When I started working with VMware over 20 years ago, their product range was fairly simple: we had VMware Workstation and VMware GSX, we then moved to ESX.
The very first VMware system I implemented was for a customer who had a very specific problem: a power supply had failed inside a manufacturing PC and the supplier wanted a lot of money to exact the repair. Fortunately, the hard drive was intact and we tried a cold physical-to-virtual conversion – basically, we pulled the data from the hard drive and created a VM. It worked. The new PC plus operating system and the VMware came in at £10,000 less than it would cost to buy replacement hardware from the software vendor.
I was hooked on the VMware products.
I worked as a virtualisation engineer until 2007, and at that point, we only had the VMware Certified Professional certification, but that piece of paper got me my current job at QA. So for me, VMware certifications have been critical in my career progression.
What if you’re an employer?
If an employee or prospective employee holds the VMware Certified Professional certification, you at least know that the person attended the qualifying course. Obviously, that doesn’t guarantee they paid attention, but it ensures that the VMware professional has been trained – not many software vendors can guarantee that.
PC Mag UK has it as one of the top 10 IT-based certifications for 2020 and found that IT professionals with this credential earned an average of 7.4 career certifications, which means that they usually know more than just VMware.
The certifications and why you should pursue them
“VMware certifications are a badge of honour, designed to validate your expertise and get you where you need to be – proficient today and future-proofed for tomorrow. According to a recent survey of 10,000 certified IT pros, 34% reported a salary increase as one of the benefits to becoming certified.” Source: VMware
The two main certifications are the VMware Certified Professional, and the VMware Certified Advanced Professional, and we offer both here at QA. We are an official VMware Partner and is recognised as a VMware Authorised Training Centre (VATC). Our 10 VMware Certified Instructors (VCIs) are here to ensure you get the most out of your training and certification journey. Whether you wish to study remotely, dial into a classroom course, learn at your own pace, or experience our top-of-the-class training facilities, QA offers you the highest-quality VMware learning experience.
View this brochure to see all the QA VMware certifications.
So, on to the certifications.
The VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
The VMware Certified Professional (VCP) program is designed for IT professionals (administrators and engineers) who install, configure, manage and optimise VMware solutions.
The VMware Certified Professional takes on average 6 months to complete and comes in 6 different tracks:
- Cloud Management & Automation (CMA)
- Data Centre Virtualisation (DCV)
- Desktop & Mobility (DTM)
- Digital Workspace (DW)
- Network Virtualisation (NW)
- Security (NSX-T)
The VCP certification currently has certified professionals in 193 countries, and the average salary for a VCP is $130,226 (figures obtained from VMware).
VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP)
The VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) program is for IT professionals (administrators, architects and engineers) who design and build VMware solutions (VCAP Design), and manage and optimise VMware solutions (VCAP Deployment).
The VMware Certified Advanced Professional takes on average 12 months to complete and comes in 6 different tracks:
- Cloud Management & Automation (CMA)
- Data Centre Virtualisation (DCV)
- Desktop & Mobility (DTM)
- Digital Workspace (DW)
- Network Virtualisation (NV)
In each track you can earn Design certification for the VCAP-Design, and also Deploy certification for VCAP-Deploy; earn both in any track and you also earn the VMware Certified Implementation Expert designation VCIX.
The VCAP certification currently has certified professionals in 110 countries, 34% reported a salary increase, 26% got a job promotion, and 44% stated they had increased productivity and efficiency. Also, 65% of respondents saw first benefit within 4 months. (Figures obtained from VMware).
Also see:
- Which VMware certifications and tracks are right for me?
- VCTA: The new introduction certification from VMware
Whichever certification or track you pursue, the journey can be rewarding for yourself and your company, and you’ll learn a lot on your journey.

Bryan O'Connor
Bryan O’Connor is a Principal Learning Specialist and looks after QA's VMware, CompTIA and Cloud Credential Council (CCC) curriculums. He delivers a wide range of courses and holds over 50 CompTIA, Microsoft, VMware and other technical certifications himself.
Bryan has worked in the IT industry since 1986 when he was a hardware engineer on Commodore Pets, then moved into networking, and later specialised in virtualisation and cloud technologies. In 1997 he started working for QA training as a Microsoft and VMware trainer.
Bryan has taught VMware Products since 1997, became a VMware vExpert in 2012 and has worked with VMware in developing their range of vSphere courses. He speaks at various technical events and owns and runs his own VMware blog at www.bryanoconnor21.co.uk.
Starting with DOS, Bryan has worked with Microsoft technologies since 1986 and taught it since 1999. He runs his own YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/bryanqa, which hosts hundreds of Microsoft demo videos.
Bryan has been a member of the Cloud Credential Council (CCC) expert panel since its inception, has co-written white papers and has also been a member of the CCC talks sessions.
Outside of QA, Bryan enjoys spending time with his wife Tracey and their two daughters Meagan and Jessica, unless there’s a Grand Prix on the TV, when he enjoys paying Tracey, Meagan and Jessica to disappear for the day.
More articles by Bryan
All about the VMware Data Center Virtualization Certification 2021 update
QA's VMware vExpert Bryan O'Connor looks at the 2021 VMware Data Center Virtualization certifications.
02 February 2021VCTA: The new introduction certification from VMware
Bryan O'Connor introduces the new entry-level VMware certification, Certified Technical Associate (VCTA).
27 November 2020Which VMware certifications and tracks are right for me?
Bryan O'Connor explains the different VMware certification levels and tracks available in 2020.
27 November 2020VMware: Multi-Cloud Introduction
QA's very own VMware vExpert, Bryan O'Connor, introduces VMware Multi-Cloud.
24 November 2020Why multi-cloud, what are the challenges and how can VMware help?
What is the difference between hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud? Why use multi-cloud for my organisation and what are the challen…
13 November 2020VMworld 2020 – VMware focuses on the future of digital working
QA's very own VMware vExpert, Bryan O'Connor, outlines the 5 critical building blocks that VMware will focus on to accelerate…
14 October 2020The vSphere 7 certification exam: Everything you need to know
Learn more about the Professional VMware vSphere 7.x exam and how you can prepare for it here.
30 July 2020New VMware course: vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage v7
QA's very own VMware vExpert, Bryan O'Connor, introduces the new VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage v7 course.
26 March 2020New VMware course: VMware vSphere What's New v6.7 to v7
QA's very own VMware vExpert, Bryan O'Connor, introduces the new VMware vSphere What's New v6.7 to v7 course.
26 March 20202020 goals: Joining the VMware vExpert programme
QA's very own VMware vExpert, Bryan O'Connor, outlines the benefits of the programme for IT professionals.
02 March 2020