whatUPwithThat wrote: » Is there a way to get this 5 day class discounted? The cheapest I can find it is for $3495.00. I work for a non profit and cannot allocate that kind of money for a course. Anyway to get coupons, vouchers, for VMWare classes? Thanks!
msteinhilber wrote: » The cheapest option you'll find short of being fortunate enough to have an employer cover the expense, is to see if there are any schools near you whom participate in the VMware IT Academy program. I'm in the program now, for the VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage course - presently going on week 3. I believe schools can design it differently so long as it adheres to VMware's guidelines, but from a handful I have found it's typically more of a college classroom based experience rather than a meet for a handful of day's all day type thing. My course will end up meeting 16 times, one day a week for ~4 hours a day in the evening. Overall it's going to take me a lot longer to finally meet the requirements to sit the exam but I'll have invested about $500 total for the class. The only thing that's kind of a turn off for me with this approach, is because it's run like a college course, my particular class has a group project requirement to design a series of video's and a presentation whereas I'd more prefer just doing the lab's and learning this way. Here's the link to the VMware IT Academy website, you can view participating schools in the participants tab:Academy Program
brewoz40 wrote: » Has anyone taken the class from UC Santa Cruz? My work is willing to pay for it so I figure what the hell. Just hoping to get some peoples opinions on the class if it was worth it and well designed, etc....Thanks.
Zentraedi wrote: » Looks great, but how exactly does it work? How do they verify your attendance? Do you have to sign on at specific times of the day? How many hours per day are you expected to spend on it?
MentholMoose wrote: » I believe there are assignments that you have to complete, and lectures you have to watch. I don't think you have to log in at specific times since that would eliminate a major benefit of the online format. Several forum members have taken the UCSC course so hopefully they can chime in.
Zentraedi wrote: » Well, that sounds good because otherwise I'd have to use up all my vacation time, which I won't get more of till the end of the year. That's one reason the week long classes don't work for me. I was worried that it might be something similar to the official VM online sessions, which appear to require specific times on consecutive days for a whole week free. Looks like the US central 0900-1700 webcasts are outside my work schedule, but I just don't think I could do 8 hours of online coursework plus 8 hours of work, plus 3 hours of total commute time for a whole week.
MentholMoose wrote: » You don't have to worry about that for the UCSC course, or other courses offered through the VMware Academy Program. The courses are supposed to be delivered like any college course, which precludes anything resembling a boot camp. Participants in the Academy program are actually specifically disallowed from requiring more than a certain number of hours per week (I think 4) for the courses they offer. If you need more details about the UCSC course, try contacting them. If you can't get in touch with anyone, PM me and I'll give you the instructor's contact info.
JBrown wrote: » You do the homeworks at your own pace. Its just another online course where you log in and watch pre-recorded session at any time you want. As per VMware IT Academy policy if vITA participant (college) collects screenshots/ homeworks from students, then student is eligible to sit for a VMware exam and qualifies for a discounted VCP voucher.
QHalo wrote: » How deep are you into studying the last exam? You'll have to get deep into VMware for the VCP so if you're close to finishing that last EA exam I would finish it out strong and then head into VMware with no other worries about finishing anything else. Plenty of time.
Zentraedi wrote: » Thanks for the info guys! Wow, now I'm really interested in this online course. Few questions though... I've already got a few VMware books, so would I need to take time before the class starts and read through my VCP4 prep books w/ labs? Also, I'm not sure when to take it. I'd really like to get this cert down since it'll allow me to get ahead at work. The only problem is that if I take it next quarter, I'll have to put the final exam of my MCITP:EA on hold (647). Not sure which to do first. The EA would get me a whole month bonus, however while the VCP has no associated bonus, it would put me on a faster track to move up. Any advice?
Zentraedi wrote: » I haven't actually started on last exam but should be ready for the second to last (70-643) pretty soon. To be honest, I don't want to rush the 70-647(last exam) and wanted to do a very thorough prep for that.
JBrown wrote: » I would highly recommend to contact the college first, they might have their own policies. Regarding the book, they will provide you with the official VMware course training materials, its cost about $50-60 and that is the primary book/lab that you must use for duration of the course. Every other book can be used as a supplemental material. So contact the at least a month or two before to find out exact setup and requirements.
JBrown wrote: » I would personally finish the MCITP first and then move to VCP. VCP has much more materials than 3 MS certificates bundled together, and its mostly manuals, manuals and more manuals.
QHalo wrote: » I would finish the EA. That way there are no distractions and a good win and weight off your chest for completing something you've been spending some time on. Finishing strong has always been a good motivator in my opinion.
OoteR wrote: » I'm in it right now. So far so good. The instructor is easy to get a hold of. The material is easy to access. They seem to be thinking of changing it to a 5 week format with smaller class sizes in the future, just as a heads up. I don't believe they've made a decision on that yet.
ChooseLife wrote: » Like the few other gents here, I'm curious whether the course is self-paced - i.e. if there are any particular days/times when students are expected to be online, any ongoing assignments, quizes, etc... Could OoteR or someone else who had taken this UCSC class share their knowledge on this matter, plz?
This online course is based on lecture recording with synchronized audio and presentation materials. The instructor provides additional reading materials and assignments online. This course is offered as a self-paced study with instructor support through discussion forum and email. Complete the material at your own pace. Interact with your instructor throughout the course. For this section, enrollments are accepted through April 25. All course-related work must be completed by 11:59 pm on June 27.
MentholMoose wrote: » It says in the course description that it is self-paced.22869 VMware vSPHERE: Configuration and Management [V4.1] | UC Santa Cruz Extension
MentholMoose wrote: » Well you can register for the course until several weeks after it's started, so at least for that period there cannot be mandatory participation or assignments. I'll reach out to the professor to see if I can get some clarification.
toptek wrote: » How often is the course run does anyone know?
