcyung

I chose the Security route because I have been managing an installation Information Assurance program for 6 years now and its possibly one of the more exciting things I have done.

Mike-Mike

I wanted a CCNA because of a thread on here, so I switched from the WGU Net Admin to the Security

gdeusthewhizkid

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

I transferred to WGU's IT:Security program from a B&M school, and I was majoring in Information Security and Forensics there. Didn't finish there because of the money issue. I have been interesting in security, because it touches many aspects of IT. I wouldn't want to bore myself with one area for the next several years.

same reason I chose the IT security program.. I didn't want to get bored and I wanted to a broad range of IT skills.

gdeusthewhizkid

Mike-Mike wrote: »

I wanted a CCNA because of a thread on here, so I switched from the WGU Net Admin to the Security

I wanted the CCNa also.. could you point me to that post...

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

Looks like I'm the odd one out. I'll be honest, I went the general IT route with no specialization just so I could get the degree as quickly and as cheaply as possible. I already had certifications and experience. I just needed that piece of paper which seems so important to a lot of people.

In short, my plan worked. I only spent 3k and finished my degree in one term. Because of this degree, I went from one position paying 50k to the one I currently hold at 80k. Not a bad investment I think.

And yes, I was told by my director that I wouldn't have gotten an interview if I didn't have my Bachelor's.

SteveLord

I intend to go with the general IT so I can get it done quickly as well.

joshmadakor

SteveLord wrote: »

I intend to go with the general IT so I can get it done quickly as well.

Alif_Sadida_Ekin wrote: »

Looks like I'm the odd one out. I'll be honest, I went the general IT route with no specialization just so I could get the degree as quickly and as cheaply as possible. I already had certifications and experience. I just needed that piece of paper which seems so important to a lot of people.

In short, my plan worked. I only spent 3k and finished my degree in one term. Because of this degree, I went from one position paying 50k to the one I currently hold at 80k. Not a bad investment I think.

And yes, I was told by my director that I wouldn't have gotten an interview if I didn't have my Bachelor's.

I'm in the process of registering for the general one as well. From my understanding, all of the diplomas say the same thing on them. If I want to finish my CCNA or MCITP:EA later, I can. I don't however, want to be pressured more than I need to be in order to finish my degree--I'd much rather knock out some MTAs and CIWs. Studying those is super casual, I can actually enjoy it. That's just how I feel about it.

I want to finish this as soon as possible so I can focus my studies on something non IT related for a change.

Mike-Mike

gdeusthewhizkid wrote: »

I wanted the CCNa also.. could you point me to that post...

this one:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/general-certification/69594-certifications-have-brought-you-most-success.html

swild

I chose Security for a number of reasons. Before I was planning on finishing my degree, I asked for my employer to pay for the testing fees for my CCNA. They said that they couldn't pay for that, but would pay for me to get a degree. I found that WGU had the CCNA included and went for it. After I looked farther into WGU, the Security track was also my closest to finishing, with the least MS certs. I'm happy with my decision, but if I wouldn't have had my Security+ or CISSP, I would have gone for the general track and finished my CCNA after.

jmritenour

I chose Network Design & Management for a couple of reasons. First, I am picking up the MCITP:EA as part of it, and that was on my roadmap anyway, so it's nice to do it and have it count toward my degree. Second, it allowed me to transfer in the most credits.

The general IT degree was TOO general for my liking, and the Security degree wasn't security focused enough, IMO. At least, not at the time I was enrolling early last year - maybe that's changed since then.

eansdad

I started off with Security for the same reasons as everyone else (CCNA) but transferred to Network Administration since it now has the CCNA and MCSA 2008 (MCITP:SA). I'd rather take the 3 M$ exams while getting college reimbursement then the CCNA:Security which wouldn't where I am (no cert reimbursements). Also switched to the new track since the 2 social science classes were switched out for geography and 3 MTA exams (2 of which I were fulfilled by Net+ and Sec+).

demonfurbie

i started with the networking ones and ended up on the general it degree, i found out that i wanted to do sec but not cisco and i like networking but i prefer linux

this way i can spec out after with the certs i want not the ones wgu thinks are needed

foofighters

How do you feel about the level of depth of knowledge provided by the IT Security degree and courses within? I'm considering enrolling in the IT Security degree with WGU, however when I compare the curriculum with other schools locally and as well with UAT's Network Security program, I feel like I'd learn a lot more in depth concepts from a program like UAT's or certain B&M schools. I'm not considering going to UAT, I'll probably do WGU or a local school.

WGU's program seems to be quite general including courses like geography and other general college courses compared to other schools. For someone very interested in technical security, what do you think? This degree does look like it would be good on a resume or for people interested in doing security management.

On the other hand, the IT Security masters program at WGU sounds great, exactly what I'd like to learn. I could do the bachelors and masters at WGU and learn the same stuff as if I'd done the bachelors at a B&M school locally. Thoughts?

Pishof

Ran with the Server Administration focus MCITP:SA because I planned on getting that certification anyway.
Looking back, I wish I had sat the 70-640,642,646 before started the program because they have definitely been the largest timesink. That or I could have finished in one term if I took the general path because of transfer credit; saving myself thousands of dollars out of pocket.

In any case, I've only the tech writing/capstone and task 2 of humanities writing left and then I'll be finished! No complaints here, I've had a great experience with WGU.

petedude

Alif_Sadida_Ekin wrote: »

Looks like I'm the odd one out. I'll be honest, I went the general IT route with no specialization just so I could get the degree as quickly and as cheaply as possible. I already had certifications and experience. I just needed that piece of paper which seems so important to a lot of people.

Same here. I have to say, though, I liked that the general route covered a bunch of things I'd never had formal exposure to. It gives you a nice, broad overview of IT as it exists today.

TLeTourneau

I went with Network Design & Management because I already had my CCNA and all of my MS certs when I started and it got me the most transfer credits.

erpadmin

I stuck with Network Design and Management because I wanted an MCSE-like cert (MCITP:EA). Looking at my other choices, I would have either gone the IT:Business route or the general IT degree. I didn't want to incur an additional expense in dealing with Cisco because I know I'm never going to do Network Engineering work. In terms of IT Security, it would have been worth more of my time gunning for a CISSP, but I'm looking at the PMP to be done (maybe) around December/January.

Now I'm in grad school hoping that my graduate degree will help me break into IT management.

Drovor

joshmadakor wrote: »

I'm in the process of registering for the general one as well. From my understanding, all of the diplomas say the same thing on them. If I want to finish my CCNA or MCITP:EA later, I can. I don't however, want to be pressured more than I need to be in order to finish my degree--I'd much rather knock out some MTAs and CIWs. Studying those is super casual, I can actually enjoy it. That's just how I feel about it.

I want to finish this as soon as possible so I can focus my studies on something non IT related for a change.

This is what I plan to do as well, hopefully starting July 1st. Another reason I have for going the general IT route is that I am still unsure which way I want to go in IT. I figure after completing the degree I might be able to figure which way I would like to go.

LinuxRacr

I went the IT-Security track as that's what interests me the most... Always has! Call me cheesy, but my interest in IT security started when I saw a certain (unrealistic) movie in my teens about people who break into computer networks.... I'll let you figure that one out (Crash Overide)...lol. It got me thinking about computers, and learning about Linux, and other aspects. My interest was solidified some years later when a Linux machine at home I had connected to the internet got broken into. I came home one night and found someone logged in as root on my machine.... That was really unsettling. As a result, I started building my foundational knowledge about security and servers that eventually lead to me becoming a UNIX systems admin....

I chose WGU to finish out my degree because it is the best choice for me and my life, as my life is too busy to do traditional brick and mortar schooling. I tried University of Phoenix for a year and realized that I wasn't getting the best bang for my buck, so I switched. With the associates degree that I already had, the classes taken at UoP, and prior S+ certification, 30% of my degree transferred in. With the low tuition, legit accreditation, and certs I'll be earning it was a no-brainer (pun intended!). Now that I'm working towards my CCNA, and CCNA Security, I have found that I'm really enjoying learning about networking, and zone-based firewalls on Cisco routers....

Valsacar

Hackers, good movie... lots of fake, made up, crap but a fun movie.

A better choice, IMO, is the book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy.

gdeusthewhizkid

LinuxRacr wrote: »

I went the IT-Security track as that's what interests me the most... Always has! Call me cheesy, but my interest in IT security started when I saw a certain (unrealistic) movie in my teens about people who break into computer networks.... I'll let you figure that one out (Crash Overide)...lol. It got me thinking about computers, and learning about Linux, and other aspects. My interest was solidified some years later when a Linux machine at home I had connected to the internet got broken into. I came home one night and found someone logged in as root on my machine.... That was really unsettling. As a result, I started building my foundational knowledge about security and servers that eventually lead to me becoming a UNIX systems admin....

I chose WGU to finish out my degree because it is the best choice for me and my life, as my life is too busy to do traditional brick and mortar schooling. I tried University of Phoenix for a year and realized that I wasn't getting the best bang for my buck, so I switched. With the associates degree that I already had, the classes taken at UoP, and prior S+ certification, 30% of my degree transferred in. With the low tuition, legit accreditation, and certs I'll be earning it was a no-brainer (pun intended!). Now that I'm working towards my CCNA, and CCNA Security, I have found that I'm really enjoying learning about networking, and zone-based firewalls on Cisco routers....

great explanation....

cygnus21

I chose the network design and management track because of the Microsoft certs included. I figure it is easier to self study and self pay for 2 Cisco tests than for 5 MS tests. I will be perusing CCNA as well sometime along the line.

a.a.!4life

joshmadakor wrote: »

I'm in the process of registering for the general one as well. From my understanding, all of the diplomas say the same thing on them. If I want to finish my CCNA or MCITP:EA later, I can. I don't however, want to be pressured more than I need to be in order to finish my degree--I'd much rather knock out some MTAs and CIWs. Studying those is super casual, I can actually enjoy it. That's just how I feel about it.

I want to finish this as soon as possible so I can focus my studies on something non IT related for a change.

I'm in the same boat, in the process of enrolling in db emphasis and w/web dev experience and a.a. I figure I can knock it out in 1-2 sems. If I plan to diversify later w/ccna or MCITP:EA I can do so at my own pace.

TheSuperRuski

I chose IT:Security because I have always been obsessed with the "hacker way" Not so much Black or White hat, just the knowledge that comes with it. The ability to start at point Z and work your way through a virtual maze and get to point A or in a better term, reverse engineering. It takes a deep understanding of programming and networking, I feel, to be called a true hacker.

As far as professionally, with the explosion of wifi and cloud storage, I think security is and will continue to be a growth industry.
Wherever there is money, there is people. wherever there are people and money, there is paranoia and whenever those three come together, there is security:D