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Cbaur88
Contributor
Contributor

Becoming a VCP

Hi folks I am a bit of a noob with VMWare, although I do have some experience in working with ESXi for our DR site. I've been pretty stagnent with certifications for the past few years and wanted to enhnace and better myself for that better job were always looking for and is out there waiting for us and our families.

Wanted to get some clarity on the requirments for becoming a VCP. Obviously you need to pass the test, however I am also reading you need to take a qualifying VMware authorized course? Is this true? I simply cannot take the test and pass and become a VCP? The costs with taking a qualifying VMware authorized course are staggering:smileyshocked:. Are there no other alternative to this then to spending thousands of dollars to become VMWare certified:smileycry:? Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Sincerely,

Chuck Smiley Happy

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MindTheGreg
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Yes you need to take a class.

This tells you the basic roadmap and what classes are accepted:

http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=12457&ui=www

Make sure you take the class from an authorized source otherwise it does not count.

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Cbaur88
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks Greg, now I know why VCP's are in such high demand. Take care!

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MindTheGreg
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I wrote a blog post a while back about the crazy cost: http://gregcarriger.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/save-money-on-the-vcp-class/

In short you can:

1. Get a VMUG advantage subscription for a 20% discount

2. Get a 30% hotseat discount by checking the VMware Education Services Special Offers page.

3. There is a promo currently going on that you receive a 50% off voucher when you sign up for a class, so if you know someone taking a class you can use their code.

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Cbaur88
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks again, much much appreciated!! Maybe I can get work to swing it with a little discounted help, we'll see.

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MindTheGreg
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Also check community college listings in your area. There was an autorized class being taught at Milwaukee Area Technical College for under $500 if I remember correctly. I also nearly signed up for an EMC Amercias online class which was around $1000, but I'm pretty sure it was in Spanish. I finally ended up convincing my employer to pay for the class by showing my manager a business use case for the training and showing him that what I would learn would be relevant for around 4 years and applicible to both vSphere 4 and vSphere 5.

Good luck. I know how you feel buddy. Smiley Happy

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MindTheGreg
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

http://www.vcommunitytrust.org/

^ If you have nowhere else to turn.

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Every VCP in the world has participated in an official training course. The cost is relative to the costs involved in delivering the training, which are significant. If you choose to get certified, either yourself or your employer will be making an investment in you in terms of the training and certification. VCPs are guaranteed to have had at least some hands-on as part of their training, and assuming you are trained by a VCI that trainer will have met some very stringent requirements as set by VMware.


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sneddo
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Also worth noting that it can be cheaper to do the course on VMware credits, especially if you aren't American. This limits the number of centres you can do the training, but can be significant savings

e.g. I did the Install, Configure, Manage course for 27 credits @ USD$100 - equivalent to around AUD$2600 (at the time). To pay for the course directly in AUD it was AUD$4000+

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Cbaur88
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback Smiley Happy. From a noob perspective with little experience with Esxi what would be the recommened path to choose Vsphere 4 or start with a clean slate and jump into Vsphere 5. Thanks again!

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scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

I think most would suggest that if you're just starting on your journey towards the training and certification, you'd be better off following the vSphere 5 path.


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Although I am a VMware employee I contribute to VMware Communities voluntarily (ie. not in any official capacity)
VMware Training & Certification blog
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sneddo
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

It's a tough question: On the one hand I know a lot of people I've  spoken to have no plans to move to vSphere 5 due to the initial  licensing concerns (which have been largely addressed). On the other,  you might as well get the latest and greatest cert.

I'd almost go the VCP4 route if you can do it ASAP. Then sit the VCP5 exam before the end of February. But if you are really new to vSphere, take the course on version 5 and get some real world experience with it before taking the exam, it really helps.

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AndreTheGiant
Immortal
Immortal

Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback Smiley Happy. From a noob perspective with little experience with Esxi what would be the recommened path to choose Vsphere 4 or start with a clean slate and jump into Vsphere 5. Thanks again!

If you have to take also the course, then I suggest to start with vSphere 5.

Otherwise you have too few time to make the course, study, take the exam (note that actually we don't know the official date when VCP4 exam will be retired but could be "close").

Andre

Andrew | http://about.me/amauro | http://vinfrastructure.it/ | @Andrea_Mauro
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