question about vmware training and exam cost

majorpayne

I have a question for everyone, i wonder if anyone has paid out of pocket to take the vmware training and exam. Wondering if its worth to do that or just wait until a company in the future requires me to have it. I ask because this cert will help with future job prospects especially if i want to try to land a job farther away in a competitive job market like Georgia, California, FLorida etc.

SteveLavoie

It is fu..ing expansive to pay from your own pocket...I would not do it. I would wait until you find someone who would pay for it. I heard that there is some cheaper opportunities (a college called stanly or something like that), it could be an idea. However I would not pay the full price for the training.

You have nothing to gain, if you are a junior admin, then waiting is the best option, if you are more senior than your experience will speak for yourself or you will get asked for an higher level of cert like VCAP..

dave330i

You'll have to determine if the investment is worth it for you. It was a no brainer for me, since it was the fastest path to $100k+ income.

stryder144

If you are looking for the training box to be checked off without a huge investment, head over to Stanly Community College and sign up for their VMware class. It meets the training requirement and was very reasonably priced ($185 a couple of years ago). They are very popular and they do have a waiting list...you probably won't wait longer than six months or so to enter a class. It is fully online and you don't need books to take it. You will need, though, books to pass the written exam (check other threads for current resources). The one other caveat to consider is that residents of certain states cannot take the classes through SCC. Do your due diligence before signing up, just to make sure (I believe there is a thread that mentions which states. Stanly has a representative who pops in from time-to-time, so they may provide you with additional guidance).

majorpayne

thanks for the info you guys and stryder i will look into that.

SteveLavoie

dave330i wrote: »

You'll have to determine if the investment is worth it for you. It was a no brainer for me, since it was the fastest path to $100k+ income.

Sure, but to get $100K+ income, you did other higher level certs from VMware Nobody get +100K only for a VCP level job, unless you have much more other qualification.

dave330i

SteveLavoie wrote: »

Sure, but to get $100K+ income, you did other higher level certs from VMware Nobody get +100K only for a VCP level job, unless you have much more other qualification.

4-5 years ago, VCP was enough to get $100k job in my market. OP needs to do his own ROI calculation based on his market.

sacredboy

Guys, once Vmware voucher for VCP-DCV exam is obtained after doing official course how much attempts one has to pass the exam?

dave330i

sacredboy wrote: »

Guys, once Vmware voucher for VCP-DCV exam is obtained after doing official course how much attempts one has to pass the exam?

Voucher's goof for 1 attempt I believe. You can attempt the exam as much as you'd like.

scott28tt

sacredboy wrote: »

Guys, once Vmware voucher for VCP-DCV exam is obtained after doing official course how much attempts one has to pass the exam?

You need to pay for each attempt, 1 voucher pays for 1 attempt.

You can have as many attempts as you might need, but there is a defined minimum number of days (7 I think) between attempts.

sacredboy

Guys I think I asked the question in a bit unclear way thereby confuse you.
Indeed, instead of voucher I meant the ID or number one is given after training course completion.

To put it differently, let's say I passed vSphere 6.5 Foundation Exam.
Then as a new candidate I attended on of the required training courses which makes me eligible to take VPC6.5-DCV exam.
As far as I know after completing training course I will be given some ID/Number that should be specified during exam registration.
Now the question is, after completing training course how much time I can use that ID/Number during exam registration.

scott28tt

sacredboy wrote: »

As far as I know after completing training course I will be given some ID/Number that should be specified during exam registration.
Now the question is, after completing training course how much time I can use that ID/Number during exam registration.

This is a myth.

Attend the course with VMware or a VATC training partner, and your attendance/completion will be recorded on a VMware system - exam passes are pushed to the same system, so they know automatically once you've met all the requirements for a VCP.

The class attendance/completion is recorded differently if you take training with a VITA partner (such as Stanly) - on completion of your training you will be issued with a special voucher to take a different "PSE" version of the exams. Passing these exams pushes through to VMware, they know you've completed training because you wouldn't have been able to take those "PSE" exams otherwise, so you've met the requirements for a VCP.

STANLY_CC

Here is the information on our VMware course at Stanly Community College. We are an authorized VMware IT Academy, and the course we offer meets the education portion of the VM certification. However, we can offer the VMware course only to individuals and not as part of corporate training. Additionally, this course is designed for students who have not yet taken the VCP exam. Students who have already passed the exam would still have to retake the exam using the voucher given at the end of the course in order to receive full VMware VCP certification.

This course is offered under the umbrella of Continuing Education, and it is conducted online, including labs, in an asynchronous manner which basically means it is available to students 24/7. Students can study at their own pace provided you meet the minimum due dates set by the instructor. The courses are 8 weeks in length, and the current tuition & lab fee costs total $185.00US. There is also an optional textbook in both hard copy and e-book formats available through our book store. We are currently teaching the 6.0 version of the VMware curriculum.

We enroll students in the VMware courses in the order in which they registered on our online wait list. If you have not added your information to this list please do so at https://vmware.stanly.edu/waitlist.php. We apologize for any delay, but as you can imagine these classes are extremely popular. We make every effort to accommodate all students in a timely manner.

At this time, due to evolving changes in higher education regulations, SCC is unable to serve all of the students that are interested in our courses or programs. SCC will no longer be able to offer distance education online programs or courses for students residing in Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can also visit our VMware page on our SCC website https://www.stanly.edu/future-students/continuing-education/technology-courses/vmware-vsphere-install-configure-manage. You can also pm me here or contact me directly at slewis8950@stanly.edu.

sacredboy

STANLY_CC wrote: »

Students who have already passed the exam would still have to retake the exam using the voucher given at the end of the course in order to receive full VMware VCP certification.

I am totally confused. Here is the information from the official website:
+ Path 1: If you hold a valid VCP6-DCV certification
1: Pass the VMware Certified Professional 6.5 – Data Center Virtualization Delta Exam.
No other requirements.

Let's say I completed training course on VPC6-DCV and passed the exam VPC6-DCV.
If I want upgrade VCP6-DCV to VCP6.5-DCV do I have to complete VCP6.5-DCV course to be eligible to take the exam?

srocky26

sacredboy wrote: »

I am totally confused. Here is the information from the official website:
+ Path 1: If you hold a valid VCP6-DCV certification
1: Pass the VMware Certified Professional 6.5 – Data Center Virtualization Delta Exam.
No other requirements.

Let's say I completed training course on VPC6-DCV and passed the exam VPC6-DCV.
If I want upgrade VCP6-DCV to VCP6.5-DCV do I have to complete VCP6.5-DCV course to be eligible to take the exam?

As long as your VCP is active, you don't have to take the course again. If you let the VCP lapse, then you'll need to take the course.

sacredboy

srocky26 wrote: »

As long as your VCP is active, you don't have to take the course again. If you let the VCP lapse, then you'll need to take the course.

Then what does that mean?

Students who have already passed the exam would still have to retake the exam using the voucher given at the end of the course in order to receive full VMware VCP certification.

srocky26

sacredboy wrote: »

Then what does that mean?

If you have already passed the exam, but don't yet have the classroom credit, and decide to use Stanly as your classroom credit, you will need to take the exam again using their voucher.

When taking the exam using the voucher from Stanly you are taking a different exam code which has classroom credit tied to it. This way VMware knows that you've taken a class. The exam is exactly the same, but the code is different. For this reason you'll need to take the exam using the voucher from Stanly.

After completing the class you get a voucher for 70% off your VCA exam (up to 7 attempts) and your VCP exam (I believe up to 3 attempts).

STANLY_CC

This is correct. Thank you everyone for sharing information.

srocky26 wrote: »

If you have already passed the exam, but don't yet have the classroom credit, and decide to use Stanly as your classroom credit, you will need to take the exam again using their voucher.

When taking the exam using the voucher from Stanly you are taking a different exam code which has classroom credit tied to it. This way VMware knows that you've taken a class. The exam is exactly the same, but the code is different. For this reason you'll need to take the exam using the voucher from Stanly.

After completing the class you get a voucher for 70% off your VCA exam (up to 7 attempts) and your VCP exam (I believe up to 3 attempts).

scott28tt

sacredboy wrote: »

Then what does that mean?

A VCP is "active" if it has not expired - see here: https://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=49318&ui=www_cert

majorpayne

i signed up for stanley class, cant wait to knock this training out. i already went through all videos of cbtnuggets, wonder if its going to be any different. I wish my work would let me get some vmware experience but as a junior sys admin i am very limited sadly..

sacredboy

majorpayne wrote: »

i signed up for stanley class, cant wait to knock this training out. i already went through all videos of cbtnuggets, wonder if its going to be any different. I wish my work would let me get some vmware experience but as a junior sys admin i am very limited sadly..

Did you just subscribed for the list of waiting or you start at the end of October?
What track BTW?

majorpayne

I start in mid October class , and I am doing the VMware install configure manage vsphere 6. After this going to go the Data center virtualization track .

sacredboy

My course starts at 25 October. The course is the same.

majorpayne

after i complete this course, how long do you all think i should study to take the foundations exam? I know i wont take the VCP exam until a month before my voucher expires but wanted to know how intensive is foundations.

srocky26

The foundations exam was a bunch of marketing info. I took it after I took my VCP exam.

scott28tt

srocky26 wrote: »

The foundations exam was a bunch of marketing info. I took it after I took my VCP exam.

Do you mean this exam? https://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrreg/plan.cfm?plan=64179&ui=www_cert

Or the VCA exam? https://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=96462&ui=www_cert

kj0

Foundations is definitely not a marketing exam, nor is it a particularly tough exam, but you still need to know how to setup and configure vSphere. So why you need not just a forward record but also PTR as well for for ESXi and vCSA, and how to configure a DvS and Port groups, etc.

scott28tt

Hence my question about whether it was the VCA exam being referred to...

kj0

scott28tt wrote: »

Hence my question about whether it was the VCA exam being referred to...

OH, I know that, I was just adding to it.

Nicadeli

majorpayne wrote: »

I start in mid October class , and I am doing the VMware install configure manage vsphere 6. After this going to go the Data center virtualization track .

I also start the course on Oct 25th. I have a question for you, did you purchase the textbook (VMware vSphere: ICM V6 STUDENT eKit 6TH Edition )? Because I was able to find it on SCRIBD.com which is a monthly subscription ($. Plus you get 1 month for free.

Link to the book: https://www.scribd.com/document/271906081/VMware-vSphere-Install-Configure-Manage-V6-Student-Lab-Manual-pdf

kj0

I didn't buy the book the first time I did the course, but I might this time.