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TCG2
Contributor
Contributor

VCP 6.5 Expiring soon - Looking for options

I am a current VCP6 holder and am rapidly approaching the expiration date on my certification. I originally obtained the VCP from the 6.5 beta exam taken in January 2017. The current exam is 2V0-622 which is the same test number that I took to recertify in 2017. Do I need to retake the same test in order to renew my certification?

This seems like a waste of time and money to recertify on the same exam and vSphere version...

11 Replies
scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

You have to achieve a new certification in order to recertify - new in terms of solution area (ie. NV, DTM, DW, CMA), in terms of version (ie. if there was a new VCP in DCV available), or in terms of level (ie. a VCAP).

See here: Recertification Policy


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julezatmortonbu
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Another test should have been made available by now...or there should be some sort of extension where it's 3 years or up to 1 year after the current test expires.
Retaking the same test to keep a certification is either: A. Idiotic, B. A scam.

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julezatmortonbu
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

scott28tt​ I think the point here is that TCG2​ already has a 6.5, and there's currently no way to recertify that specific cert. For example if I have my 6.5-DCV and it's expiring, there is no 6.7-DCV equivalent for me to move forward with. This bothers me when the existing cert is still valid and MINE specifically is being expired, even though I took the SAME test as someone who took it today. That's a problem.

TCG2
Contributor
Contributor

I am currently a VCAP5-DCA and I'm not sure I see the value in getting a certification in a different solution area. I am mostly trying to avoid the cost of taking a new course( $4.5k+ )if my current VCP expires.

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

As cost is your main driver, it will be cheaper to recertify now via any of the 3 paths defined in the policy than to have to take another class later.


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Although I am a VMware employee I contribute to VMware Communities voluntarily (ie. not in any official capacity)
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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

This does seem like a nasty side effect of the onerous recertification policy that VMware has enacted. When there is no later version of a certification exam available for a given track and the candidate has already taken that exam, the candidate shouldn't be forced outside that track in order to maintain the disposition of the certification. The right thing to do for those impacted candidates is to extend their expiration date until a new version of the exam is published (plus grace period). If anything, it shows how terribly lacking VMware Education is at ensuring exams are published and made available to candidates within a timely manner. For example, vSphere 6.7 was released on 17 April 2018, approximately 8.5 months ago, and there is still no VCP-DCV cert to match. Even perhaps worse, the VCAP-DCV Deploy exam only very recently became available for the vSphere 6.5 release after more than a year (and being lapped by an entire version) without.

julezatmortonbu
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

So going back to my original post. It's B. Scam for additional $.
'Here spend time and money to pick up an unrelated, unneeded certification, so yours doesn't expire.'
I think VMware really needs to reevaluate it's expiration schedules or provide exceptions to the policy. I could take the exact same exam again, and then have the exact same cert for another 3 years. The only thing I would have done is paid more money to VMware. I didn't learn anything new relatable to the -DCV.

I understand you don't make the policy scott28tt​ but you absolutely have to see how asinine all of this sounds.

daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

I could take the exact same exam again, and then have the exact same cert for another 3 years.

I don't even think that's an option (could be mistaken). Once you've passed a given exam, you can't retake that same exam code.

TCG2
Contributor
Contributor

So shortly after my original post I saw this:

It’s January…time for the new 2019 VCP certifications! - VMware Education Services

I also noticed a new exam listed in Pearson (2V0-22.19) but cannot schedule it until 1-7-19.

The blog post also says "If you meet all the requirements in 2019 (starting on January 16), you’ll earn the 2019 certification." So I feel even more confused and disappointed in the process now since my certification expires 2 weeks from tomorrow. I'm not sure If I will be able to schedule the new exam and study for the new material before my certification expires. I don't feel like it benefits me or my employer who is paying for the exam for me to certify in a new product. There is also the possibility of taking the Delta exam which technically has a different exam code but this still seems like a racket to me...

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Iain_Worsfold
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hi,

As suggested you can renew your VCP status by taking and passing a different VCP exam on a different track such as NSX, Desktop, Cloud, or you can take and pass a VCAP-DCA or VCAP-DCD level exam.

In addition, the exam you took was the full VCP exam. If you do not want to take any of the options above, then the alternative would be to take the VCP delta exam which is a different exam number. In your example, you would need to take the 2V0-622D exam instead.

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weeboo
Contributor
Contributor

Hmmm, I just recertified because I got multiple emails for the past 3 months stating my VCP6 cert was expiring.  A few days after passing my test and receiving congrats from VMware, I got an email with the following link.

https://campaign.vmware.com/imgs/edu/VMware_Recertification_Rollback_FAQ.pdf?mid=24574&eid=CVMW20000...

Be sure to read the FAQ! You may still be certified!

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