Just failed CCNA. Should I change my WGU degree emphasis?

Hi everyone. This is my first "real" post. So I failed the 640-802 today (score 735). I'm in the process of enrolling at WGU and as of right now I have told my enrollment counselor that I wish to complete the BS-IT w/ no emphasis. I'm considering switching to the Network Admin degree since the CCNA is part of the curriculum. That way I can focus on studying for the CCNA w/o having to study for any other college classes at the same time. My dilemma with the Network Admin degree is that the MCITP is included with it. Background- I have zero professional IT experience (trust me I've been trying!), no certs, I graduate with my AAS next week (yeah!) in CSIS- Cisco Networking and Security (Security is not for me), and I have also completed the Cisco Networking Academy through my community college. With that being said I fear that I would struggle with the MCITP and may end up spending more money trying to achieve the Microsoft certs through WGU (paying for multiple semesters or extra vouchers if needed) rather than studying for them on my own. Not to mention the pressure of being under the gun to get those certs done within a reasonable amount of time to maintain SAP (I'm on student loans, which is another factor).

From the beginning of this journey I have been focused on becoming a Network Engineer, but as I venture out further into the world of IT other occupations have caught my eye such as Systems Admin, ERP, IT Business/Systems Analyst. I figure the BS-IT with no emphasis would allow me to check out other avenues and at the same time earn the BS degree at the same time.

With that being said just looking for thoughts on if it would be more beneficial to stick with the BS-IT or change to BS-IT Network Admin. Any comments, thoughts, suggestions, would be much appreciated! TIA!

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Comments

Valsacar

When you graduate it will be a BS in IT, regardless of the focus. The focus is what YOU want to do, the certs are an added bonus with WGU.

Getting the no-specialty degree has no benefit at all, besides the "I'm not sure what I want to focus on." Employers will see BS in IT, then look for experience and/or certs. Since you don't have experience, certs will be the deciding factor (assuming other candidates are in the same boat).

So... think about what you want to do in the near term, and do the focus that gets you those certs. You can always move around later in life, the degree focus you take now will not hinder you from moving into a different part of IT. Hell, I know a tech with a Masters in Music...

P.S. When I saw the title of your post I thought, wow that's the wrong attitude... I read it as you were currently a WGU student and thinking of changing focus because you failed one test. Glad to see it was the opposite.

pcgizzmo

What are you most interested in? Why not do the WGU Security degree and get your CCNA and not have to worry about the MCITP if you want to be a network engineer? On the other hand WGU should give you all the info you need to get your MCITP but having experience on the MS platforms would be helpful but not insurmountable if you don't.

Sorry. I'm probably not much help. I really think it boils down to what you enjoy. IMO the future lies with Virtualization/Cloud computing and Information security. Of course there will always be the underlying operating systems and networks that everything runs on.

missy2687

@Valsacar Sorry, I'm new to this so you'll have to cut me some slack on the post name

I can see how that can be read differently. I am however, glad that you pointed out that the focus I choose now is not going to be my end all be all. I think I have that mind set right now so it's clouding my judgement.

@pcgizzmo You actually were a huge help! I guess I had ruled out Security because I struggled with it last semester in the Cisco Networking Academy. I also had 3 other classes at the time so was not able to give it my undivided attention.... The way my enrollment counselor explained it to me the other day, at WGU the students take one course at a time. With that format I believe that I would have success with the CCNA Security since I've already been through the course curriculum and would have more time to focus on specifics I had trouble with and preparing for the cert.

Decisions, decisions! It helps to have a forum like this to get some different perspectives. I have a call with the enrollment counselor on Tuesday so I believe that I will have it figured out by then .

Thanks for your help!

missy2687

Thank you both for taking the time out of your day to respond. I posted a reply last night but they (TE) said it had to be checked first so it may or may not show up here later on today....

Anywho, the jist of it was that I guess I have been in the mind set that I have to choose a focus that is my end all be all, which as Valsacar pointed out is not the case. It's kind of like visiting a new restaurant- there are so many things on the menu that you want to try but you can really only choose just one (sensibly speaking) but you always have the option of going back and trying something else later on. I agree that I need to focus on something near term and then go from there.

The reason I had wrote off the Security program is because I struggled with it last semester (my AAS at college includes classes for the Cisco Networking Academy). I took the security course along with 3 other courses concurrently, also while working a full time job so I admit my struggles may have been attributed to the fact that I had too much on my plate at once and did not have time to absorb the information as well as I would have liked. I may take another look at it. The enrollment counselor explained to me that at WGU the students take one course at a time so Security may not be as hard for me this time around especially since I have already been through the curriculum.

It's great to have insight from others and you both have def helped me out. I speak to my enrollment counselor again on Tuesday so I'd like to give my decision to her then. Very excited to start classes at WGU!

jmasterj206

I will give the same advice I give to everyone. If you are paying out of your own pocket I would just do the general degree. You will be able to complete it faster and save money. If you are getting reimbursements or Pell do what interests you.

The reason I say do the general degree is that MS and Cisco certs are not that expensive to take, but take considerable time to study. Say you could do the 2 Cisco exams and 3 MS server exams in 6 months (pushing it). The tests would cost you 150x5 = 750 dollars, books would be 100 per cert (example)=500 dollars, buy a practice test for each for 100 per cert=500 dollars. That puts the total at 1750. You could also buy CBT nuggets for 6 months and be under the cost for WGU. I just don't find the resources they give you for these classes are worth the premium in price and I end up buying my own anyway. Just my 2 cents.

Also, if you don't have experience with servers I would stay far away from MS server exams. Many people with years experience with MS server products have a hard time with their exams.

All in all a degree is just a check box for employers.

Valsacar

A friend of mine did the MS server stuff via bootcamp, he said it was pretty hard and he's got some experience...

I think we all pretty much agree that the degree is just a checkbox, what your focus doesn't matter in the long run. Go with what interests you now, or go with general if you can't decide.

One thing I really like about WGU is that it's flexible. Most people do one course at a time, but I'm mildly ADD so I like having multiple things to focus on. I explained that to my mentor, I work better when I have different things to jump around with, so I have multiple courses I'm doing at the same time. Less than 2 weeks in and I'm almost done with 4 courses (Masters ones), so I'm pretty happy with the progress.

CEHwanabe

I think Cisco is way too strict about their exam passing, 85% is needed, if it would be 70%, u wuldve passed. gl next time

Hypntick

CEHwanabe wrote: »

I think Cisco is way too strict about their exam passing, 85% is needed, if it would be 70%, u wuldve passed. gl next time

Going to have to disagree here. While the possibility of brain **** are still out there, I think 80-85% is a perfectly reasonable score to require for a certification. For the folks that actually study for these things, it shows that you have a solid understanding of the concepts.

rep21

Stick to the no-emphasis degree. When go from doing an associate's straight in to a bachelors, if you are anything like me you will start to feel burned out and you will just want to finish asap. You can spend all your time earning certifications after you finish. I really wish I had done the same, as it would probably have cut six months off of the time it will take me to complete the database emphasis.

N2IT

See it through. Quitting breeds additional quitting, see it through to completion you can do it.

demonfurbie

jmasterj206 wrote: »

I will give the same advice I give to everyone. If you are paying out of your own pocket I would just do the general degree. You will be able to complete it faster and save money. If you are getting reimbursements or Pell do what interests you.

The reason I say do the general degree is that MS and Cisco certs are not that expensive to take, but take considerable time to study. Say you could do the 2 Cisco exams and 3 MS server exams in 6 months (pushing it). The tests would cost you 150x5 = 750 dollars, books would be 100 per cert (example)=500 dollars, buy a practice test for each for 100 per cert=500 dollars. That puts the total at 1750. You could also buy CBT nuggets for 6 months and be under the cost for WGU. I just don't find the resources they give you for these classes are worth the premium in price and I end up buying my own anyway. Just my 2 cents.

Also, if you don't have experience with servers I would stay far away from MS server exams. Many people with years experience with MS server products have a hard time with their exams.

All in all a degree is just a check box for employers.

^^ true

and if you do certs after wgu you get to pick the exact certs you want to do not just hte ones in the degree

i ran in to that issue i like security work but dont want cisco and the networks degree wasnt my cup of tea

SteveLord

No experience + other reasons stated above > Stick to the general degree.

missy2687

Thank you all for the additional input. When you break down the cost of materials & exam fees vs tuition as jmasterj did coupled with the fact that I can ultimately choose what certs I want to obtain on my own as some of you have pointed out, the more I think about it I believe that the general degree would be best for me. Once I began to knock out some of those MTA certs I'll prob have a better idea of what exactly I'd like to specialize in. That makes sense. Getting ready to take the assessment right now! I'm not worried at all about that, I'm sure I'll pass with flying colors!