Which VMWare Course to take?

just_in_time

I am trying to decide which VMWare course to take. This forum mentioned two of them, UCSC-Extension and Caldwell Community College. Has anyone taken courses from either of these and if so, were they good?

powerfool

just_in_time wrote: »

I am trying to decide which VMWare course to take. This forum mentioned two of them, UCSC-Extension and Caldwell Community College. Has anyone taken courses from either of these and if so, were they good?

I am taking the course at UCSC Extension right now (started on Monday of this week, actually). I would say that the course isn't spectacular, but it follows the curriculum... so it can't be much worse, if at all, than other classes. You won't be able to start the UCSC Extension course for a while now (I guess next semester)... I am not sure how Caldwell Community College is setup. Also, I don't know quickly these schools will roll out the V5.0 version of the course, as this should be the last running of the V4.X.

Devilry

Not to thread jack you, but i'd like to hear from some Caldwell Community College members here. I have found a good amount of info on UCSC, which is where I plan on enrolling.

powerfool

An update from my view: I was under the impression that the UCSC Extension course was fully self-paced. You can go through the material at your own pace, but the mid-term and final are at fixed dates and the course ends at the end of the regular semester and that is when your course completion is sent to VMware; rather disappointing.

I talked to someone in the department and they conveyed the self-paced aspect of the course. I wonder if I have any recourse... If it weren't for the possibility of the VCP4 ending soon, I wouldn't really care.

EDIT: I am not sure of the quality of the CCC&TI course, but they have one starting later this month 24OCT-17NOV. UCSC will not have another course until at least January, and they have not outlined if they are ready for the V5.0 course, whereas CCC&TI has. If you need it before the end of this year and can dedicate MON-THU 1800-2100 for four weeks, go for CCC&TI... I have to imagine that they are using the official curriculum (otherwise it would meet the requirement from VMware), so it can't be dramatically different from UCSC in terms of quality.

http://www.cccti.edu/vmware/VMware7214.html

tbgree00

I ended up taking the actual course offered from New Age technologies last week. If at all possible I think it's worth trying to get this course. When I was paying out of pocket it wasn't possible but I got the course from work so it was nice. I was able to network and learn real world examples with a professor that was helping me personally. I took the VCP5 class and am pretty happy with my results. I feel like I'm almost ready for the test I think.

I think they're still offering a couple of classes for the VCP4 if you can afford it and want to try to squeeze the 4 and 5 in before the 28th of Feb.

MentholMoose

powerfool wrote: »

I talked to someone in the department and they conveyed the self-paced aspect of the course. I wonder if I have any recourse... If it weren't for the possibility of the VCP4 ending soon, I wouldn't really care.

People who took the VMware Academy course for VI3 could take the VCP3 exam well after the normal one expired... IIRC until December 2010, whereas the normal exam retired in March. When I took the course, I actually had the option to choose the VI3 curriculum even though the normal VCP3 exam was about to expire. So I think they may do the same thing for VCP4.

powerfool

MentholMoose wrote: »

People who took the VMware Academy course for VI3 could take the VCP3 exam well after the normal one expired... IIRC until December 2010, whereas the normal exam retired in March. When I took the course, I actually had the option to choose the VI3 curriculum even though the normal VCP3 exam was about to expire. So I think they may do the same thing for VCP4.

That's good to know. I actually require the VCP4, as my client uses v4 and it is part of their agency 8570 OS requirement.