Since the launch of the VMware Certified Associate (VCA) program, we’ve been eager to hear more about the experience from new certification holders. We’ll be adding a section for VCA profiles on our Certification Pros site, but first we wanted to introduce you to a few of the VCAs who will be featured there.
Pradeep Kumar Gadde, 31, from Bangalore, India, holds all three current VCAs, as well as the VCP5-DCV (VMware Certified Professional 5 – Data Center Virtualization). He works at a multi-national company as a network technical specialist on the Network Security Team.
Why did you decide to become a VMware Certified Associate?
So far I was working on single-vendor products and achieved multiple professional-level certifications in security, switching, and routing (both enterprise and service provider) from the vendor over the past couple of years. Now my focus is on acquiring multi-vendor and multi-technology skills. As part of this I was looking to learn other vendor products and technologies. During that search, I decided on VMware and virtualization, as it is the hot topic for today and tomorrow. Everyone is talking about cloud computing, and these tools are the enablers.
At the same time VMware introduced NSX Network Virtualization, which is related to my field. I started learning more about VMware foundational products then, and getting my VCA and VCP is part of that preparation.
How has being VMware certified benefited you or your company?
Recognition from peers and hopefully a better career prospect. I’m looking for opportunities to work more on these technologies in the future.
Are you planning for other VMware Certification this year?
I am currently preparing for a VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) certification.
Miguel Angel Vega Hirata, 38, lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and holds a VCA-Data Center Virtualization (VCA-DCV) and VCA-Cloud. He works for Softtek as an L3 Windows System Administrator assigned to Electronic Arts.
Why did you decide to become a VMware Certified Associate?
I have been working with VMware products for more than a decade, since the first version of Workstation. I have used server and desktop products on many projects. I have worked with VMware products for studying for an IT certification, doing proofs of concept, implementing a whole virtual infrastructure for a chemical company, supporting a bank infrastructure, and a PCI environment at a gaming company.
I had many roles in IT over the years, from sales to tech support to IT manager. Virtualization with VMware products was always among my duties and interests. I decided to focus my career on virtualization and particularly on VMware products. I also decided it was time to start certifying my VMware virtualization knowledge and filling the gaps.
The VMware Certified Associate is an excellent starting point. I found the training for cloud very useful to see how VMware cloud-oriented products help solve business problems.
How has being VMware certified benefited you or your company?
For me and my company, the VCA certification gives a third-party validation to the knowledge I have of VMware products. It gives value to our customers, validating that I know how VMware products can help fulfill their infrastructure needs.
Are you planning for other VMware Certification this year?
Next year I want to focus on VCP5-DCV for the first months of the year, and then prepare for VCAP5-DCA. I am currently enrolled in an online course for the VCP5-DCV and I plan to take my exam in February.
Varun Peddavengari, 35, is a desktop support officer at Viterra Ltd in Adelaide, Australia, and is a VCA-Workforce Mobility (VCA-WM).
Why did you decide to become a VMware Certified Associate?
My company is moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 using VMware Horizon Mirage, and we also use vSphere in our organization. I like virtualization technology and VMware products, so I thought getting certified is the right opportunity to show my interest in VMware.
How has being VMware certified benefited you or your company?
I got a chance to work in the Windows 7 roll-out project using VMware Horizon Mirage because of my VCA-WM certification. It was very exciting and a good learning experience for me. I am very proud of it.
Are you planning for other VMware Certification this year?
I love to study and learn virtualization technologies and want to design my career in that path. Next year I would like to do the next-level VMware certifications.
Have you passed any (or all!) of the VMware Certified Associate exams? We’d love to hear your story. Sharing your experiences and tips helps the whole community. Leave a comment or email [email protected] if you’re interested.
