VMware VCP (vmwareicm5)

101001101 · 26 Jan 2012 at 08:28

This year one of my goals was to pass the VCP for VMware 5 but looking at the requirements you *must* attend a 5 day course (vmwareicm5) - the cost of this appears to be approx £2600 EXCL VAT :eek:

I don't know about you, but at the moment with the present climate company funded training courses are almost non-existant so there is no way I would get that paid for and I don't have £2600 lying around under the bed etc.

I was really hoping I could just build a lab (which I have already), use the trial license for 60 days and study books / guides, I really dont think the course is necessary - they should follow Citrix route making it optional!

Any of you guys facing this? have you seen any deals or cheaper offerings?

Cheers

ShadowMan · 26 Jan 2012 at 09:21

You can do most of the work in lab with the free licences and trials and I know the reading materials are available out there but you will not get the certs or be able to take exams without attending the course.

I am in the same boat and waiting on work allowing anything but home learning again. Going through MCITP's at the moment as we can do them from home and company are happy to pay materials and exam costs.

Gerbil · 26 Jan 2012 at 10:02

ShadowMan said:
You can do most of the work in lab with the free licences and trials and I know the reading materials are available out there but you will not get the certs or be able to take exams without attending the course.

You can take the exam without having done the Install, Configure, Manage (ICM) course, but you won't get the certificate or be a VCP until you've attended the course. I know it's not much help, but I've had offers in my inbox of £1500 ex VAT for the course, so don't be afraid to phone some of these training companies and haggle.

The exam is definitely passable with a lot of home lab work providing your willing to work at it. If you pass the exam and then went on the training course would the company at least be prepared to give the time off to attend the course? At that point you'd be a VCP and if they're not prepared to reimburse you for the course then you update your CV and walk...

ShadowMan · 26 Jan 2012 at 10:17

I am hoping the course will come this year anyway as we are moving more and more towards VMware. We have actually just installed our 4th remote host on a branch site using standalone licences and we do have a VSphere 8 node cluster in our head office.

Problem always comes down to money and all budgets seem to be suffereing at the moment. They are happy for me to take the time and pay for it myself but I dont want to pay out for it. I dont really want to walk as I enjoy the work and have gained a 70% increase in salary and benefits over the last 2 years following taking on more bits for sites. End of the day I can do the day to day admin anyway and we are learning as we go and the cert would only be a CV builder at the moment.

If a VCP comes next year and I can get the 2 MCITP's I want this year then I will be fairly happy as with no plans to move on at the moment they will only be there for the sake of having them.

Still dont like how VMware do it though. I know it allows them to standardise and keep an eye on who gains the certs but it is still overly restrictive I believe.

m4cc45 · 26 Jan 2012 at 19:55

VMware decided that all VCP's would have the relevant training and qualification so that their certifications meant that you could do the job to that level and thus represent the company.

It's an interesting idea. The reason the courses are so high is because it's new. Give it a few months and the price will drop. I did my course for £1350 a few years ago and because I keep up with certification I haven't had to pay it again.

M.

NiCkNaMe · 26 Jan 2012 at 21:48

Had this through in my inbox the other week;

Normal Price £2535. Offer Price £1535.

What's included in my training?

- 5 day authorised VMware VCP course.
- Authorised VMware manual.
- Lunch and refreshments.
- Discount on further training.

To book your place and take advantage of the £1000 saving please call us today on 01225 731410 or email [email protected]

You can probably get it cheaper if you ring up and haggle. They're desperate to get paying customers on the course rather than people using vouchers.

101001101 · 27 Jan 2012 at 07:22

That's not a bad offer ^^NickN - thanks, I'd probably save up and pay that as that is pretty cheap for a 5 day course alone!

I appreciate VMware's stance on pushing for the course to represent the compnay etc, just think they aren't doing themselves any favours by making it a mandatory requirement. especially in this climate.

On a different note I've been studying for the CCNA since the start of this year, but not getting much of that done today as I've been working for the past 24 hours straight! knackered and no end yet!!

m4cc45 · 27 Jan 2012 at 18:36

Well the Microsoft qualifiactions got devalued by people using cheet sheets, going through the exams with no experience and then going for jobs that they couldn't do with qualifications they normally couldn't achieve.

Doing this ensures everyone is at a level. I'm not agreeing with it, especially as the courses are so expensive, but I can see the benefits in it. I don't think they're hurting themselves either as a VCP is quite a sort after qualification and certainly stands out.

M.