I've tried really hard to stay out of this discussion, but at this point I feel like there's a need to reply.
As an instructor for VMware, I can tell you of countless times when I've had students in my class who are certified on previous versions of our products who come to me after a particular lecture who say, "I never knew that, I've been doing it wrong for years. Thank you!".
I can assure you that this is not a "money grab" or "shakedown", and nobody at VMware attempts to require those that purchase our products to have certified engineers on staff. VMware's education business is extremely small relative to the entire company. Our mission simply is to advocate best practices and knowledge of our products to ease adoption, and to help our customers be successful. Certification systems work for us (all of us) because it pre-qualifies IT engineers and says to employers, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
While passing an exam says that you know how to answer a particular question, it doesn't speak to a wholistic knowledge of a product or system in the same way that sitting in a class with an expert instructor and other students for a week and having in-depth discussions on the technology and the environments in which it's deployed.
We all know of the stories of Microsoft's certifications in the early 2000's. You could read a book, pass an exam, and call yourself a MCP. That doesn't mean you know anything about how to manage a Windows server or AD at scale. It doesn't mean that you have any experience. I remember going to a job fair in 2002 after the first dot com crash where there were lines out the door of people waiting to get in. There was a sign outside the door that said, "No MCP's needed." The value of that certification dropped to zero.
VMware's certifications are valuable and highly respected precisely because they require strong knowledge and experience to obtain. They tell an employer that you've invested in your education and that you truly have expertise that can't be gained simply by reading a manual.
Through VMware's IT Academy program, VMware has created a system that lowers the cost to entry for young IT professionals looking to gain knowledge and get a start in the industry. Links to that program and institutions that offer that program have been repeatedly linked in this thread. This is the exact same course that is offered through VMware Learning's direct instruction, and it qualifies in the same way for the education component of the certification process.
I feel sorry for those that don't have an employer that's willing to invest in their employee's education enough to give you a week to get smarter, but I understand that in some small organizations that a $3-4k investment is heavy. In that case, the IT Academy might be just the right fit.
Finally, for those of you that haven't had the opportunity to keep their certification current I recommend some of our more advanced classes. Don't take our Install, Configure, and Manage classes again. On the vSphere side we have vSphere Design, Operate, Scale and Secure, and Troubleshooting to name a few. We also have What's New classes for those that are certified who want to make sure they keep their certification current. In that case you only have to take the class. No new exam needed.
I am very proud of the certification program at VMware. We work hard to make sure it is a reasonable and fair process, and that your investment in time and money earns a significant return in your career.
Thanks for reading. Sincerely,
Joe Cooper
VCP, VCAP, VCIX, etc., etc.