VMware Edu & Cert Community
nicksummy
Contributor
Contributor

Am I the only one perplexed/frustrated by lack of concise re-certification information?

It seems like the only true source for information on keeping your certification current is to read the blogs, and sadly most of the links on the cert site just redirect to a blog post.  I have a VCP5 that was set to expire last year.  When I read that expirations would be a thing of the past, I thought great!  Instead of taking the 6.7 exam by mid-march, I just had to take it before a new version of vsphere came out!  The blog stated that as long as you weren't more than 3 "versions" behind you could re-certify.  Imagine my surprise when I go to register for 2V0-21.19D and now see that the 2019 cert is no longer available and to upgrade to the 2020 version you would have to have a VCP6 or higher.  So even though the exam has not changed, nor has the version number of vsphere, the requirements literally changed overnight.

To illustrate the ridiculousness of this situation, lets look at the upgrade path for a VCP-DCV 5

2019:

DCV 6.5 Exam (2V0-622) or Delta Exam (2V0-622D)  Both of these were an option until August 2019!
OR
DVC 6.7 Exam (2V0-21.19) or Delta Exam (2V0-21.19D)

2020:

Take a week long $4700 rudimentary course

Take  6.7 Foundations Exam (2V0-01.19) - $125

Then take DVC 6.7 Exam (2V0-21.19)

So to clarify, in December of 2019 I only needed to pass 2V0-21.19.  In February of 2020 I now have to pay thousands of dollars, and still take the same exact test!  It truly defies reason and I really stretches meaning of the word "version."  Clearly when they refer to 3 versions behind, they don't mean software versions, nor do they mean test versions, they instead mean years?!  At the end of the day, the vmware certificates still expire.  If you took the test in 2019, you would still need to take another in 2022, despite the version of the avilable software.

2 Replies
stevenbright
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I was frustrated like you to see that with the new year, VMware now has a new "version" of VCP even though it's still based on the exact same exam. Also like you, my VCP5 no longer is good enough to re-certify using just an exam (kicking myself to for not getting around to taking the exam before the end of the year). It is beyond frustrating to see that there will technically be a new VCP "version" every year even if there isn't a new major product release or new exam. I'm really not quite sure what value a VCP 2020 has over a VCP 2019 if the requirement to obtain both certifications is 100% the same.

In regards to clearer information, the VMware Education team did just post this blog article the other day which is much clearer on the new policy: Certification Upgrade Policy Update - VMware Education Services

nicksummy
Contributor
Contributor

Ironically another blog post :smileylaugh: Also kicking myself for not doing this last year.  They truly need to clarify why they mean by version.  The year you get certified is not a "version"  If someone took the 6.5 test in 2019 they were not tested on the same material as someone who took the 6.7, yet they have the same exact cert.  On top of that the 6.7 test is all based on 6.7 U1, which came out in 2018.  Its not even like they are making an effort to update the tests along with the version updates.