Stanly CC VCP6-DCV~Is it still in demand?

orlandofl

I've been offered a slot in the forth coming May-July 2017 VSphere Class. My intentions are to get into sys administration. I'm currently in law enforcement. I'm currently working on the MCSA Windows 10 70-698 exam and will be sitting this Saturday. After that I'll be talking the 70-697 exam with hopes and expectations of landing a higher level desktop support role (I've worked a telecommunications NOC and ISP advanced business help desk gig previously)

Pending that I'm able to land a desktop support role in an enterprise (and gain some hands on experience with the sys admins guys by way of donuts and other formidable gifts) I plan on using 2018 to earn an MCSA in Windows Server 2016, MCSE in Cloud Platform and Infrastructure and advanced credentials in VMware.

I've read VMware and Microsoft are the two biggest hitters in enterprise server virtualization. I'm curious to know if VMware is still worth getting certified in and if it indeed is still the #1 virtualization platform used in infrastructure. Was the Stanly CC class any good? Is VCP6-DCV fairly easy and straight forward? (Could I split my time between server 2016 and VMware studies, or is VMware intense enough to do on it's own) I don't want to pass up a great opportunity to get the required training to sit for VMware...but I also don't want to waist my time if it's not something worth doing and won't be in the enterprise in the next few years.

-Travis

blargoe

VMware is not going away any time soon!

GSXR750K2

I'm signed up for a June course through CCC (Stanley doesn't offer the course in my state). I'm extremely familiar with Hyper-V/VMM, but not so much with vSphere (which has cut me out of the running for some positions), so I'm doing it as a way to bridge a knowledge/skill gap and to eventually market myself as capable of working on either platform.

They both share a lot of things in common, but they go about doing things in different ways. vSAN and Storage Spaces Direct perform essentially the same function, as does vMotion and Migration Services for example. Since I've begun my own study as a lead in to the VMware course, I've found a lot of things I really like about vSphere that I wish MS would incorporate into Hyper-V...while at the same time, I've noticed some things in vSphere seem very clunky compared to how Hyper-V does a similar function. Each platform has their strengths and weaknesses, and knowing how to use each (and when) is a valuable thing to know in my opinion.

UncleB

I'm being offered contracts to help companies moving away from VMWare to Azure quite a lot this year, and I'm not seeing many any more that are doing more than just keeping their VMWare estates ticking over.

This is for the UK market and it may be different where you are, but I think AWS, Google and Amazon are stealing the march on VMWare by offering so much as a service now.

I'm sure VMWare are going to play catch up but I feel that boat has sailed, and a lot of customer still remember the unpleasantly high costs for anything VMWare related (training, licenses etc).

It isn't going to be a pointless skill to learn, but I would no longer make it a priority - focus on AWS and Azure if you have the chance as the training is cheap, the positions are plentiful and their market share growing from what I see.

GSXR750K2

@UncleB:

You've rehashed an argument that I've been having with myself for the past few months. I've been passed over several times due to a lack of vSphere experience, so I opted to pursue it so I can at least say I understand the ins and outs of it.

I know VMware and Amazon partnered up for something (I haven't read into it), but I'm so deep into Microsoft tech where I am that Linux never comes into play. Perhaps Azure should be my next deal...

Curse you, sir, for making me reconsider my choices.

J_86

VMware is still very much in demand, especially in the enterprise space. I took the Stanley class a few months ago and I would recommend it. It sure beats the $4,000 for taking an in person VMware class to meet the certification requirements. If you are brand new to VMware and virtualization in general, it might not be easy and take some time, but it’s worth it. Just also keep in mind after you pass the class (no real “pass or fail”, just have to complete the required labs) the discount codes you get to take the exam expire after 1 year.