So after Stanly what?

How many of you actually took the test after the Stanley class. How much additional study did you do?

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I took mine a month after the class at UCSC (identical to Stanly's). I put in a lot of effort after the class, I was told the exam was going to be harder.

rob3bb

after taking Stanly Course I re-read the course book studied for about 6 weeks and passed exam

joelsfood

The class gives you a basis, but won't teach you everything. Take the course, setup a home lab (use autolab if you like) and work through Scott Lowe's book. Then hop out to your local Vue and take the test.

The VCP vBrownbags at professionalvmware.com are very useful too.

Xavor

Took the test a few months after the class. The course does not prepare you well enough for the exam in my opinion. You need to be comfortable with all the items on the blueprint and more.

tstrip007

A week after, failed, rescheduled for the very next week. Studied documentation alongside the blueprint for week and passed the 2nd attempt.

Verities

I studied for about 3 weeks after the test then took it, but I've been using VMware vSphere for 3 years. The class gives you the bare bones details and in no way will help you pass the class.

brownwrap

Verities wrote: »

I studied for about 3 weeks after the test then took it, but I've been using VMware vSphere for 3 years. The class gives you the bare bones details and in no way will help you pass the class.

That is what I was thinking. I took the class a year ago, and am finally dedicating some time to learn it, though I also need to learn SELinux, Netapps, and EMC, but I was told to start using SELinux next week on my workstation.

catak

Can you elaborate on what is the "Blueprint"? Also, can you list your study references after you took the class? What sort of documentation does Stanley provide to show proof that you've attended a certified training institute? Because this is required in order to take the exam, correct? Thanks.

GreaterNinja

The blueprint is a PDF outline file of the topics on a VMware exam.

The VCP550PSE and VCP510PSE vouchers from kivuto or dreamspark/onthehub.com do not require a course.

I've confirmed this with other users on reddit, the fine print on the PSE-onthehub-VMware voucher checkout, VMware customer service rep, VMware Academic manager and testing it myself. Its funny how many people told me you have to take a course...even people that work at VMware were not entirely correct.

Basically, Stanly does not put course credit on your VMware mylearn account. PSE exams assume you used a LMS or self-study. This is along the lines of what the Academic manager at VMware told me. When you take the PSE exam and pass it, they update your transcript as passed and then a few hours later they update it with VCP5-DCV certification.

Now with it all said, for $185 the stanly course was invaluable due to the labs, documents, quizzes and lectures. I also found the VCA-DCV program well aligned with the VCP-DCV and its exam objectives. It made VCP-DCV very easy to learn and that free course + exam took literally 5 hours.

Verities

catak wrote: »

Can you elaborate on what is the "Blueprint"? Also, can you list your study references after you took the class? What sort of documentation does Stanley provide to show proof that you've attended a certified training institute? Because this is required in order to take the exam, correct? Thanks.

You can take the test at any time, but you have to request authorization from VMware to take it first. However, you cannot receive the VCP5-DCV certification until you pass both the course and the exam. The school/institution that you attend the class with will submit a roster of people who completed the course to VMware and it usually takes about 3 weeks for them to update your status on MyLearn. I had to call multiple times to get them to correct my course status as I had taken the exam and passed it after I took the class, but they didn't update my MyLearn page so I didn't actually receive the certification until they proved I had completed the class as well.

IMHO the course is just another cash cow for VMware and completely useless. In the future, they'll probably remove the requirement to take the class prior to the exam.

joelsfood

The PSE version of the test may not require the course as the standard version, but the Stanly course DOES put course credit on your mylearn account. That's why setting up your mylearn account is the first thing you do at the beginning of the course.

VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.5]
13-Mar-2015
40.00
----

URL="https://mylearn.vmware.com/?id_course=256144&id=16106296&ui=www_edu&rGUID=0aa14469-9025-420f-8f96-67e0fd099ef5&mL_method=certificate"]Certificate[/URL

That's the Stanly course on my Mylearn account

catak

Where can I sign up to take the VCA DCV program as you mentioned or is this the Stanly course? The exam blueprint is massive, what alternative resources would be good to incorporate? Boson, Measure Up, etc.? Shifting gears, once you've completed the VCP5, what was your next exam hurdle? I currently work for the government as "GS" and wanting to make the transition to the corporate side. Is VMware in demand and what other exams within VMware would make yourself more marketable?

GreaterNinja wrote: »

The blueprint is a PDF outline file of the topics on a VMware exam.

The VCP550PSE and VCP510PSE vouchers from kivuto or dreamspark/onthehub.com do not require a course.

I've confirmed this with other users on reddit, the fine print on the PSE-onthehub-VMware voucher checkout, VMware customer service rep, VMware Academic manager and testing it myself. Its funny how many people told me you have to take a course...even people that work at VMware were not entirely correct.

Basically, Stanly does not put course credit on your VMware mylearn account. PSE exams assume you used a LMS or self-study. This is along the lines of what the Academic manager at VMware told me. When you take the PSE exam and pass it, they update your transcript as passed and then a few hours later they update it with VCP5-DCV certification.

Now with it all said, for $185 the stanly course was invaluable due to the labs, documents, quizzes and lectures. I also found the VCA-DCV program well aligned with the VCP-DCV and its exam objectives. It made VCP-DCV very easy to learn and that free course + exam took literally 5 hours.

catak

What videos on the vBrownbags are related to the VCP 5.5? There's a vast amount of information on that site that I can't find anything directly towards VCP 5.5. Can anyone provide links? Thx.

joelsfood wrote: »

The class gives you a basis, but won't teach you everything. Take the course, setup a home lab (use autolab if you like) and work through Scott Lowe's book. Then hop out to your local Vue and take the test.

The VCP vBrownbags at professionalvmware.com are very useful too.

zcarenow

You should setup a lab and follow blue print. It took me 8 months after i took the class, but only seriously studied for the past 3 months.

chappys4life

I finished the Stanley class in July. Did on and off studying but nothing that would have me ready.

Working on my vSphere 6 foundations exam right now as my work bought me the exam prep (we are migrating to 6 this month) Hoping to knock this out in Nov then get back to VCP550, so hopefully Jan-Feb I will take the test.