VCDX certification – for anyone who is on the fence about going through with it, you may want to take a look at some short video clips shot at VMworld 2012 last year. VCDXs who have gone through the certification process talk about what it has done for them in terms of opportunity, benefits, and perhaps life in general. Up until last year, growth in the program was fairly modest. I know through conversations there were a lot of people interested in VCDX certification but at the same time they were hesitant for a variety of reasons, most of which I feel stem from being confident in themselves. In the past year or so, there has been a surge of candidates who have successfully completed the journey and I hope those who are still on the fence have noticed and it gives them a shot of confidence to unlock their true potential and show the panel and community what they are capable of. As I mention in my video, making it to the defense stage shows incredible integrity and pass or fail it is still a great learning experience. Now don’t get me wrong here, shelling out $300 for a design submission and $900 for a defense slot does not buy over-the-counter confidence and guarantee a pass. It may serve as motivation but candidates will need to search within themselves to find what it is that will pave the road to success for them. I was talking to a VCDX panelist one night and one thing that he mentioned is that successful candidates had one thing in common: Confidence. It made sense to me. When I went through the process it was still relatively new. Not knowing what exactly to expect or train for was the source of some anxiety but there’s more training resources available now to VCDX candidates than ever before including bootcamps and books from VMware Press which should help build confidence. And by the way, being confident doesn’t mean you won’t be nervous going into your defense – you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t – or you may be over confident which can work against you in your defense. Keep in mind there’s a good chance the panelists are smarter and more well prepared than you are.
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at VMworld next week and hopefully I’ll meet some new VCDXs!
Jason Boche VCDX #34
Mark Gabryjelski VCDX #23
Doug Baer VCDX #19 and Randy Stanley VCDX #94
Updated 9/3/13: Congratulations to the New VCDXs from VMworld San Francisco
- Mike Tellinghuisen, VCDX 111
- Timothy Antonowicz, VCDX 112
- Jason Horn, VCDX 113
- Tim Curless, VCDX 114
- Kenneth Garreau, VCDX 115
- Jonathan Kohler, VCDX 116
- David Martin Hosken, VCDX 117
- Brian Suhr, VCDX 118
- James Galdes, VCDX 119
