WGU Journey - A Fresh Start

The Basics

Like most others on this site I have been in the IT world for a few years now and am looking for ways to better myself. I work a full time job and plan on studying extensively on my mights and weekends. Most of what I will be studying in school I have minimal experience with, but am eager to learn and get started.

After reading threads from Swildz, dragonshiz, and Alif I have decided to buckle down and knock out my BS in Network Security as quickly as possible, with one major difference... I am only transferring in 8 CUs. This leaves me with 123 CUs to complete.

As I followed their threads very closely, several people would ask about if anyone had experience completing as much as posible that had started from scratch as opposed to brining in an associates degree or a bachelors from elsewhere.

The Goals

I am breaking this down into two parts, one of which I call the goal, the other is the dream. I begin school on October 1st.

The goal is to finish my entire degree in less than 18 months, essentially three terms and 41 CUs each term.

The dream is to knock it out in one year or 62CUs for two terms straight. Why am I referring to it as the dream? Because while I plan on busting my butt, I just don't see this being a reality.

The Purpose

Following the threads I mentioned in my first paragraph are one of the main things that have insipred me to expand my education and specifically through WGU. I hope that I can insipre others to further their education, especially those that are starting from square one like myself.

Plus on the other threads as the others hit snags they used their threads as a place to ask for help and motivation. I hope that is something I can get from here as well. While I haven't posted much I have spent quite a bit of time browsing the forums, using it as a source of knowledge and guidance.

My Starting and Current Progress

At Start Time
Courses Awarded for A+ Certification EAV1 EBV1 (8-CUs)
Courses Needed: AGC1 CDP1 BNC1 BVC1 CJV1 CLC1 CNV1 COV1 CQV1 CTV1 CVV1 DHV1 DJV1 GAC1 CIC1 CDC1 UBT1 IWC1 IWT1 TCP1 TJP1 TJC1 EBV1 RIT1 RIT1 TPV1 WFV1 EUP1 EUC1 DRV1 DSV1 TXC1 TXP1 TYC1 TYP1 CUV1 BOV1 EAV1 CJC1 UBC1 TBP1 (123-CUs)

Current
(Will update as progress is made.)

Looking forward to this journey and I hope I can make a few friends along the way.

Thanks everyone!

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Comments

Sirbloody

Good luck with your journey. I am struggling doing 18 credits a semester (Got to love my GI Bill), but working fulltime with a hour commute each way and having a two year old at the house kinda limits the study time I do have.

NotHackingYou

Another good luck from me. I am in the same boat as above with a full time job and young kids so study time is limited. I also only transferred in a few classes.

jmfd

I work my standard 40, but I have a LOT of downtime at the office. No kids, no wife, I have all the study time in the world! Good luck to you as well!

CoolAsAFan

Good luck on your journey jmfd! If you can stay motivated then I think your goal is absolutely achievable. FYI, if you can get EWB out of the way, you can get an early start on your material but just cant submit anything until Oct 1 on your start date. I did this and was lucky enough to take the exam for my first class a few days after my start date. Again, good luck!

Slithy

Good luck and I hope your thread becomes a valuable resource for those wanting to start from scratch!

almostthere

Good luck! If you get tired out don't be scared to take a little breather (a few days or so). I have found that when I get hung up and stressed out that a little break helps a lot! I am currently finishing up my first term and hope to be done before the new year. I transferred in with an AS.

Xonis1

Good luck! im starting Oct 1st with a goal of 18 months as well!

jmfd

Xonis1 wrote: »

Good luck! im starting Oct 1st with a goal of 18 months as well!

Xonis we might as well make it a race!

Thanks to everyone else who has commented and posted so far!

djfunz

Nice! That's a very ambitions goal. I only transferred 15 CUs when I enrolled. From what my mentor told me, the first term students tend to accelerate very quickly. The second term generally sees a dramatic slowdown as burnout typically ensues. Certain gen-ed courses like INC1, GAC1, and LAE1 among others depending on your experience, will take much more time than others.

Using only myself as an example, I'll have probably finished around 57 CUs in 18 months. Again, good luck on your journey.

jmfd

Hopefully with some solid advice and reading through experiences from people in the past, I can make this a reality. Even though my classes haven't started yet my learning resources are open for my first courses ... time to get a head start!

NotHackingYou

The best advice I got (I think it was on here) is to work on your education every day, no matter what - even if you can only do 5 minutes.

jmfd

Well today is my official start day.

I already hate my "Jump Start" mentor. Two pointless phone calls where he just reads off a paper for twenty minutes straight.

datschmo

Good luck jmfd!! I just started today as well and I'm pretty much in the same boat...with a few more CU's transferred in. My mentor seems decent, only spoken once so far with a follow-up scheduled for later this week.

Bundiman

I have a full time job, a wife and three kids, and managed to burn through 64 credit my first term working anywhere from 10-20 hours a week on school. It can be done quickly.

W Stewart

123 CUs after transferring in 8? Your CUs must be in the negative balance or something.

EngRob

Good luck!! I'm in a similar situation however i'm transferring in a grand total of 0 CU's towards the BS IT-Security so i'll be doing the full amount. Will probably start my own progress thread to keep me on track.