Foundation Exam!?!

[frostyk]

When did the VCP start requiring two exams for new people?  I only had to do one exam back in the day and my coworker just looked and they are requiring a 2V0-620 foundations exam in addition to the 2V0-621 exam?  When did this ripping off of your customer base start?  I feel sorry for him having to jump through yet another hoop to get the VCP.

Certs, what a freaking racket.

[lilesj]

The two exam VCP began in 2015 with the release of the v6 certifications. In the data center virtualization track it serves to break up the content and avoid having one massive long exam that tries to cover everything. On the other tracks, it ensures that VCPs have a core foundation in vSphere even though they may specialize in Cloud Management or Network Virtualization.

[frostyk · Accepted solution]

I call BS.  The 550 exam was not massively long or even hard.  This is just a revenue stream.  You're just forcing people to take two exams and memorize two sets of useless information that has no practical value.  This is just padding pockets and reinforcing the brain dumping behavior that is prevalent in cert collectors.  Any verbiage stating that this is to help the test taker and increase the value of the cert is simply marketing swill.

As a hiring manager I never even look at someone's certs.  The questions on the exams have little to do with what you need to know in reality, and most people just brain dump them.  Breaking VCP into two exams just makes it more annoying to get.  It certainly doesn't increase its value.  The only cert of any actual value is the VCAP since it is a practical lab and not multiple regurgitation. 

Ok rant off, continue supporting the horrid racket that is the cert industry.

[scott28tt]

There are 4 types of VCP these days:

DCV = Data Center Virtualization (vSphere & vSAN on vSphere)

CMA = Cloud Management & Automation (vRealize on vSphere)

DTM = Desktop & Mobility (Horizon on vSphere)

NV = Network Virtualization (NSX on vSphere)

What do they all have in common?

Regardless of which VCP you're doing, you pass vSphere Foundations plus the exam specific to that VCP.

No matter how many VCPs you want to get, you pass vSphere Foundations once - it's the same exam regardless of the VCP exam(s) you pair it with.

Makes more sense than having to answer the same vSphere questions over and over again for different VCPs - because no matter which VCP someone wants, they need to know at least the foundations of vSphere (see what I did there?)