One of the things I have appreciated most about the university is the ability to arrange courses to meet students needs. My first goal was to change employment and get into an entry level IT position - the reason being a degree should also need experience and getting a few years in before graduation will help accomplish that.So instead of starting off with lower division courses at WGU my mentor had me go through my A+, Network+, Security+, CIW Associates, and Project+ certifications first so I could gain an entry level position. This has worked out well and employers have been satisfied with these certs as many people seeking similar employment are either 100% self taught with no credentials or only have A+.
Now the plan is to work in the industry as a tech to keep my skills sharp and work on the lower division courses for my degree for a term or two. Then I will go back to the remaining IT courses with some experience.
Since I have done well so far my mentor wanted to push me this term and so I have a pretty full load of courses to take. I am keeping to a strict study schedule and am still using the formula of Pre-assessment + course of study + learning resources.
For example, I first take the pre-assessment to see how well I know the subject. If I score really high on the pre-assessment the chances of me passing the actual test are very good and I can knock out that course with minimal or even no additional study. My first course, Reasoning & Problem Solving, had a pre-assessment score 0f over 90% so I went ahead and scheduled the exam. I will study the one area I was a little weak in but other than this I know I will pass and saved myself at least a few weeks.
The course of study is another important resource. If you have 1100 pages in a particular text but only 500 of those pages will be relevant to the exam, the course of study will tell you this and save you a lot of time. Follow the course of study and do exactly what it tells you to do.
You can also work on multiple subjects at a time but I only do one. The reason being that I like to stay focused and it is easier to remember the subject matter when you are focused on one course at a time. Besides, it is easier to track your progress. Start a course, go through the course of study, schedule the exam, pass, then go on to the next course.
Let Term 3 begin...
