VMware Academic Alliance finally available close to me!

I caught wind of a local technical college nearby gearing up to offer a VMware class for students desiring to earn the VCP certification a couple of months ago. I quickly did some research to determine who was in charge of the program and made contact to express my interest. Just a week or so ago, they informed me all was setup and ready to roll and the course would soon be open for registration. We're slowly switching to vSphere at the office, and both my boss and I have had an interest in pursuing the VCP certification to help out on our resumes as the work environment isn't the best and an employment change would be most welcome, so it looks like he and I will be taking this next year.

There would be no way our employer would cover the course as traditionally offered, so this is excellent news for us. Total cost will end up being just over $400 after the tuition and application fee for the course and texts needed. An additional cost for the exam itself of course, though the course is supposed to include a voucher for a discount on the exam - not sure how much though some research I've done seems like 70% is likely. Not a bad bargain going this route versus 3k or so for a training course. Only disadvantage depending on how you look at it is meeting a night each week for nearly 4 hours for 18 weeks so we will have spend a lot more time waiting to become eligible to meet the training requirements for the VCP although the slower pace might be good for people with little experience so they have more time for it to all sink in.

I'm pretty excited at this point, sent in my registration materials and have gone through the steps needed to prove I meet the pre-requisites through prior education and industry experience. Just awaiting the final confirmation so I can hand them their payment. Pretty sure my employer will end up covering the cost, though if they don't I'll have no issue shelling out a much smaller $400 for the class. Nice that it starts in January too, gives me time to study for some Juniper exams between now and then to get them out of the way too!

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Bl8ckr0uter

Where did you see that the school was a VMware academy? I might try to do this myself. I know MM posted a link somewhere but I can't find it...

Found it: http://www.vmware.com/partners/programs/vap/academy-program-participants.html

Dude there is a community college like 10 miles from me that is offering it. That might be really interesting. From a future network security analyst/engineer perspective, it might be a cool cert to get. I am not sure about the ROI if it was 3000 but 400 is doable. The other guy here has done the training (not the test) and it might be good for me to learn more about VMware.

Forsaken_GA

amusing, the nearest place to me is the Currahee campus (fans of Band of Brothers might recognize that name). Too bad that's still about 50 miles, way too long of a drive

Bl8ckr0uter

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

amusing, the nearest place to me is the Currahee campus (fans of Band of Brothers might recognize that name). Too bad that's still about 50 miles, way too long of a drive

I seem to remember that there was a college in California that offered it online. I'd like to find that one.

QHalo

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

I seem to remember that there was a college in California that offered it online. I'd like to find that one.

22869 VMware vSPHERE 4: Configuration and Management | UC Santa Cruz Extension

I bookmarked it when it was mentioned in the other thread.

msteinhilber

QHalo wrote: »

22869 VMware vSPHERE 4: Configuration and Management | UC Santa Cruz Extension

I bookmarked it when it was mentioned in the other thread.

This was my next choice in line if the school that's practically on my way home from work didn't end up offering it in a timely manner. A bit more than twice as much as what I'll end up paying locally, but still a bargain compared to the alternative!

QHalo

Yeah, that course will be taken by me at some point. You really can't beat the price unless you're lucky enough to have one @ $400.

MentholMoose

The voucher is indeed for 70% off the exam, so the price after discount is $52.50 in the US. I did it at a community college on the quarter system, so it was 4 hours a week for only 10 weeks, or just about the same time in a classroom (lab and lecture) as the regular boot camp course. The lab was also open on Saturdays so you could spend extra time in the lab, if necessary.

I wouldn't mind doing a semester long course, though, since you would probably have more lab time with the instructor present. Hands-on is the best way to learn vSphere, and absolutely crucial for passing the VCP410 exam. Through the VMware Academy Program, schools can offer courses besides just the ICM course, so I really hope more courses become available locally.