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Considering going for the MCSA. I hear good things about CBTNuggest and have used them in the past for CCNA, so I was planning on using them for my main training material. I also have free access to Lynda.com and Pluralsight. Any thoughts?
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Sep 15, 2019 17:17
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Space Racist posted:Which MCSA? Server 2016? I’m guessing 2016, MS site says the 2012 cert is discontinued now. I’m not a fan of Udemy, some of their courses seems janky and they have a bad habit of selling stolen content so I’d rather not give them my money. I did use them for A+ and Network+ though.
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Sep 16, 2019 14:58
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CubanMissile posted:I'm trying to get my CCNA for WGU before Cisco changes everything in February. At first I thought I could get by using Boson NetSim, but I'm running into quirky bullshit when trying to follow along with CBTNuggets because NetSim apparently doesn't like it when you do anything outside of their step by step instructions for their labs. So I'm thinking of picking up a lab kit from Ebay. Anyone have any experience selling these back after their done with them? How much of a reduced price to they take them back for and would it even be worth it with the cost of shipping? I did WGU last year. I bought a networking kit for about $330 and resold it on SA-Mart for $200 I think. I found the kit helpful for ICND1 and some lower level stuff to get familiar with the concepts and how stuff interacts, but eventually moved to using GNS3 and Packet Tracer exclusively by the end. For $130 out of pocket it was worth it though.
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Sep 18, 2019 15:32
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ClumsyThief posted:They’ve got a 7-day free trial so I’m going to at least do the first few modules and see how it looks. After that it’s $50/m through Coursera and you move as quickly as you’d like, so I’ll at least give it a whirl since it sounds pretty economical. I went though WGU and graduated last year with a IT Security Bachelors (program has changed since I think). It's not just the cost but the acceleration. Some of the classes I already knew I knocked out in 2 weeks while the longer classes like networking took me 8-12 weeks. The whole program took me 18 months at a moderate pace. They also charge by 6-month term, not by class. So you if you finish 3 classes or 6 classes in those 6 months, it's the same cost. If you're accelerating this can save time and money. WGU does not have "freshmen" or "sophmore" students, meaning they only accept transfers in. You need to have either some relevant work experience or some previous education experience. They are geared towards working adults looking to complete a degree they already started so if you have no relevant experience you won't be accepted in. At WGU the certs are part of you course. Think of them as the final exam for your course. The class prepares you for the test, the vouchers are included as part of the tuition, and to pass the class you pass the cert exam. You have up to 3 tries as well. I looked at SNHU as well but just didn't see any advantage over WGU where I wanted to pay more and take longer. The degree seems well respected enough that every school I applied for Master's programs with like Georgia Tech and U of Maryland accepted it for their programs (ended up not going though). FCKGW fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 15:08
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I did A+ and Net+ in 2018 and found Professer Messer's stuff to be very clear and easy to understand. https://www.professormesser.com/ He has the entire training video series for free on his YouTube or you can pay a few bucks and get study guides, practice tests and all that stuff. edit: I don't know if he has practice quizzes that a similar to the actual tests so I guess that doesn't answer your question :/ FCKGW fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jan 22, 2020 |
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Jan 22, 2020 17:23
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Hotel Kpro posted:So I'm taking some tech school class and they enrolled me in Project+. As someone with no experience whatsoever in the world of IT, how useful is this cert going to be? I don't really have any aspirations to be a manager anytime soon but the instructors seem to think it'll be useful in the future I had to do Project+ as part of my WGU degree and it was my least favorite class out of the whole program. Just endless rote memorization of terms and concept with nothing vaguely interesting to me. You’ll learn about how teams work together to build software and a few software development concepts like scrum and agile and how to effectively communicate project requirements and stakeholders and all that but woof, what a chore. Not difficult, just boring. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Mar 6, 2020 |
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Mar 6, 2020 02:16
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Jinnigan posted:I've been looking into getting an A+ certificate but the one thing I have been getting stuck on is: how do you actually take a goddamn test? I understand that I need to spend ~$250 on a voucher, but then... is it an online test? Do I have to find a scheduled in-person test somewhere? What's the deal? Google just pulls up pages and pages of classes and people trying to bilk me out of money. Here's a map of the testing centers https://wsr.pearsonvue.com/testtake...ationId=2611755 Once you're ready you buy a voucher or buy a seat directly, go to whichever test center is closest to you and take the test. Once you're done they give your a printout saying if you passed or failed.
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Mar 9, 2020 18:09
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cage-free egghead posted:CompTIA is also loosening their testing policies (or rather PearsonVue or whatever) Buddy had to take an PearsonVue exam last week and they let him take it at home.
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Apr 2, 2020 23:15
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Yeah it's up to whoever is issuing the cert. This one was Oracle FWIW
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Apr 4, 2020 03:57
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CompTia announced today that existing test vouchers are extended to June 30th and that they will be doing online tests starting on April 15th https://www.comptia.org/testing/onl...g-interest-form
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Apr 4, 2020 04:01
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I also posted it already like 10 posts up!
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Apr 8, 2020 17:42
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Cant Ride A Bus posted:I’m looking into getting a few certs to start going into Data Security (namely A+ and Security+ to start). Does anyone have a recommendation for the book for Security+? The link in OP goes to a dead amazon page. I took the Sec+ 2 years ago. I used Darrel Gibson's Get Certified Get Ahead book. He has a kindle edition for  https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Secu.../dp/1939136059/ Good book, but what I found most helpful were the study guides and practice quizzes. Gibson has a package on his website for an extra $40 or so but the practice quizzes were very close to what the real exam had and, for me, would be highly recommended. https://getcertifiedgetahead.com/
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Jul 6, 2020 02:58
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Microsoft Azure Free Virtual training + Exam Voucher https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trainingdays quote:These 1 and 2 day virtual events will give you the opportunity to expand your skillset and connect with Microsoft experts. Save your seat at an upcoming event in Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or Microsoft Power Platform. Find out how Microsoft is your trusted partner in envisioning the future—and watch your organization transform. This is a 6 hour training split across two, 3-hour sessions. I'm not 100% sure but I read that the session will also be available after the fact if you can't make it live. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Jul 10, 2020 |
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Jul 10, 2020 14:57
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e. nvm, link expired
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Jul 20, 2020 15:17
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MrKatharsis posted:Sander is doing a 65% off deal where you can get his RHCSA ebook and class for $117, less than the cost of the Essentials class. Do you have a link for this? I have Linux+ but would like something a bit more respected. I checked his site and nothing jumped out at me.
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Aug 18, 2020 16:58
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I graduated in December 2018 with a B.S . in Information Technology - Security which is what the current Network Operations and Security degree was called. I also have a co-worker who went through the B.S. Software Developer program which existed before the CS degree was introduced. I had an Associates in CS before applying and transferred in about 50% of my credits. The entire ethos of WGU is "go at your own pace". It is fully self-paced. There are no due dates, scheduled tests, anything like that. You sign up for a course and you have access to all the material and can complete it as fast or as slow as is comfortable to you. You take a test at the very end that is supposed to represent the entirety of your knowledge in the course. Either you pass and you're done with the class, or you don't and you then meet with the mentor to see what you need to work on and re-take the test at a later date. Some of my courses I finished in <4 weeks and some I finished in a few months. Sometimes I took a week or two off when life stuff came up. You pay a flat tuition for every 6 month term and if you can finish 8 classes in that term you pay the same as if you only did 2. The only sticking point is you have to have whatever classes you committed to completed by the end of the term so make sure you set a realistic goal. There's no due dates or finals week or anything. You start the classes and your goal is to pass the final assesment. It's on you to figure out that journey to get there. They do provide pacing guides if you want more structure however (I used these for every class). I'll try and answer as best I can but much of this may have changed in the last ~18 months Jeesis posted:1. How is the instruction in regards to coursework? Are there live and/or recorded lectures? Since WGU is 100% self-paced learning there's no live lectures, you just have access to the study materials and any books or videos. Think of it kinda like Udemy. WGU has coursework, usually through Ucertify or another online learning company and you can go through the material at your leisure. They also supply labs and stuff like that too. Jeesis posted:2. How hands on are the instructions? If I get stuck on something in particular can I get a 1-on-1 with a instructor if need be? You'll have an overall program WGU mentor for the entire program to plan out classes and overall program question (like a school counselor). Each course has course mentors you can email, a course message board and slack channels you can bounce questions off of. I had to have a phone call with my program mentor every week to make sure I was staying on track. You can also schedule phone calls with program mentors if you need 1:1 instruction as well. I had questions a couple times and could always find someone to help clarify anything I needed. Jeesis posted:3. I seem to recall people saying they have a forum, is this considered a good source of information on working through the coursework? Is it viewed as a crutch for lack of formal direction? I wouldn't consider it a crutch, it's not much different than a discussion board from a online course at a traditional school. The mentors are in there to make sure everyone is being helped. There's also lots of pdfs, video links, whatever other clarifying material always being passed around in there. Jeesis posted:4. I noticed a cursory search that calculus would require a pre-test to check if prior mathematics classes are required. Are there usually pre-tests for most of the classes? Every course I did had a pre-test. You're usually expected to fail the pre-test (it's meant to access your existing knowledge and then set learning goals accordingly) but if you do really well you can talk to your course mentor and they can move you straight from the pre-assesment to the final assessment test and skip all the material. WGU only cares if you know the material or not. If you have real-world, learned experience they won't force you to go through the class, you can skip straight ahead and prove you already know it and move on to the next class. I did this for one class and on another I spent 3 days reviewing the material and passed the class. Jeesis posted:5. Is it required to take a accuplacer or similar test before enrolling? WGU does not take "freshman" students. They consider everyone enrolling to be at least a "junior". What this means is that you must either have prior college credits or can show real-world work experience to apply. If you have a current job related to the degree you're applying to then you should be fine. After you're accepted you do have to take a small math and English test that will determine your placement for whatever courses you may still need to take. Jeesis posted:6. How good is the educational material? Is it all supplied or are you required to get books? If you have to purchase books, is it required you purchase through them? All material is included, tuition covers everything. This includes any certification vouchers if your degree includes them. I thought the material was adequate for most of the courses but for some of my higher level courses I sought out supplemental material. For example on my Security+ cert the included official guide is pretty lacking so I purchased some video series and practice tests from another source recommended by other students in the slack channel. On my Cisco tests however WGU provided the industry leading practice test environment and a ton of virtual labs that would have costs hundreds of dollars if I purchased them elsewhere. I probably spent <$300 on supplemental material over the course of the entire program. Jeesis posted:7. Have there been any technical issues with accessing the site and course material? If yes, was there any type of reimbursement? I had maybe once or twice where the site was complete inaccessible but it was less than an hour or two and since there's not really any due dates it didn't affect anything. Jeesis posted:8. How are tests administrated? Is it purely a login and take the test or are there specific times when the tests are given? I assume they have time limits, how generous are the time limits? If you fail, are you allowed to retake it? They have objective assessments and performance assessments. Objective assessments are things like graded papers. Submit your work and it gets evaluated by a mentor. Performance assessments are like traditional tests, with true/false answers and a time limit. Performance assessments that are done at home are proctored (someone online is watching you take the test) and have a given time limit. You can schedule the test for whenever is convenient to you. Some of my tests were done at testing centers but with COVID they are using in-home proctors for those now too. Jeesis posted:9. What is generally done for coursework? Is it essentially read chapters 1-5 then take a test on it or is it more hands on with researching what’s in the book and figuring out problems? Depends on the course, much of it read these chapters, watch these videos, take this test. The more technical courses in my program had read these chapters, fire up the virtual lab and work on problem. They give you an issue and you figure out the solution. I know my co-worker who was working on his java courses had a bunch of instructions and videos to watch, tests to take, and then was given a problem and a list of deliverables and told to write a program to solve the problem and submit it. So depends on the course but you could either be doing one or both. Jeesis posted:10. All in all, how would nerds rate your learning experience? Did it feel more like you had to learn on your own entirely or was it do the work at your own pace and if you get stuck there are resources that helped you through it? Overall I felt it was a good experience. I turned to WGU because of the flexibility, the included certs and it was an accredited university. I would consider it to be the most legitimate of any of the online-only schools. They really do expect you to do the work, there's no rubber stamping of any crap you submit. Many of my courses required you pass an industry cert to pass the class which means you had to actually know and demonstrate the material, you couldn't fake it. One downside of the degree is that since WGU is exclusively a pass/fail grading system, your GPA will be a 3.0 no matter what. Does this matter? It depends. I will say that I was considering a masters program and I applied to ~10 schools, all of them traditional B&M schools with online masters programs. I was accepted into all of them with nothing more than my WGU degree, including really good schools like University of Maryland and Georgia Tech. If it's good enough for GA Tech then it's good enough for me.
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Aug 19, 2020 05:49
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Beaucoup Haram posted:Thanks, I got 884/1000. Just took my AZ-900 as well and passed. I used Whizlabs which seems to have same/similar questions to what was on the exam but in an actual 55 question timed format. Think it cost me $8 for 6 practice exams, would recommend. https://www.whizlabs.com/ I also found a good set of study notes for various Azure tests here: https://github.com/undergroundwires...n-bullet-points
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Sep 12, 2020 17:57
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Microsoft is offering a number of their exams for only $15 for anyone laid-off or furloughed due to COVID-19. I don't know how they verify this so it may be on the honor system. There's a limited number of vouchers so don't be that rear end in a top hat who takes a voucher from someone who may need it. https://aka.ms/skillscert quote:Microsoft is offering select Microsoft Certified Exams (various certification) for $15 valid for individuals who have been unemployed or furlough due to COVID-19 (select requirements may vary depending on each states). Testing candidates will have the ability to schedule an exam before December 21, 2020 and have until March 31, 2021 to appear and complete it. FCKGW fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Oct 1, 2020 |
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Oct 1, 2020 17:35
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RC Cola posted:Anyone have advice for taking the Azure - 900 test? I used the official Microsoft learning path guide, and then paid a couple bucks for the Whizlabs practice tests. Passed first try. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/le...ns/exams/az-900
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Oct 13, 2020 05:29
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Coolnezzz posted:Thanks for the reply! I did great on all of the classes I actually enjoyed but totally ditched the general ed. and never bothered to fix that. I went through WGU. If work is paying for it, and your WGU degree comes with the exam vouchers then I don't know why you wouldn't just go through the program anyways. It's go at your own pace, you can finish it super quick if you want to go down that road and you would at least have a BS behind your name to get past the HR filter.
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Nov 1, 2020 23:04
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I haven't parlayed my WGU degree into a new career, just kept it in my back pocket in case the layoffs come at my current job so unfortunately I can't speak to job prospects. I did apply to a Masters program at Georgia Tech and 5 other schools with nothing more than my WGU degree and was accepted at all of them (which I eventually decided against) so the degree is at least treated pretty well as far as legitimacy goes.
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Nov 5, 2020 15:48
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skipdogg posted:Fastest and least expensive way to get a degree from an accredited college. Yeah the flexibility was the biggest thing for me. I could blow through the easy classes I already knew in a couple weeks, and spend a bit more time on the tougher classes. If I get burnt out and want to take a week off, that's fine too. Vintimus Prime posted:Just curious, which masters program at Georgia Tech did you apply to? Been toying with the idea of getting a masters for years.. Online Master's in Cybersecurity. Exact same coursework as their on-campus program but the whole thing is online and around ~$10k instead of ~$30k+. They also have an Online Master's in Computer Science that is well regarded and it's only ~$6k for the program. I actually went through the first couple weeks of the Cybersecurity program before I dropped it. I had got my bachelors when I had lots of free time at work to study but my job responsibilities changed and I realized I couldn't do the program without making some series sacrifices or driving myself crazy. From what I saw it's the exact same teachers, material and lectures as their on-campus program FCKGW fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Nov 9, 2020 |
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Nov 9, 2020 17:15
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Microsoft also provides an entire course on AZ-900 for free, including actual labs and all that stuff. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/le...ns/exams/az-900 I passed the test with just that and some practice tests I purchased elsewhere.
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Nov 16, 2020 19:48
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Unexpected Raw Anime posted:I'm 100% confident on the A+ 1001 material and I've already gotten a hands-on cert from my university that's entirely performance-based (TestOut PC Professional) that covers all the same material, but it seems like I've heard from every single person who's taken a CompTIA Exam that they felt like they were failing the whole time. Is it just how they word the questions? For me, 3/4 of the questions felt like out of the 4 possible answers, 2 of them could be the right one. I was always sweating that I knew the answer but was unsure what exactly they were asking.
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Dec 14, 2020 02:32
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OmniCorp posted:More Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: Fundamentals. Haven't taken this and don't know if it's worth the time. I did when they were giving out free vouchers. It's fine, it's a few hours and you are not able to view the recorded session later so you need to pay attention. It gave me a good overview of the material but I got more out of just going over their free training material anyways before I took the exam.
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Dec 16, 2020 21:43
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There’s several goons in here have done WGU, myself included. I had a pretty positive experience and would do it again. My wife may also do WGU for her teaching credentials once she’s done at the community college.
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Jan 1, 2021 02:58
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I did AZ-900 about 6 months ago. I just use Micrososoft's official training docs which include labs and stuff https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/le...ns/exams/az-900 Once I was done with the training I paid $16 for some practice tests, these were pretty close to the actual test material. https://www.whizlabs.com/microsoft-...ication-az-900/ I used this Azure study guide a couple days before with the tests to go over any missing material https://github.com/undergroundwires...re-fundamentals
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Jan 3, 2021 05:13
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