Effective today (March 10th, 2014), VMware instated a recertification policy for the VCP (VMware Certified Professional) certification. The VCP certification will now have a 2 year validity (it used to be a “for life” certification).
You need to check your transcript on VMware MyLearn to check the validity of your certification. If you passed the exam before March 10th, 2013 you will have a period of two years to re-certify your current VCP5 or earlier VCPs. The info about your certification validity will be on the transcript as well as on the downloadable PDF certificate.
How can I recertify
There are three ways to qualify for the recertification before your certification expiration:
- take the latest VCP exam for your existing track (e.g. If you’re VCP-DCV take the latest VCP-DCV exam)
- take the VCP exam for a lateral track (e.g. If you’re VCP-DCV, passing the VCP-DT re-certifies you).
- take a higher exam (VCAP-DCA/DCD) within the two year timeframe (automatically grants you the latest VCP)
What happens if I don’t recertify in time
- you are no longer VCP certified
- you lose the right to advert yourself as a VCP and can no longer use the VCP logo
- you need to go through the fully fledged exam requirements if you want to be reinstated (i.e. you need to take the required course=expensive!)
- note that there is no grace period
There’s a comprehensive FAQ available on VMware MyLearn.
My feelings
My strongest “against” thought was that this move may penalize VCP holders living in developing countries where exam costs are higher than “in the Western World”.
Overall I think it makes sense, there’s no discussion that VMware as other vendors wants to have qualified specialists that are up-to-date with their knowledge. I’m not sure whether the two year timeframe will be sufficient, it may not always fall in line with the exam release times.
Maybe VMware could also take in consideration that some VCP holders invested a lot of time in the past to achieve VCP1, 2, 3 and 4. A way to reward these longtime virtualization supporters could be to include a “First certified in: dd/mm/yyyy”.