How valuable is the VCP on the market?

[starwars988]

What is the average pay for the VCP? How hot is the VMWARE market? Is it worth the money to become VMWARE partner?

[admin]

In Palo Alto, indeed.com says it's worth $93K.

http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=VMwareCertifiedProfessional&l1=paloalto%2Cca

Your mileage may vary.

[esiebert7625]

Geez, $62,000 in Denver. I'm moving to Palo Alto. Although I probably could not afford a house there on 93K....

[MattG]

VCP status was an important factor when we hired a VMWare Admin 4 months ago.

-MattG

[TomHowarth]

please tell me that's not true, £31000 for a VCP!!! I thought that the USA was the land of opportunity

[Chris_S_UK]

I've seen jobs advertised in the South East of England quoting VCP, MCSE, SAN and often CCA too and offering less than that even! Mad.

Chris

[sbeaver]

I get a kick out the adds I see for a company looking for a MCSE, VCP, CCNA and a masters degree in computer science for 40-50K. Clueless

[esiebert7625]

It is for DBA's and Java developers

[Jasemccarty]

They are pretty funny.

I may not have any MS Certs... (too lazy)... but I turned down a job about 3 years ago, because they offered me $32k. Forget that I have 4 degrees (including a Master's), and been in the industry for many years. And the fact that I've been running *nix longer than Windows, and so on...

The indeed.com link shows that a VCP in Baton Rouge should make $81,000. Not too bad... But there aren't that many IT jobs here, and I'm sure that there are even fewer that require a VCP. http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=VMwareCertifiedProfessional&l1=baton+rouge

[admin]

I'd take the indeed.com numbers with a big shaker of salt. I'm sorry I derailed the thread, but it is a fun toy.

I'd be interested in the actual question of the OP here: for those with VCPs, why did you get the cert? Did you get your current job because of it? How much does a VCP influence your company when it's hiring VMware admins?

[Ken_Cline]

Same here...we hired (are hiring) several consultants and VCP was a requirement[/i] - and yes, I know that the lack of the cert doesn't mean you don't know what you're doing, but it does give the recruiter a way to reduce the number of resumes you have to look at

[chandlm]

I did mine for leverage at the job I was at. I was also looking for a new position and there were a couple VMware specific positions. I figured it would help but many of the people hiring did not even know what the VCP was. That was about a year ago or so...

[Paul_B1]

I got mine while here at my current employer. It hasn't boosted my salary or anything, although I'm the only 1 of 4 people on my team with it. We're a pretty heavy ESX environment. It might help get a job if I ever go looking as I know most the larger environments around here are using it.

I do know of several consulting places around that put a pretty heavy weight on having it. But they're all heavy into the VMware consulting so it makes sense.

[TomHowarth]

that may be true, but you certainly miss a lot of diamonds.

Not a VCP (yet, but about to pay the VMware tax to sit a course to take the exam)

[Ken_Cline]

that may be true, but you certainly miss a lot of diamonds.

Agreed...but I don't have the time to do the mining to get through all the cruft to find the diamonds. It's hard enough to go through the mountain of resumes that make it through the first cut when there's a fairly restrictive filter (VCP only).

Historically, I've not been a fan of certifications (never bothered with the MCSE myself...) - but now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I'm able to see the value of being able to "check the box".

While the VCP certification doesn't guarantee anything - it does at least show that there's been some level of effort expended, and (hopefully) some commensurate level of expertise. I have to admit that I've interviewed some certified people who I would NEVER let work on a project with me...but I've also managed to find some very good folks as well.

[esiebert7625]

Brings me back to this thread...

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=581505&#581505

I'm not into certifications either, I think for VMware to require you to take a class just to become certified is ridiculous. If I have the knowledge and skills to pass a certification test then why should I have to take a class to become certified. I think it has more to do with money then any technical reason to take a class as a requirement for taking the certification test. Training classes are most likely a cash cow for VMware. If they remove this requirement in the future I might be tempted to take the test.

[chandlm]

I agree...in some cases it's a way to get your foot in the door. I know at a previous job we had an MCSE requirementfor new hires, even though all 6 people on the team at that time did not have the certification themselves! Also in some environments it is the only way to advance at all which is unfortunate. I've done a few certifications for that reason alone.

I've certainly never tried to tell anyone that a certification has made me any better with the product...although there seems to be some people that still think that is the case.

[jcayer]

I've got to add, it only helps when looking for a job. I have my MCSE, VCP, and CCA. Do they mean anything to me...not really, I read some books and worked with the products. Does it mean a lot to HR? Yes. To a hiring manager? Some.

When I send in a resume, first thing they see is MCSE, VCP, and CCA. Then they look at my job experience and know I earned those. It has been a make or break on several jobs I applied for(certification x required).

If your company is willing to pay for the tests, great. The study materials, better. Classes, the best. But ultimately it is up to you to spend the time on it.

Josh

[siglert]

I have to say, DON"T sell yourself short! I'm over 175K a year. I have two other guys(non VCP that I still book out and pay them 120K - 135K. The money is there and it's a hot commodity. Tailor your resume strictly for VMWare. MCSE are a dime a dozen (no one cares anymore).

[Paul_B1]

Uhm.. hmm.. where exactly are you located :).... hahaha