Vendor Certifications

logisticalstyles

I've recently gained several certifications through vendors like Dell and Lexmark during my last year of employment instability. I think the Dell certs are good for a year and I'm not sure about the Lexmark certs. I'm currently in a position to gain some more from Lexmark and possibly even Xerox. Do these have any value outside of the companies that offer them? I've only had one day of hands on training. Everything else has been online or through working in a call center and reading service manuals. Are there any printer industry certifications out there beside the soon to be retiring Comptia PDI+? I see plenty of ads for printer techs in my area but they mostly just ask for A+ and Net+ experience. Honestly, I've never heard of the PDI+ until a few days ago.

N2IT

At first I was very adverse to those types of certifications but as I continued in my career my eyes opened up and I found that employers actually prefer those over most of the CompTIA's. A+ for me was the only CompTIA that ever brought me any value, however having Lenovo, HP, Dell certifications helped me land a few jobs early in my career. If you are able to take the exams for free through your company I would do all the one that pertain to your skills. I remember loading up on all the Dell server certifications while working at an MSP.

NovaHax

Vendor certifications can be very valuable to companies that resell and implement the technologies. That being said...I think they tend to be less respected because they are generally easier to obtain than industry certs. There are some exceptions though. Cisco certifications, although vendor specific, have almost become an industry standard.

tprice5

NetApp, EMC, VMware.
All of these are vendors certs and are very respected.
Are Dell/Xerox/Lexmark valuable? Couldn't say. I wouldn't think so and certainly wouldn't pay for them but if they were offered to me free of charge, absolutely.

Dakinggamer87

tprice5 wrote: »

NetApp, EMC, VMware.
All of these are vendors certs and are very respected.
Are Dell/Xerox/Lexmark valuable? Couldn't say. I wouldn't think so and certainly wouldn't pay for them but if they were offered to me free of charge, absolutely.

I agree!!

logisticalstyles

I think you're right. Only time will tell how valuable they may be at face value, but if I'm able to apply any of the knowledge gained by studying then it will be well worth it.