Hello. Nice to meet you.

Hello there:

I am Harry D. James.
I am a Cybersecurity Professional living in the Boston area. I am a recent graduate of Western Governor's University.I have a BSCSIA Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance.

I love to learn. I think that's why I enjoyed the WGU experience. I think WGU is great, but it is definitely not for everyone. One of the most attractive WGU offerings was the ability to do as many classes as I could. The more courses I finished in a term, the less the degree costs.

That structure allowed me to finish courses at a furious rate. I didn't finish the quickly because the content was easy, I finished them quickly because I was alredy familiar with the content. The hardest part for me was trying to figure out exactly how they wanted me to present the information. The industry certifications that I got as part of my degree were also challenging.

I have been in the IT feild for over 20 years. Some of the concepts were basic to me, but I do remember the first time I tried to ingest some of that stuff. It was hard. Only after using those concepts over and over again did it become familiar.

This is why WGU may not work for everyone. There was no traditional classes. If you need to learn something, you are going to struggle a bit more. I was able to apply my practical knowledge to the course material. If you don't have that experience, the time you spend learning could negate the ability to finish courses quickly. Most people aren't great at teaching themselves complex topics, that's why teachers exist.

The course instructors at WGU are there to guide, not to tell. They are industry professionals themselves and they want you to learn. They will put you on the right track, but do not expect them to directly answer your questions. They will more or less confirm that you are on the right track, but I found getting a concrete answer to "Is this right" to be quite challenging.

People have noticed that I finished quickly and they want to do the same. When they ask me about WGU I tell them I think it's a good idea but don't do what I did. I try to steer them away from the program I completed.

But Dwayne, Why would you do that?

Because the courses will be much harder for them than it would be for me. A family member just finised freshman year at a traditional school. We started at the same time. Before they go back to school for softmore year, I had finished. The inevitable conversation of "do you think I could do that?" came up. The answer is "Not really."

That being said the answer was no because they don't have the experience I do, but WGU offers many different degree programs. Your success in any of the program offerings is going to depend on your existing knowledge and your overall dedication to completing your program.

It took me 17 months, 1 week, and three days (give or take an hour or two) to finish 35 classes and earn my degree. I wish I had done it sooner but you know what the say; Wish in one hand ...

I'm an avid fan of technology, and entertainment of all kinds. I'm not so much a fan of people. I spend most of my time trying to understand things I currently don't; I prefer to ignore people.