You may remember back in August we introduced a new naming convention and timeline for our certifications.
We are now beginning to roll out our new VCPs for 2019. Since it’s a new change in terms of naming and timing, I want to provide more clarification on how it all works and what you can expect.
With the year designator on every certification, it becomes clearer when you earned a certification and how current your expertise is within that certification track. The certification you earn depends on when you complete the requirements. If you meet all the requirements in 2019 (starting on January 16), you’ll earn the 2019 certification. If you finish it in 2020, you’ll earn the 2020 certification, and so on.
For each certification, there are exam requirements. When the certification launches, the most recent exam will still be available since it represents a current solution (although with a different exam code so our system will map it to the new certification). Then, based on product updates, available resources, and the timing of product releases, one or more new exams will be released. Any of the available exams count towards the certification, as they represent current solutions.
For example, the new VCP-DCV 2019 will include the choice of:
- the current exam based on vSphere 6.5 (with the new exam code)
- or the new exam based on vSphere 6.7, available on or before January 24
Here are the exam plans for each VCP certification for 2019:
And to ensure we are always certifying on current solutions, we will retire exams as we introduce new versions. The current policy is that we retire exams four months after a new version is released (subject to change).
For those who have earned one of the two previous versions of the certification (see policy here), upgrade paths will be straight-forward. Choose one of:
- Passing the new exam
- Passing a smaller Delta exam, when available
- Other options, which will be added as they are released, with the goal of making it simpler to upgrade
I hope this helps clarify some of the new standards for our annual certification releases. We will also be posting FAQs on our website to help answer other questions as they come up. Post any questions you may have here, and I will answer and/or create a FAQ for it!
