What do you mean kinda?

Well, I take online classes at an online college called Western Governors University. They do something unique compared to other schools where classes are competency based. So, if you have some experience in your field of study you can quickly and easily pass the exam for the class in a few weeks, heck maybe even days.

What that means for me is that I finished my three classes for the semester in 10 weeks and still have 12 weeks remaining in the semester. But luckily that time (and more importantly money) does not go wasted! I am able to accelerate and take other courses, while paying the same amount. My goal is to take two more classes before my time for this semester is up!

I have my wedding coming this December though, so I anticipate one of those weeks being pretty unproductive - well worth it though!

Classes I have taken so far:

Software I

This has been my absolute favorite class so far, even though it drove me a little crazy... I had to create a basic inventory system using Java and JavaFX for the GUI. It was a great learning experience as it simulated a real world project that I had to troubleshoot and learn how to use a new resource (JavaFX).

There were times I often wanted to give up, but I know that can be how it goes when you are working with new frameworks and concepts - and especially in real world projects. Yet, I continued on and eventually finished my project and submitted it for grading. Two days later I found out I passed with flying colors! I practically leapt for joy knowing all the hard work I put in was validated by my professor.

I grew a ton in this project especially learning how to read documentation and implement it into my code. Another thing I grew in was reading my code effectively and finding where small errors in code can actually create a big bug that I have to resolve later.

Last but definitely not least, I learned that it is important to rest and come back to problems at a later time. I did not do this at first and would be working non-stop for 3 to 4 hours at a time wondering why my code was not working. Almost every time I stopped and came back to the problem, I was able to figure out what was broke and fix it quickly!

Feel free to check out this project on my GitHub profile! Screenshots are included so you can get a feel for how my program works.

Fundamentals of Information Security

This was one of those classes that I finished in a few days as I already had experience with it from my first degree at Iowa State. It was a great refresher though on how important Security is in this day and age!

Data Management (Applications)

This class worked primarily with SQL and some of the building blocks for what a database is and why it is important to have referential integrity. Database design is a complex topic and is something I definitely am wanting to grow my skills in.

Data is incredibly important as companies want to know how to effectively use the data they collect from customers to create a great product.

All in all it was a great first ten weeks and I am excited to be starting my next class, Software Quality Assurance!

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