Passed the VCP-DCV 2020

I finally got around to obtaining my VCP-DCV 2020 this year. I started studying towards the beginning of the year, but put it on the back burner at first due to the COVID outbreak, then moving to a new house (exciting during a pandemic), and then switching roles at VMware. I was able to get back to studying through August and most of October.

I won’t get too far into how to prepare for the test, however I will state the following that I’m sure has been repeated by others time and time again:

• Read the blueprint. I know it seems like the blueprint can almost seem vague (i.e. “Securely boot ESXi hosts”), but the nice thing about the blueprint is it’s easy to find where in VMware’s official documentation those topics are…which leads me to my next point.
• Read the official documentation. Go to https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/index.html and grab the latest version of the documentation. I downloaded them as PDFs and would then read through the sections I thought were applicable (sometimes entire documents) and then take notes (I would use my iPad and use half of the screen for documentation and the other half to write down notes).
• Get hands-on experience. Getting hands-on experience is absolutely helpful for solidifying everything that you are reading. I’ve had a lot of opportunity to get hands-on experience with my roles at VMware, but I am also lucky enough to have a home lab that allows me to try out features that I haven’t had a chance to try. Don’t have a home lab? Head to https://labs.hol.vmware.com, register for a free account, and enroll into one of the vSphere labs. That should be enough to get your feet wet.

I would do the above nightly until I felt fairly comfortable with the content. It’s a lot of information to take in, so if you need to take a day or two from studying to just let your mind recover, go for it! Especially with the way things are going these days, mental health is important. I won’t get into the Foundations exam since nothing has really changed there – it’s a non-proctored exam so that works well in the current climate. Where things were interesting for me was how the professional exam works as a remotely-proctored test. Having never taken a remotely-proctored exam, I was curious as to how this would work.

The general workflow is:

• Download the Pearson Vue application. The night before your test, log into the Pearson Vue site and download their application to test whether your computer can run the software with no problems. My recommendation would be to use a personal machine in case your corporate-owned machine has firewall settings that would prevent you from running the application.
• Log into the exam. The day of the exam, log into the Pearson Vue site, and it will kick off running the application you downloaded. The application will walk you through step by step on getting set up, such as:
  • Using your phone to take a picture of your face and your drivers license.
  • Using your phone to take a picture of your test environment. This means taking a picture facing your computer, to your left, to your right, and to your rear. This is to ensure that there are no materials near you that could be used to cheat on the exam. I would also make sure your desk is completely clear of everything.
• Hang out and wait a bit. After you’ve uploaded your pictures, you will be waiting for Pearson Vue to go through them and make sure everything is compliant. There is a chance they may ask for additional pictures or they may ask you to move your computer’s web cam around to look at things. This did not happen to me though but I did wait for about 5-10 minutes.
• Pass the test. Now it’s time to apply what you’ve studied to knock the test out of the park. Don’t mind the small window of your face at the top of your screen. It’s a tad unnerving, but I understand the requirement.

Once you’re done with your test, you’ll be immediately notified if you passed. You’ll have the chance to print out your sheet showing that you’ve passed, and after that the Pearson Vue application will unceremoniously close, ending the exam. I found the entire process really straight-forward and kind of fascinating.

All in all, I’m relieved I was able to knock out the test. The next goal is to start studying at the beginning of the year for the VCAP.