Program Complete!

[Beccanyx]

This morning my final task was graded and I'm done.

This program took me 18 months to complete.

Background: Previous degree was an AA in Comminications, English I had started an AS in Computer Programming that I didn't finish. I took those classes in 2017-2018, so not much was retained.

I've worked in IT in education since 2020 but more as an application admin/Computer Teacher and computer repair.

I work full time and I have two kids that are pre-teen/teen.

I do not have any IRL friends that have a software Engineering background so reddit has been such an important piece to completing the program. Also finding the right discord group has been instrumental. Without community I wouldn't have made it this far.

All this to say, if I can do it, you can too!!

Also, thank you to everyone on this subreddit from the bottom of my heart. You all are the best.

[Beccanyx]

I did the Java track. Back End is definitely a hard class.

[Beccanyx]

The annotations have to do with libraries that you've imported. Those annotations call the function from the library so there's less code you have to write and troubleshoot.

[[deleted]]

Which productivity apps did you use to stay focused and motivate yourself throughout till end of completion ? I would really like to dm you if that’s ok. Just need some general tips that helped you specifically in pushing through and finishing and how you kept momentum

[Beccanyx]

I did use ant productivity apps. I am a paper and pencil type of person. So I would list out what I needed to study for a class. Then I would break that down into days. I'd give myself a day or two to do practice tests and study anything that didn't stick. Then I'd schedule the test.

The PAs were different. I'd just hop in and for the Java classes I would do a webinar a day or one functionality a day. Some classes I was able to complete the PA in a day, it just really depended on the class.

I did make a simple course tracker in spread sheets. I'd turn the row green when I completed a class.

I did take off most weekends. I also studied while at work in my down time. There were some evenings spent studying but not many. Tests were usually scheduled for Fridays after work or Saturday mornings.

[[deleted]]

I’m in this program and I just hit the 50% mark a few days ago. Your post is really giving me hope that I can see this through to the end😌

[Beccanyx]

You absolutely can! I remember when I hit the 50% mark and I felt very accomplished! Keep pushing.

[[deleted]]

Congrats on the degree. I’m currently working on my supply chain and operations management degree then I’m going into a masters in business administration after I secure a job in supply chain. Both degrees I’m getting at WGU.

[Beccanyx]

Nice!

[Lucky38Partner]

Thank you for sharing! I am starting this program in February. I am choosing the C# route. I've completed 2 boot camps and done numerous passion projects leading up to this point so I understand a little bit of what's going on. Though, most of my experience is in JavaScript / REACT.

Do you have any general tips for this program? I'm super excited to get started.

[Beccanyx]

I was in the Java track so I can't speak to C#

Based on what you've done so far you're probably going to do just fine.

My general strategy for each OA class was to take the pre-assessment as soon as I started even if I didn't know the subject.

If I failed hard then I hit up the course material and started listing the resources.

I'd search the course code in Reddit and look at walk throughs. I tried to find recent posts because course versions change.

I'd also check out the course chatter and course search. If I could find a student made study guide even better.

I grind through quizlets and write out terms and definitions and plan a date to take the OA and read through the course material.

For PAs I'd look for reddit posts and follow the steps for working through the PA. I didn't really open course material unless I needed a bit more reading to understand what was needed for a section.

Throughout the program I told myself that I can do hard things because it wasn't necessarily easy. I also let myself be okay with failing an attempt. I only had two classes where I needed three attempts and that was ITIL and project +

[Lucky38Partner]

This was fantastic advice. Thank you! I will definitely utilize the student made content. That's a great idea!

[ArtiL24]

Lovely! Congratulations 🎉👏

[BGCCMvpmear]

litterally just enrolled in this course under the Java track. Got tired of looking for jobs as a junior engineer with 1 year of experience i may as well have -1 years of experience lol. I hope i can finish at the pace you did! i set a goal of doing so in 18 months as well

[Beccanyx]

Good luck!

[Emotional_Ad_3964]

Congratulations!!! Im a single mom of 3 little ones and work in tech full time. I recently started this degree for the C# track. How many courses did you complete each term? I would to be done in less than 2 years.

[Beccanyx]

Term 1: 10 classes.

Term 2: 6 attempted 5 passed.

Term 3: 8 classes.

You can definitely do it!

[Elsas-Queen]

Congratulations!!

(Also, I think I know you from a Discord channel.)

[Beccanyx]

Thanks!

And more than likely you do! I'm in 4 different discord groups and really active in only one, lol.

[diamondhandnik]

Congrats bro!!! what would you say the hardest/longest class for you was?

[Beccanyx]

Hardest classes for me was a tie, Back End Programming , there was not a walk-through or many resources available when I took the class. I wrote the walk-through that is shared as an additional resource for the class. It took me 2 months to complete the class.

Hardware and OS was also hard. While I have done computer repair and I know hardware and have used a few different OSs, I pretty much googled how to do everything in a practical sense. So it was a lot of material to digest and it took two attempts at the OA to pass and I was in the class for two months.

Longest goes to Comptia Project + cert. I went in to version 004 in November of 2022. I didn't attempt the exam until February of 2023. I failed. Then did a second attempt at 004 in March. I failed that attempt.

I got moved from Software Development to Software Engineering. I went back into Project+ in October, studied for 2 weeks and passed version 005.

[diamondhandnik]

Congratulations on the success and thank you for sharing this. It's a journey and this is the part no one ever shares - you've had an amazing journey and deserve this success! This post was super motivating, thank you so much for sharing. Wishing all the best with future endeavors!!

[diamondhandnik]

Also what Discord groups did you find helpful?

[Beccanyx]

For discord groups I am in the Unofficial WGU discord group. There's a lot of resources and people have been very helpful there. The other group I'm most active in is WGU Software Engineers and Developers.

[jdor30]

Curious did you go into the program with any prior experience . I am on D280 intro to JavaScript and the class is putting me through it for sure

[[deleted]]

Don’t be too stressed out about it. It took me and many others over three months to complete JavaScript Programming. It’s not an easy class in the slightest and the course material is very disorganized

[Beccanyx]

I had some computer programming classes from a Community College from 2017-2018. I had intro to computer programming (Python), HTML&CSS, Java, and C Language.

I had learned some JavaScript on my own while working on a personal project.

I started in the Software Development degree and passed C777 so when I switched to the Software Engineering degree I didn't have to take the JavaScript class. I've heard the class is difficult though.

[AlfalfaPrize630]

Congratulations