Main image of article VMware Training: What You Need to Succeed

VMware software drives a lot of companies’ cloud computing and virtualization initiatives, which makes learning VMware software key for a number of technologist roles, particularly network engineers and some kinds of software developers. 

If you’re interested in those kinds of jobs, you’ll probably have to learn something about VMware’s products. But where can you obtain those kinds of VMware training courses?

Why is VMware training important?

Numerous tech professional roles hinge on the cloud, virtualization, security, and networking. If your job involves any of those, chances are very good that your prospective employers will utilize VMware products within their respective tech stacks—which means knowing those products is essential to landing the job and succeeding at it.

While many tech professionals are very smart and can certainly self-teach themselves everything about VMware’s various products, others may need guided instruction to build up the necessary knowledge. Also, VMware’s products (like those of many tech vendors) are constantly evolving, which makes training a continuous process.

Some popular VMware products include:

VMware vSphere
VMware NSX
VMware Cloud
VMware Workspace ONE

Before beginning any training regimen, focus on the VMware products you want to learn and how that knowledge will impact your future workflow. If you’re learning a VMware product that’s in your company’s tech stack, consult with your manager about training options (and make sure the company’s willing to give you the time and resources needed to fully engage in that training).

What VMware training courses are offered?

As with many cloud and infrastructure companies, VMware recognizes that a broad swath of technologists need training in its products in order to keep their respective companies’ tech stacks running. As a result, the company hosts a pretty significant learning hub, complete with a combination of live and self-paced online classes.  

VMware’s hosted resources include:

That’s a lot to sort through. If you’re confused about where to start, pay a visit to VMware Customer Connect Learning, which includes pages dedicated to various VMware products, access to forums where you can talk about VMware products and issues, and subscriptions to learning courses.

VMware offers its subscription-based learning courses in three tiers: basic, premium, and enterprise. The first two categories are meant for individual learners, while the enterprise level is for team learning. All three tiers offer free e-learning classes, while the premium and enterprise tiers have a combination of training, live online labs, personalized user support, and more.

Other, third-party sites also offer instruction and classes, including Udemy and IBM. Some of these portals focus on a particular VMware product; if you want a full scope of the company’s software ecosystem, it’s probably best to stick to the VMware educational materials.  

For those who like to self-learn (and there are a lot of you out there), VMware also hosts substantial documentation for its products. Just make sure you absolutely know what you’re doing before you implement a virtualization solution on your company’s tech stack.

Is it hard to learn?  

As with anything else in tech, there’s a lot of inherent complexity to VMware’s products. With enough time, however, anyone can learn what they need to succeed. As we mentioned before, stay aware that VMware products are regularly updated, which means you’ll need to make training a continuous process.

Is VMware in demand?  

According to Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass), which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, VMware-related skills are much in demand. For example, some 140,205 job postings over the past 12 months have requested VMware-related skills; Lightcast also predicts that the demand for such skills will grow 28.6 percent over the next 10 years. Obviously, the cloud and virtualization will remain top-of-mind for companies everywhere for the foreseeable future.

The median salary for jobs that heavily leverage VMware skills stands at $89,858, but those with experience (i.e., more than nine years’ worth of work with virtualization and VMware) can easily pull down a six-figure salary per year at the right company, particularly when you factor in benefits such as stock options.

When negotiating salary, it also pays to keep broader industry salaries in mind. According to the most recent Dice Tech Salary Report, cloud architects and engineers earn an average salary of $145,416 per year; network engineers earn $99,103. Such roles often demand knowledge of products and tools beyond VMware’s suite, but VMware knowledge can only help when it comes to securing new, lucrative positions. 

Here’s a quick breakdown (also from Lightcast) of the technology roles where VMware skills pop up most frequently in job postings; they seem particularly key for network/systems administrator roles. Keep that in mind if you’re applying for any of these positions. 

Are there certifications for VMware? 

Yes. Like many other companies that serve up enterprise-grade infrastructure tools and platforms, VMware offers a stunning plethora of certifications in a number of categories. These certifications are also targeted at technologists of varying skill levels, from entry-level all the way up to experienced architects. These include:

Data Center Virtualization 

Network Virtualization 

 Cloud Management and Automation 

Digital Workspace

Security

Application Modernization 

According to Lightcast, a very small percentage of job postings for network/systems administrators, network engineers/architects, computer systems engineers/architects, and similar roles actually ask for VMware certifications (less than 1 percent, in many cases). However, it always pays to remember that certifications can help you stand out in a crowded competitive field, because they assure hiring managers and recruiters that you have the actual training necessary to get the job done. 

Conclusion

If you work in cloud, virtualization, security, and/or networking, you’ll likely encounter VMware products at some point, especially if you work in an enterprise context. Before beginning any VMware training program, make sure you’re focusing on the right subject areas and products (i.e., cloud or virtualization), and think about where you ultimately want your training to go—are you aiming for certifications, for example?

Once you have a plan, you’ll have multiple options for learning. If you’re a self-learner, there are lots of tutorials online; if you want guided instruction, those options exist, as well. See if your employer will give you the time and resources necessary for VMware training—after all, it’ll only help you become a more effective worker.