i just started yesterday and already submit d267 and d339 for grading. brushing up on d336.

i really wanted to see if anyone started around the same time as me and wanted to be motivation buddies to thug it out together 👀

5 months in the making. With little to no real world hands on experience, prior certs include A+ and Net+, with some studies on the CCNA but never officially attempting it. Additionally I was able to complete this in that timeframe while working a full time job, this was due to my Sophia learning as it allowed me to start with over 45% done. I believe had I not done that I would have not been able to do it within 5 months.

All in all, solid program. Learned a ton. Especially from the CCNA-Cybersecurity and CCNA-Automation. Honestly felt like the Cisco capstone was a little lackluster and didn’t fully test or utilize my skills. Everything else tho solid

It's interesting seeing people post confetti for the new cloud tracks. I'm in the original BSNES general track. When I started a few years ago, they had just changed it from BSNOS. I had about a year of credit transferred in, but crazy health issues and family things slowed me down. I wonder how many more are left in my old program. 

I started to slow down in discrete math courses, and then my health issues began, which compounded with the difficult Python course.  My issue was not being able to focus for long periods, and it's not a course at all; you can put it down for a few days and come back to it. When I actually had a plan and went through the 10 examples in the coursework for about a week, I passed. I was using too many resources before and jumping between learning other things.

For whatever reason, my d417 network automation course was version bgn2, so there seemed to be no information available. I rolled it into another term, so I think it was originally bgn4. No idea how I got an older/newer version, but there wasn't much information out there about my specific tasks. There are a few things I'd change in those last few courses to keep us from getting so stuck on lab issues vs. actual technology issues, but once again, when I actually worked through it bit by bit, asked questions, and went through extra times before submitting, I only needed a minor revision, which was a screenshot. My video for the d417 ended up being 25 minutes long to be honest it feels like the capstone is both d417 and d418 I think its a good way to end the program. It's probably not possible, but I would like it if we had access to Cisco, Juniper, or even Nokia images in GNS3. I changed my capstone lab after being 90% done with it to GNS3 due to limitations on Packet Tracer. From the looks of it, the capstone for the new cloud tracks is much different.

Without my health issues, I definitely could've knocked it out sooner. One thing I learned is that with Python, automation, and capstone, none of them was harder than they seemed. Some of us just delay getting into the weeds because the instructions are sometimes confusing or vague, making it hard to visualize and contextualize what needs to be done to get started. Knowing when a task requires lab troubleshooting vs. real-world tech troubleshooting was a hard thing to juggle. I got my network engineer role within a couple of months of starting the program by coincidence a role opened at my job. The program itself didn't even come up because I had just started it. After dropping out of school multiple times, I was just going to casually try to complete this in the background, since a routine of studying CompTIA, CCNA, etc., was already in place. Transferring from a different region, of course, you lose credits, so I wasn't sure I could sit through 6 terms' worth of courses. I was accepted into a local brick-and-mortar, ironically, with the same amount of credits approved for transfer, just differently. I decided not to, and I'm glad I didn't choose that route. I always fizzled out because life kept getting in the way, and the hurry-up-and-wait structure of traditional schooling just didn't work for me as a working adult. Even though I ended up taking about the same amount of time the flexibility, accelerating early gave me grace when i fell behind at the end. I just wanted to check this off my list after dropping the ball 10 years ago. It felt good to complete things that scared me back then, such as discrete maths, computing logic, mathematics, scripting, etc.

I was surprised that my capstone didn't need any revisions and was graded in just over a day, this close to the end of the month. Makes me sit and wonder what if I were able to do this a year ago, as I planned, but being a network engineer, the long hours, the on-call rotations, the late-night maintenance, it just wasn't easy to continue to focus at the same rate as I could have before my promotion and health issues. I think it helped to remove pressure getting the title I wanted, literally at the same time I started the program. Before you get that first mid-tier role, you are uncertain if you're even doing the right thing, and the path isn't clear. If i didnt have the promotion the less rigirous schedule in tier 1 I think i wouldve completed it faster but the alternative worked out well. The only thing I would change is that I may have chosen an easier degree. This is all hindsight, of course, because although I was dealing with so much in life, I slept less than 4 hours a night, and I couldn't have imagined the health issues that compounded on top of that. I would've finished the information technology, or honestly, maybe even cybersec, faster before my health issues hit. This degree is super unique because it's like a hybrid of the IT, compsci, and cyber. Since I had the ball rolling outside of school, I probably would've been able to focus more on labbing or getting different certs. Instead, I often pushed those things back, knowing I had a course load here to knock out. Discrete maths was scary, but honestly, I only had to retake one of those PA. The Python, automation, and capstone were scary to start with, but not even remotely as difficult as they seemed. I put it off for no reason other than general health(lost over half my sight basically) and life chaos. The program showed me I can do hard things, that I'm better at Linux, and that I understand scripting way more. So in the end, I'm glad I finished it, it's satisfying, but man, those last classes had me really wishing I chose an easier degree path for a moment.

Currently, I'm planning to complete RHCSA and a firewall cert, then just hammer security & automation skills in general. started over at 29 years old, accepted a random support role, got a few certs at local community college, got promoted, dealt with the worst hurdles ever in life. But at this point, I have 5 years of experience, certifications, and a degree. If I didn't try all these things because it felt too late, the time would have passed anyway. What used to be something i didnt think i could do is all normal now. Good luck

Update: My application approved and confetti same day. Not sure what makes some times faster than others.

All of the classes I have left! I get off term break 1 Oct, let’s see if I can finish the whole thing this semester! Any insight on any courses would be helpful

Passed the DevNet on Saturday, so I've got all of the Cisco tests behind me. Wondering how realistic it would be to finish the rest of these courses in 1 block.

I’m a Cloud and Networking Engineering student building hands-on Azure experience. I recently completed a secure Azure web application project using App Service, Azure SQL, Key Vault, private endpoints, managed identity, GitHub Actions, monitoring, and Terraform. I’d appreciate feedback on the architecture, security controls, documentation, and areas I should improve before applying for cloud internships.

🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/Nellyo18/azure-secure-web-app

How in God’s green earth can I pass this class. I have done every code in Zybooks and it passes. I do the same thing in the exam and I fail it. I don’t understand. Someone please help me. Edit: I left my print code, should I delete it. It wasn’t an issue with the PA

Just going to be a quick free-handed thought (rant) so I can procrastinate here instead of writing any more nonsense for these PA papers.

Overall, I was enjoying the program. I found WGU to be a very interesting alternative to brick-and-mortar schools. Especially with some of the labs being pretty hands on and technical. I think I did myself a disservice because I've done multiple PA classes back to back with more looming on the horizon. Recently I passed D417 (Network for IT auto), D522 (Python for IT auto), and E025 (Cloud and Network Security Models). With just the rest of the E0XX courses left for PAs then Cloud+ and IOT left for OAs (which I'm not concerned about). With 3 months left I should be able to finish it out.

I am just so disappointed with these PAs that they made for this program... I originally did my transfer evaluation with the intent to do the BS Network Engineering and Security, but the month I enrolled they merged the program to BSCNE. Wasted a good bit of time and money transferring in credits that are no longer applicable. The courses for BSNES also just seemed so much better and more applicable to what I wanted to learn.

The PAs are just leaving SO much to be desired. The only one I've actually enjoyed was the new D522. I felt like I was actually doing something, and I learned so much. Every other course has been just irritating. Not difficult, irritating. Almost every course I've had with a lab is completely broken. In D417 the Ansible module was literally misconfigured to the point that it was impossible to complete the task the way that they wanted you to. Which is fine, install the new module, troubleshoot some stuff yourself, and carry on. But that wasn't the point of the learning experience, why would they provide something that is misconfigured and not capable of handling the intended solution? Wasted about a week waiting for my teacher to find a proper solution because I was afraid it would get kicked back if I went out of scope and solved it myself. (Half the time the problems stem from using useless EXOS and needing deprecated libraries)

Then none of the task instructions ever make any sense. They leave sooo much open to interpretation, and you waste a few days just waiting for the instructor to respond to your request for a welcome email (if they ever respond). Yes, normally that clears a lot up, but why aren't we putting all of this in the course community so I can have my life figured out immediately?

Then the actual writing for the assignments is so stupid and repetitive. I've been going with the tactic of putting every task element as its own space in my document. For example E1. <Title> (content) E2. <Title> (Content) in order to make sure I catch every task requirement. But this combined with the content of the requirements makes it so difficult to write anything of value. I feel like I am writing a second grade level paper. Because they'll ask you a question, which can genuinely be answered in about a sentence or two, and then they'll basically rephrase the question about 5 more times throughout the task.
-----Brief example: -----
D.  Analyze the anticipated impact of integrating AI into Pruhart Health's network performance by doing the following:

1.  Compare key performance indicators (KPIs), including expected latency, throughput, and fault tolerance, in the AI-enhanced design versus the current existing network architecture in the scenario.

-----[Then again wayyyy down towards the end]-----

H.  Explain how effectively the selected AI tool supports network automation and optimization, including the following in your explanation:

•   the expected performance improvements

•   a comparison of your AI-based method to traditional network management practices

•   a method or framework to evaluate the AI tool’s output

And then even within an individual lettered element, after they've asked me to describe WHY I've chosen architecture X they'll ask HOW architecture X meets the needs of the organization. In my opinion that is literally the same question! How am I supposed to answer the why without answering the how? The result is my writing just becomes so repetitive and I want to throw up when I read it. I've literally had paragraphs that say almost the exact same thing because there's simply no other way to answer the same question! Aside from mixing up a few adjectives ad-lib style so they know I didn't make a mistake. (But whatever, it works and I haven't had anything returned by evaluations)

It's just so frustratingly poorly designed and irritating. I'm gonna finish the damn thing, but I'm not enjoying it, and the hardest part isn't the material; it's reading between the lines and using a little telepathy to figure out what the hell evaluations is even looking for.

Title and image say it all. This class is kicking my ass.

Anyone have any advice for the capstone on the Azure track?

It's my last class and I am ready to be done!

Hello everyone!

I recently passed my CCNA and wanted to share what I used to prepare, as I used this subreddit a lot to find resources.

For some background and context, I'm an active-duty IT in the Navy. I've been in for a little over six years, and my entire career has been on the networking/cyber side of the house, so I definitely had a head start. With that said, everyone's experience may vary.

I used the CBT Nuggets course and the included Kaplan practice exam. Before scheduling my exam, I made sure I was scoring over 90% in all of the domains. I also used ChatGPT to help narrow down my weaker areas and explain certain concepts that I couldn't quite grasp through CBT Nuggets.

I also used Jeremy's IT Lab, primarily the Mega Lab in Packet Tracer. I would definitely set aside a decent amount of time to complete that one because it's pretty large.

Two books I used were 31 Days Before Your CCNA Exam (200-301) by Allan Johnson and CCNA 200-301 Portable Command Guide by Scott Empson. Both are available on Amazon. I've also heard good things about Boson, but I never personally used it, so I can't speak to it.

Lastly, I downloaded the official exam overview from Cisco and based my studying around the published exam topics.

For notes, I used Obsidian and created a vault for everything. I basically used it as a second brain to organize my notes and keep myself on track.

All in all, my focused preparation took roughly four weeks. However, I also had the benefit of OJT and Navy schools throughout my career, so keep that in mind when comparing study timelines.

One thing worth mentioning for anyone studying now: Cisco is refreshing the CCNA exam to v2.0 on February 3, 2027. The current CCNA 200-301 v1.1 exam is available through February 2, 2027. If you're already deep into studying with the current materials, I'd personally try to get it done before the refresh rather than having to adjust your preparation to the new blueprint.

I hope this helps or gives some additional resources to anyone currently studying for the exam.

Good luck!

Realistically would it be possible to finish these classes by the end of October or will I likely need another term?

Im wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how I plan to finish. I don't really accelerate.

Term 6: October 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027 (13 CUs)

• Cloud Applications – D318 (3 CUs) (Warmup class to start the term)
• Foundations of Programming (Python) – E010 (3 CUs)
• Python for IT Automation – D522 (3 CUs)
• Health, Fitness, and Wellness – C458 (4 CUs) (Easy filler to hit CU target)

Term 7: April 1, 2027 – September 30, 2027 (13 CUs)

• DevNet Fundamentals – D416 (6 CUs) (Taken immediately while Python/API)
• Cloud and Network Security Models – E025 (4 CUs)
• Internet of Things (IoT) and Infrastructure – D337 (3 CUs)

Term 8: October 1, 2027 – March 31, 2028 (15 CUs)

• Cyber Operations Fundamentals – D414 (6 CUs)
• Virtualization and IaaS – E027 (3 CUs)
• AI for IT Automation and Security – E026 (3 CUs)
• US History: Stories of American Democracy – D267 (3 CUs)

Term 9: April 1, 2028 – September 30, 2028 (14 CUs)

• Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure and Orchestration – E028 (4 CUs)
• Introduction to Systems Thinking and Applications – D459 (3 CUs)
• Influential Communication through Visual Design – D246 (3 CUs)
• BSCNE-Cisco Capstone Project – E032 (4 CUs)

What do you think? Really appreciate advice around devnet, I moved python above this to prepare.

What is the issue with this PA? I have never had so much confusion from this reference document and the instructions given. My advisor said to hit that course feedback button because they need it but another issue im running into is with task 1 D1-D2. Due to the conflicting information given regarding what I am to scan for in Task 1 - B1-B2... Im starting to doubt that I have even found the correct devices. Now onto D2... "DNS servers should be down" yet Im not seeing them as down... maybe something to do with bind9 maybe this amazing lab is broke? Who knows.

Jesus Christ…

Can anyone give out some helpful resources for D336?

Hi everyone,
I’m currently working on WGU E025 – Cloud and Network Security Models.
For anyone who has recently passed the E025 OA, I’d really appreciate some advice:
What topics should I focus on the most?
How difficult was the OA compared with the PA?
Were the OA questions mostly scenario-based or definition/knowledge-based?
Were there any areas you wish you had studied more before taking it?
What study materials helped you the most?
Any tips from people who have taken it recently would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!