VMWare VCA Value?

shimasensei

Hi guys,

Just started a sponsored week-long training session at work today. I knew going in it was a VMWare training course, but what I was not expecting was that they are actually training us for the VCA certification (although the course labs are VCP-level material).

The only caveat is that the exam cost is coming out of pocket, although taking the exam is optional. The good news is they apparently have vouchers that drop the price of the exam from $100+ to about $30-40.

What is the industry perception / value of the certification and is it worth studying for and taking? I mean $30-40 is nothing for me if it's a credential that is worth the investment.

Interested in hearing your thoughts on this,
Cheers!

dave330i

VCA has no value.

Essendon

Most people don't even know what it is. Skip it, do the VCP-NV, right up your alley.

shimasensei

Thank you guys. Although at the urging of the instructors I just did the exam anyway and passed. Now, I see it more as a foundational exam for the VCP training and test next month.

Other good news is that they have discount (up to 70%) vouchers for the VCP as well!

scott28tt

Nobody needs a week-long training course for a VCA - if it was something like the Install Configure Manage class it would align to the vSphere Foundations exam that you take as part of getting a VCP.

The official training for the VCAs are only 3 hours long each.

So, I'd hope after way more training than what's recommended, that you'd have passed - congrats though!

tunerX

When you take a VITA class they give you a six pack VMWare Academy VCA/Foundations voucher at 70 percent off.

Its good for VCA and foundation exams. 37.50 a test if you are included to do take them.

markulous

Only reason I got it was because I worked at vmware, it was free, and I had an hour to kill. VCA isn't worth it unless it's for some requirement

shimasensei

Thanks guys. Just to clarify, the training was 1 week long, but not on VCA entirely. The first day was on VCA, pre-assessment test, exam topics review, summary review at the end. Days 2 - 5 were VCP level hands-on labs and material. The last day was the exam day (we all passed BTW haha). Next month, we have another VMware training scheduled, this should be VCP-level as well, and hoping to be able to get certified afterwards.

tunerX

I just took the VCA6-DCV this weekend. Studying for the Foundations and VCP6-DCV made it fairly easy.

I have never worked with NV or NSX topics. Having never done any NV studying or using any of the components it was fairly useful to learn the terminology and how the different components are applied throughout the network. After only watching the 4 hour video and doing no other studying I passed the VCA6-NV with a 360.

I figure I will do the VCP6-DCV and toss in the VCP6-NV to round out virtualization.

SteveLavoie

It look like the OP took an unofficial training class that cannot comply with the VCP training requirement.

VCA has no value, I did them as I am working for a partner we received some voucher to do those for free when they were released.

Ismaeljrp

Lol, I took the VCA-6. My work paid for the cost of the exam, and passing it got me a $500 bonus!

Not even kidding, I actually took the exam during working hours one early shift.

joshuamurphy75

It's worth doing if you get $500.00 out of it. I wouldn't bother with it otherwise... rather skip to the VCP.

shimasensei

SteveLavoie wrote: »

It look like the OP took an unofficial training class that cannot comply with the VCP training requirement.

VCA has no value, I did them as I am working for a partner we received some voucher to do those for free when they were released.

Yup, I don't think it's an official VCP class. Looking forward to the training that they have slated for us next month. I will definitely gun for the VCP then.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I'm pretty new to the VMWare certification scene. I'm more of a security/network guy, but I've been doing sysadmin work for many years as well. I'm interested in VMWare's NSX (VCP-NV) and their hyperconverged solution, VXRack. I'll probably start a new thread later, but just curious, what certification covers VXRack?

dave330i

shimasensei wrote: »

Yup, I don't think it's an official VCP class. Looking forward to the training that they have slated for us next month. I will definitely gun for the VCP then.

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I'm pretty new to the VMWare certification scene. I'm more of a security/network guy, but I've been doing sysadmin work for many years as well. I'm interested in VMWare's NSX (VCP-NV) and their hyperconverged solution, VXRack. I'll probably start a new thread later, but just curious, what certification covers VXRack?

VMware doesn't have cert for VXRack.

stunnedsoup

I have the VCA. Honestly, I felt it was a waste of my time. Yes, I learned a few terms but that's basically it. I much rather have taken that time and got started on the VCP and stuck with that.

scott28tt

shimasensei wrote: »

Yup, I don't think it's an official VCP class. Looking forward to the training that they have slated for us next month. I will definitely gun for the VCP then.

While your training may cover VCP-related topics, if it's not official it won't meet VMware's training requirement - so even if you passed the 2 exams you wouldn't be a VCP.

As you are a CCNA, the only VCP that you can bypass the official training requirement for is VCP6-NV - but you'll need to be skilled on NSX to pass those exams, not just vSphere.

shimasensei

Thanks for the insight guys. The good news is that the team and I were able to convince management to switch the class to an official VCP course! The class is slated for 1 week next month.