Worth While Certifications

Capt Doufos · 5 Feb 2014 at 19:54

Hi Guys,

I was just wondering what exams you think it's currently worthwhile investing the time and money in to pass? I am looking to move my career forward and I am a bit uncertain as to whether it's worth while getting certified or just rely on experience. I am thinking of trying to get more into Infrastructure or maybe Citrix Xenapp, what do you think?

I currently have an MCTS and I have noticed VMWare have the associate level exams which you can take online, however they are still £80 and you don't really need any technical knowledge to pass them so I am a but unsure of their value.

Having to go to exam centres is a bit of a pain as all my closest ones are in London, that isn't an issue in itself but the train fare adds £35 to the cost of each one.

Capt Doufos · 6 Feb 2014 at 09:13

I will take a look at the free MS one thanks. I am happy to Progress on MSCE and VCP but up until now I haven't really had any reason to invest the money, especially given they now are only valid for 2 years. The investment for both of those in time (I have a young daughter) and money (I am guessing several thousand pounds baring in mind the MS exams will be around £140 each including travel) Makes it difficult to justify.

Capt Doufos · 6 Feb 2014 at 10:40

Any links to the vouchers? I have gone through the course.

Capt Doufos · 6 Feb 2014 at 15:15

I have no idea what I want to do! I am trying to find somewhere that is engaging and gives me the chance to get involved with new things and always be learning, people to learn off of etc and then hopefully be able to contribute ideas of value back. I pick up things super quick, so I have no issues getting involved in new things.

I have 15 years experience (Not counting all the support I did at Primary/secondary school/college

) Once I get an interview I am certain I can convince them of how valuable I could be to them.

Capt Doufos · 7 Feb 2014 at 09:11

Not training per se but might be good if you have any interest in AWS. For free it's worth going just to learn some more about it. Free course by QA in London:

http://aws.amazon.com/AWS-Cloud-Sch...idetail=734643633&ref_=pe_493420_112571770_11

Capt Doufos · 18 Feb 2014 at 22:48

leigh_boy said:
really....
its in the first few sentences on the course page.

Yes really....

I am talking about the VCA-DCV not the MS one. All the VMWare ones I can find expired 31st Jan annoyingly.

Capt Doufos · 18 Feb 2014 at 22:50

Caged said:
The MS Hyper-V exam is nothing like the VCA-DCV for anyone who's taking them in that order. Much more in depth, very typical MS exam asking you things like which tab you will find a relevant option on, testing you on the exact phrasing of features etc.

I would highly recommend doing some lab time with the products before taking it.

Totally, an no one is going to pass an MCTS exam just by reading through the material and watching the videos. They have questions to catch you out, and you have to memorise tables annoyingly.