Looking into ESX / VCP Certification. Need professional advice....

[chillyhead]

I am considering paying the VCP class cost myself to get the VCP certification. I have been working with ESX 3 in a home lab for a few weeks now and I am sold on the technology. I see numerous jobs in my area from companies looking for VCP status. My question really is if I take the plunge and spend the $$ to take the class and pass the test, what are my chances of getting in entry level into these jobs. I have an extensive Sysadmin background and I am also Citrix certified. I certainly wont mind paying $2-3k for the class if I know that it could very possibly get me into a great fulltime or contract job dealing with ESX3. Anyone else in my shoes as well on this issue? Can anyone tell me the reality on what companies want these days for potential candidates and what to expect for pay if they do hire me? Thanks guys!

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RDPetruska

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[dominic7]

Like most certifications, the paper without the job experience is almost worthless. It would probably be more worth your time to find a job that had a lot of servers and introduce the technology as a cost cutting measure. Once implemented the company would probably be more than willing to pay for your training.

Compensation for an ESX Admin depends on many factors such as region, experience, contract or full-time etc. Most jobs look for more than just ESX admin experience as you deal with a number of other operating systems so complimentary certifications and experience ( RHCE, MCSE, CISCO etc ) also play a role.

[Rumple]

If you already have sysadmin experience then you were in the same boat I was.

I was trying to get into a consulting firm for a while but mainly had sysadmin experience (you are already ahead of me with the citrix experience)

I put myself through the class and within a month I was working for the firm doing sysamin, but 2 years later the client I am at has 50 GHz of processing power and 48GB RAM in their esx farm and an entire DR site thats virtualized which prior to my arrival they had not even considered due to limited internal virtualization knowledge.

In the end, its not exclusively vmware you will do, but having the vmware allows you to work the scale up, not out model which will interest employers.

Overall I've probably seen a 50% increase in my salary due to having the VCP combined with the sysadmin experience I already had over what I think I would have been at without the VCP.

[chillyhead]

Yes, it seems like the potential work would quickly pay for the class and time involved. Really it's just being out the money for a few months or so until the new job I secure pays it back through salary. Seems like a solid investment. I do have the money, just wanted to confirm this kind of decision from people in the business. The biggest risk is just convincing a company to hire me with the cert only and my other skills as well. I am also an MCSE and have worked with every OS out there since NetWare.

[jcayer]

I can tell you I sold my old company on sending me to training since we were beginning to look into ESX. I got the training, got certified, and went looking for a new job since I wasn't really happy. The place I ended up was just getting started with ESX, so it worked out well. You can't go wrong...as we discussed in the update class, this is the next big thing for the next 8-10 years.

[IB_IT]

Overall I've probably seen a 50% increase in my

salary due to having the VCP combined with the

sysadmin experience I already had over what I think I

would have been at without the VCP.

I wouldn't think those results are typical, although we can all hope and dream. Every individual is at a different point...on your payscale range, experience you have, and other factors. I think it all depends on your employer and you combined. I know I haven't seen any extra bennies since I got certified, but maybe I'm just in the minority. Got any job openings? j/k

[Rumple]

Typically they are not, but I managed to jump a significant amount even though I was your average Windows SysAdmin with 8 years midsize company experience.

[gotwings]

The VCP certification is well worth the price of the certification class.

Things to consider:

-is the technology viable (Yes vmware is growing by leaps and bounds)

-is the salaries desirable (Yes VCP's are making good bank!)

-Are you experienced with ESX? (if you don't have good hands on experience plan on getting a lower level job to get some)

-learn p2v's I use platespin personally and have migrated over 300 machines!

As with most folks the SAN portion and Linux portions are somewhat foreign to an MCSE, like myself but i LOVE learning new stuff, especially the linux. Get the cert you wont regret it!