Saturday, February 11, 2012

6 Weeks and two classes down....Almost

Well I have started my 2nd term at WGU and I am still making good progress. I have leaned heavily on the advice of my mentor Micah Pappas, who is an excellent human being and a kick-ass mentor; doing so has paid off. I've had two classes that I knew were relatively easy and had it not been for him I would have probably already taken them. I'm glad I didn't.

I'm in the 6th week of my second term and about to finish the 2nd of the afore mentioned classes. Micah was smart to steer me in the direction of saving them, when I'm finished with Leadership Concepts and Applications I will have completed 8 out of 12 CUs required for the term. This is significant because the next class, Operating Systems, culminates with a Microsoft Cert; long story short I'm told this will be the hardest class in my degree program and is one of the most difficult in all of the IT programs period. Essentially, if I have to spend the rest of the term working towards this certification, as long as I pass I will be ok as far as CUs completed for the term.

The first of the two classes was quite interesting and I enjoyed what I learned. Additionally, it was somewhat applicable to my current job. I can say the same, to a certain extent, about my current class. But alas, I haven't been as efficient in completing this class as I could have been, I think it is because I'm a bit bored with writing these papers. I don't know if it is because I've never had a problem writing (at least when it comes to substance, spelling & grammar are another story) or the uber-dry topics, but I am soooooo ready to be done, which is why I'm making this post: I needed a change of pace.

If anything, my predicament is illustrative of how powerful WGU's mentor system is. I told Micah I would be finished come Monday and by-golly I will be. I should have done a bit of this assignment each day. Had I started last Monday I probably would have been finished yesterday. But instead I lounged most of the week (aside from my job and parental duties of course, and I did have a stomach virus, ahem, ahem) and now I've been at it for 5 hours straight and my vision is blurry. I'll get 3/4 done tonight and polish it up tomorrow after work. Until next post...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ORC1

My current class is ORC1, Organizational Behavior and I'm enjoying it. Nothing that I'm reading is too enlightening, that said I do not find it dry or dull either. Like many college courses, it causes me to re-evaluate (in some cases simply evaluate) my own behavior and interaction with others.

I still haven't ramped up to the pace I was maintaining last term but I'll get there soon. What can I say, The Old Republic has only been out for a few weeks...

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Time to hit the books!

Well, I had two weeks of down time and enjoyed them to the fullest, but now it's time to get serious again. I completed 24 cu's my first term and I would like to duplicate that.

Tomorrow I start ORC1 and after that LET1. I would like to be finished with those by mid-February and then have all the time I need for Operating Systems. The final for Operating Systems is the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists - Windows 7 certification and it's supposed to be quite difficult. I'll keep you posted...

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Security+ Passed!

What a relief; 3 weeks left in my first term and I'm done with Security +! I didn't study as hard for this one and consequently I didn't do as well, I scored an 85%. Not as gratifying as an A but I was ready to be done!

24 cu's in my first term here at WGU, not too shabby, eh?

I'm very glad to have chosen WGU as my school. I have learned an immense amount of information in such a short time. Now, to kick back for a week or two and play some games with the family and some Skyrim and Old Republic too!  Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Security+ Update

About 25% percent through the Labsim content and I must say it is full of information. I don't come from a security background so I'm learning a lot of interesting stuff. Taking my time and taking notes off of each and every fact sheet. So far my retention has been quite good.

On a side note I really need to customize this blog a bit more but then I need to get my website up. Oh well, one day at a time...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Project+ is over!

Whew! You know, I didn't like uCertify one bit. The practice exams they provide kept eating my lunch. However I scored 94% on the exam itself, so I suppose that's how it's supposed to be.

Don't ever see myself being a project manager but you never know, besides I learned ALOT and the fundamentals are quite applicable in everyday life.

Looking forward, my term ends on Dec. 31st and my goal is to complete Security + before that. Then start the new term off with the Windows 7 certification, which according to EVERYONE is a beast.

Stay tuned.....

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Project+ Blues

No, I didn't fail but I will be postponing my test by a week.  Four weeks was just a little too ambitious apparently.  Oh well; maybe I'm being a bit over-cautious but if I'm driving 5 hours to take a test there's isn't going to be a doubt in my mind that I'll pass and I'm just not there yet.

I need to have a deeper understanding of the terminology, plain and simple.  Hopefully one extra week will be enough....