Stanly or not

Ecio

Hi guys,
I've just received the invitation for enrolling to the March session of Stanly Vmware (it should start mid March), but I'm sure if doing it or not. Let me explain:
I registered to the waiting list last summer, when I was unemployed and was trying to polish my skills (I had various years of experience with Vmware since 3.5, attended the Vmware 4 Install Configure and Management course but never did the cert exam in 2011 etc..).
Now I've started working and unfortunately I'm less exposed to Vmware (I use it as "user" but I'm not responsible for its configuration).
My employer is not "training-averse" so I'm going to attend ITIL Foundation (3days with cert) at the end of March and also Exchange 2013 in the next few months (don't have a specific date yet).
I've understood that typically the course lasts 8 weeks (is it true), so I think it should be slow paced if it is comparable to the 4 days of ICM that I did in the past. How many hours are required each week? If I do some proportion it should be something like 3-4 hours a week compared to 4 days full.
I also read that students are supposed to receive a voucher (70%, right?) for the exam that can be used before the end of the year. If it is so, I could have plenty of time to prepare for it.
What do you think?

Essendon

The online ICM courses usually last 8 weeks or so, that's right. Mine at UCSC lasted 8 weeks too. It's not "slow" really, because it's kind of a "do-at-your-own-pace" thing. Besides it works out better, people then have more time to absorb the material. Cramming what you'd do in 8 weeks into 1 week will make it harder for people to learn it, probably more suited for people that have tons of experience already and just need to do the course so they become a VCP (after passing the exam too, of course).

There are no required number of hours each week, the instructor usually gives you a few labs every few weeks and you need to complete them in the time allotted (usually 4 weeks). You can do all the labs in one sitting or take your time and do them over 4 weeks, the choice is yours.

Not all courses result in a 70% discount voucher, some do and some dont. It's upto the instructor, if they've got the promotion offer going they'll hand out the vouchers.

Hope this helps.

kj0

I just finished all my Labs today. As Essendon said, it is over 8 weeks which is great for those to learn over time and go back over the material. There are 12 modules with 3 being released each week - In these modules you watch a video from the instructor, then you can go and complete the associated lab. The labs are all there from the start, and some people completed the Labs in the first week. I took my time as I didn't have time to complete more than 2 or 3. It isn't slow, and if you are wanting to get the certification by the end of the 8 weeks, then you can use the in-between time to read Scott Lowe and Nick Marshall's Mastering vSphere 5.5 book.

If your employer isn't paying, then it is probably the course for you to choose.

You do receive the 70% discount voucher during the course.


Hope this helps, and good luck.

Asif Dasl

The Stanly course is a great return on investment if you ask me. AFAIK it costs $180 which is €132 and then you get a 70% discount on the exam cost of €175 which is €53. So for €185 you get the course requirement and the exam paid for - it's a no brainer to me. You just need to add the Mastering vSphere book on top of that then.

Now fair enough it looks like you might have your schedule packed with other stuff you need to do. But you could always contact
them and see if you can be put first on the next class that is available. I'd be surprised if they had a problem with that.

I did the VCP course requirement at UCSC and left all the labs until the end, I just did the lectures over the weeks which was easier for me to do. If they are the same labs at Stanly that were at UCSC (which I would imagine they are) then they were simple enough and you could complete the lot over a weekend if you were really pushed for time.

I see contracting jobs here in Ireland looking for VCP with experience paying between €350 & €500 a day for a 6 month contract and in Luxembourg I would imagine even higher. Getting a VCP could be very important for your next job.

One thing I would say though is vSphere 5 has been around for 2 years in various versions so maybe you could wait until vSphere 6 is released before going for the VCP - it would save you from doing VCP 5 AND 6. But personally I would rather I had both - that's for you to decide.

HTH.

SimonD.

Not knowing what the job market is like over in Luxembourg any more (I lived and worked there twice in my career) I can't advise what you should do but knowing that there are a number of banking institutions over there I would strongly recommend getting the course and exam under your belt, especially if that course costs a fraction of the cost for attending a classroom course.

Ecio

thanks all for your feedback, let me just clarify a couple of points:
@essendon: in the past I've done the Vmware 4 ICM course in a class (paid by at that time employer, of course) and so I know how the course is structured (lessons and labs). I had no problems doing it in 4 full days as I was already working on Vsphere for few years (actually I built the infrastructure at the ex employer ).
I can say that at that time I already knew 80% or more of the V4 course. (I was dumb not doing the exam at that time, and actually having the V4 ICM it would be enough for me to attend the what's new (V4 to V5.x) to fulfil the requirements for the exam. The fact is the full Stanly course is way cheaper than the what's new so it would be no reason to go for the what's new.) What I didn't know was how the Stanly course is structured but I think I got it from all your messages:
if they release modules each week and labs at the beginning as kj0 said, but you're not forced to follow the schedule (e.g. there's no rule like some other courses like "if you don't complete each lesson and lab before the end of the week you will not have the "OK you have attended the course" message sent to Vmware) I can think about doing it, maybe I will skip some lessons the week I have ITIL (or Exchange) but I'll do it in the next weeks before the end of the course.

And actually I don't have the need to get the cert in 8 weeks, I can say that my situation is the contrary: I'm now working with a good position and I'm not "in desperate search" so I can just take my time to do it. But, as said, the alternative is also don't register for this session and register for one in the future (@asif: their email clearly state that I already refused a previous free spot in the previous session so if I don't subscribe to this I will have to subscribe to the waiting list)

I'll think about it, I have until Monday..

kj0

The videos are between 4 - 10 minutes, there's 2 videos that are 17 minutes,. The requirement is that you log on at least once a week, so even if on a Saturday or Sunday you log on and do 1 video just to stay enrolled in the course should be enough.

rockstar81

How do you do the labs? Are they on a remote computer?
The price sounds fantastic -does it really include all that and 70% off exam? Is it available for people in UK?

kj0

The labs are done using NetLAB+ which is a remote connection to their Servers. Everyone has their own individual Pod to work on so that you can continue from where you left off.

The price is great. Yes, you can get it in the UK as this is for Distance Education. I'm using it here in Au.

Asif Dasl

You get to remote to a NetLabs pod. Each pod has a vCenter Server and 2 ESXi hosts - you just log in over the website and click on the icons to access what you need to configure. You get temporary licenses for the duration of the course and a little afterwards IIRC.

VMware usually run an offer for the VMware instructors - you can see on this page that they have an offer for 70% off the exam until the Dec 31 2014. But I think this is a rolling offer, next year it'll probably be offered until Dec 31 2015.

VMware Instructors Rewards Site wrote:

Pass these voucher numbers along to your students using the customizable student flyer, and they will receive 70% off every VMware exam taken between now and December 31, 2014.

SimonD.

When I did my academy courses the discounts lasted different periods of time, as an example my VCP4 discount was valid until December 31st (6 months after my course ended) whereas my VCP5 discount code lasted I think it was a year after my course ended.

Asif Dasl

Now that you mention it, I remember that my VCP5 voucher had to be used within the year after the course ended too.

Ecio

Is the course updated to 5.5 ?

Ecio

Just FYI I've finally decided not to enroll to this session, so somebody will be happy to find a free spot

nel

Sorry to hijack the thread. But i have a question. How long do you get access to the VMware online labs that you use for the course? is it just for the 8 week duration or do you get X amount of time after the course has ended? Obviously not everyone can study the material and pass within the 8 weeks so i was just wondering if you can still practice once the course is up.

Asif Dasl

@Ecio - Have a look out on the Dallas County CC thread as they might have a course in the summer, they have practically no waiting list but only a few spots compared to Stanly. Dallas County CC are crying out for students while the Stanly waiting list is very long - as you know.

@nel - It's just for the 8 weeks, the pods get used for the next class that goes through. That's why it's best to have your own nested lab (laptop/desktop with 16GB+ of RAM) or a physical lab if you can afford it. The labs get graded so they are not really there to mess about with and wipe if you mess it all up - at least in my opinion. They are there just to fulfill part of the passing grade to earn the 70% discount off the exam at the end of the course.

edit - you get licenses for vSphere which last for like 3-6 months after the course has ended IIRC.

nel

Asif Dasl wrote: »

@Ecio - Have a look out on the Dallas County CC thread as they might have a course in the summer, they have practically no waiting list but only a few spots compared to Stanly. Dallas County CC are crying out for students while the Stanly waiting list is very long - as you know.

@nel - It's just for the 8 weeks, the pods get used for the next class that goes through. That's why it's best to have your own nested lab (laptop/desktop with 16GB+ of RAM) or a physical lab if you can afford it. The labs get graded so they are not really there to mess about with and wipe if you mess it all up - at least in my opinion. They are there just to fulfill part of the passing grade to earn the 70% discount off the exam at the end of the course.

edit - you get licenses for vSphere which last for like 3-6 months after the course has ended IIRC.

Ah ok, thanks for that. I guess you cant have it all ways. I take it you cant book the exam using your discount voucher until you have finished the course and it appears in your VMware login that you are eligible?

Asif Dasl

You have to wait until you have almost completed the course and you have received a passing grade to get the voucher (this is how it was at UCSC Extension anyway). It's very hard not to pass the course though, watch the lectures, understand the material, complete any course work and the labs and you'll pass it with ease and get the voucher. You can take the exam at any time but you would probably want to wait for the 70% discount at the end of the course.

Ecio

Asif Dasl wrote: »

@Ecio - Have a look out on the Dallas County CC thread as they might have a course in the summer, they have practically no waiting list but only a few spots compared to Stanly. Dallas County CC are crying out for students while the Stanly waiting list is very long - as you know.

maybe they're crying out for students because they cost twice

Asif Dasl

No it should cost $208 if you follow post #10 in that thread and ring the continuing education phone number. It only costs $400 if you want to get credit hours towards the course. Which if you are an international student then you just want the VCP and not the credit hours.

HTH