IT Certification
Discussion
Hello PH!
I seem to have reached an impasse in my IT career. I've been in IT ten years now and although this job pays well for not a lot of work, i'm bored.
This job is a consultancy role, very customer facing when the work is here, monumentally boring when not, but isn't that the definition of IT?
Anyway, I digress. The latest idea to pop into my head is to become certified in whatever seems 'hot' at the moment in the wide and wonderful world of IT, and I think that there is a lot of chatter about virtualisation, consolodation etc etc.
So, to me the next logical step would be to pursue some sort of certification in VMWare and / or citrix and hit the contract market again.
Although this job requires some technical knowledge, I seem to be directing other companies towards pushing the buttons, rather than me pushing them myself, and as a result I suppose you could say I have been 'off the tools' for longer than I would like.
So I'm thinking before I forget everything I've learned, I need to get back in about it.
So, WWPHD? (What Would Piston Heads Do)
David
I seem to have reached an impasse in my IT career. I've been in IT ten years now and although this job pays well for not a lot of work, i'm bored.
This job is a consultancy role, very customer facing when the work is here, monumentally boring when not, but isn't that the definition of IT?
Anyway, I digress. The latest idea to pop into my head is to become certified in whatever seems 'hot' at the moment in the wide and wonderful world of IT, and I think that there is a lot of chatter about virtualisation, consolodation etc etc.
So, to me the next logical step would be to pursue some sort of certification in VMWare and / or citrix and hit the contract market again.
Although this job requires some technical knowledge, I seem to be directing other companies towards pushing the buttons, rather than me pushing them myself, and as a result I suppose you could say I have been 'off the tools' for longer than I would like.
So I'm thinking before I forget everything I've learned, I need to get back in about it.
So, WWPHD? (What Would Piston Heads Do)
David
I work as a presales consultant in virtualisation (not for VMware or Citrix). VMware is still very much the tool of choice, although we can expect Citrix and MS to start catching up (but when?!).
Definitely get VMware certified - but this isn't easy. It's widely accepted that you need to be a user to learn enough to pass the exams. There is certainly still plenty of work out there, but some of the major spenders have reigned in spending on consolidation projects unless they can show a very quick return on investment.
Definitely get VMware certified - but this isn't easy. It's widely accepted that you need to be a user to learn enough to pass the exams. There is certainly still plenty of work out there, but some of the major spenders have reigned in spending on consolidation projects unless they can show a very quick return on investment.
russ_a said:
You can download and use some of the VMWare tools for free. You could probably have a play around with the software, buy the exam book and just take the exam and save yourself 2k.
We use VMWare at work and nobody has been trained, just download play around locally then deploy.
That's great for VMware server - but ESX and Virtual Centre is not VMware Server!We use VMWare at work and nobody has been trained, just download play around locally then deploy.
Yeah, i've had a play with it in the past, but to be homest it was a long time ago.
I have an old machine kicking about here soing not very much, so i think i'll load server on it and see what's what. I'll need to stoke the old technical boiler in the technical part of my brain though!
Thanks for all the advice, I was supposed to place an order today for the course, but more research is needed i think.
David.
I have an old machine kicking about here soing not very much, so i think i'll load server on it and see what's what. I'll need to stoke the old technical boiler in the technical part of my brain though!
Thanks for all the advice, I was supposed to place an order today for the course, but more research is needed i think.
David.
As a VCP (have been for some years now) I can tell you that you can't become one without doing the course - you can take the exam, pass it, and still not be a VCP. So either way, you pay up. It's one of VMWare's ways of keeping the numbers at bay - and there are more qualifications coming too.
Now it a great time to get in to it - especially since Citrix and to a MUCH lesser extent, MS are trying to do the same thing (and not too badly in some cases).
Be aware that whilst I've seen jobs with £80k being offered, I've yet to see one actually exist. I earn under half of that but I'd still call myself "new" to the industry. Time will tell, of course!
Best way to learn, BTW, is to use. The exam can't be passed without experience (or a photographic memory).
Now it a great time to get in to it - especially since Citrix and to a MUCH lesser extent, MS are trying to do the same thing (and not too badly in some cases).
Be aware that whilst I've seen jobs with £80k being offered, I've yet to see one actually exist. I earn under half of that but I'd still call myself "new" to the industry. Time will tell, of course!
Best way to learn, BTW, is to use. The exam can't be passed without experience (or a photographic memory).
I am also a VCP Consultant and have used it extensively for the past 3 1/2 years. Have been out of contract since end Dec and there are a lot of people out there who are doing the work for a lot less money than I have been charging! I have to sit back and be patient and wait for the deployments to fall over so that I can go back in and assess...
The training is mostly a waste of time if you have used ESX intensively, but in order to qualify as VCP, you have to do the course, as mentioned by previous user. For a new user, if you don't have a good grasp of Storage concepts, VLANs and switching technology, you will probably be a bit lost. Out of all the exams I have taken, this was the most "challenging" and I would say that if you have not used ESX, you would be lucky to pass...
The training is mostly a waste of time if you have used ESX intensively, but in order to qualify as VCP, you have to do the course, as mentioned by previous user. For a new user, if you don't have a good grasp of Storage concepts, VLANs and switching technology, you will probably be a bit lost. Out of all the exams I have taken, this was the most "challenging" and I would say that if you have not used ESX, you would be lucky to pass...
Yeah, this seems to be the advice i'm hearing a lot. So i think my best bet is to set up some sort of test environment and have a play with my own servers.
A bit of a development, my boss caught wind of this and says that he would be interested in funding it. But without experience i'd feel even worse wasting his money.
David.
A bit of a development, my boss caught wind of this and says that he would be interested in funding it. But without experience i'd feel even worse wasting his money.
David.
I manage VMware, one of the few things I’m not formally qualified in, at the ESX/infrastructure/SAN/DR level. As it gets extremely complex at this level daily hands on is a must unlike Microsoft/CompTIA which you can get away minimal hands on/flash cards and books etc... Still waiting on work to put me through formal VMware courses in addition to many uncertified courses.
Not the easiest/cheapest lab to setup at home plus it's only through working with the product and related technologies daily you really get to grips with it...
On another note I find that once you have enough years experience and courses under your belt even more courses have little effect on your marketability...
Cheers
Not the easiest/cheapest lab to setup at home plus it's only through working with the product and related technologies daily you really get to grips with it...
On another note I find that once you have enough years experience and courses under your belt even more courses have little effect on your marketability...
Cheers
Davie GLA
In terms of building a lab I built an ESXi environment on an HP ML115 server for about £200 a whilst back - however ESXi doesn't let you play with fun things like VMotion, DRS, or HA.
I've seen it written that it's possible to install the full ESX evaluation as a virtual machine on VMWorkstation (or within ESXi?) but I've not tried it yet.
If you've not already found it in your research google Kiwi Si's 'techhead' blog. It has some useful hints for building an affordable lab setup.
In terms of building a lab I built an ESXi environment on an HP ML115 server for about £200 a whilst back - however ESXi doesn't let you play with fun things like VMotion, DRS, or HA.
I've seen it written that it's possible to install the full ESX evaluation as a virtual machine on VMWorkstation (or within ESXi?) but I've not tried it yet.
If you've not already found it in your research google Kiwi Si's 'techhead' blog. It has some useful hints for building an affordable lab setup.
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