Certification costs

Thanks Gina for posting the concern to a new thread. Any help from your side. We individual who are not related to EMC and still want to know more about EMC should get some free coupons to atlest sit in the EMC certification and enhance our skills

Hello Rohitmu,

We understand that it can be difficult to achieve certification, it takes time, money, and commitment.  We offer most of our exam preparation learning in a variety of formats, at different price points, to make it easier to get certified.

Although we do not discount our exam prices, we do offer special programs with learning partners such as NIIT where you can attend training and take your certification exam (combined).

Please let me know if I've answered your question.

Thanks Michelle. Its great to receive solutions from top EMC experts like you. This is why EMC is a leader, not only because of the product but because of the services as well.

I have a clear understanding about the EMC product and I have worked on various DMX and Symmetrix boxes. ISM deals with the SAN part and EMC products and I hope I can clear those, I have studied most of the PDF's properly. I was curious to know that like EMC provides free coupons to EMC employees, cant we get some priveleges like that so that we can also go ahead and participate in the certification exam. Atleast a few free certification coupons can be released for power link users or emc education site visitors. These are very basic certification to move for the specialist one.

Even NIIT charges good amount of money for the certification and training. Above all EMC have so much data on internet that there is no need of any formal training as such for these basic certifications.

Michelle a quick questio, from where can we get the complete study material for ISM exam in the eductaion site.

Regards!

Hello Rohitmu, thank you for your kind words!

Information Storage and Management is the course that prepares you for your Associate level EMC Proven Professional certification.  You can find resources here including:

• Links to purchase the 5 day class, or 4 eLearning courses (I know that you are concerned about the cost, so please continue reading!)
• The same link will give you access to the exam description.  This is very important, as you can thoroughly review it and identify any areas where you may want to devote more study. 
• You can launch a practice exam, also from the same link.  Passing the practice exam doesn't guarantee that you'll pass the certification exam, but it can help you to become familiar with the testing questions and also to identify areas where you may need additional learning

I know that the cost is important to you, so I'd like to present one more option.  We published our first book, Information Storage and Management, this year.  It's a complete resource and wonderful reference.  If you enjoy reading, and working on solutions to the end of chapter tests, it can prepare you for the exam at low cost.

Please let me know what you decide!

I was just catching up on the discussions going on here and as I was reading through this one I was going to suggest the ISM book, but you beat me to it Michelle.

While not every cert offers this unique opportunity, I found this book to be an excellent resource. I have worked with EMC technologies since late 2000 so I had lots of experience to build on, but I don't believe I would have passed the Certification Exam for ISM without having read this book first (since I didn't take the course). The ISM cert covers a wide enough variety of "specialties" that I'd be surprised if anyone had detailed knowledge of all of them at the same time.

I do look forward to other books in the future covering other course material. While the books can't possibly offer the same level of detail and depth that a formal course can provide... some people don't need that level of training. They just need to fill out the areas they don't work with every day, and some fine tuning on the details of the things they do use every day.

Rohitmu, I would definitely recommend the ISM book as the starting point for you based on the situation you describe. I think a quick first read through will likely open your eyes a bit on why writing the exam with no "formal" prep at all wouldn't always be a good idea. The book is very inexpensive compared to similar (and I use that term loosely) books from other sources. After you have taken that step, you only have to worry about the cost of the exam itself. While it isn't cheap to write the exams, if you are prepared and confident, you should be looking at it more as an investment than an expense: an investment in your future career path and job stability in what is still a questionable global economy.

Just remember, if it didn't cost anything to write, there would be lots of people out there writing the exams over and over until they passed just to get the recognition. That would take away from every one of us who worked hard to get that certification and were willing to make the investment in our own futures. Trust me when I say that I understand about the cost, and that not every company is willing to cover the cost of certifying it's employees. In the long run though it is very similar to other investments we make when we are searching for jobs in the first place. We make sure we show up for interviews in nice cloths that reflect our professional values. We may spend money for professional help with our resumes or even with the job search itself. This isn't any different, except that it is a bit more proactive (if you already have a job).

Anyway, I hope some of this helps. And if you get nothing else out of this, please take my recommendation to get a copy of the ISM book. Even if you don't write the exam it is a useful resource!

Allen,

Thanks for your reply. The suggestion and experience shared is worthy and practical. Even I am looking for a way to get the ISM book. It will a great asset to anyone who is dealing, learning or anyways a part of EMC.

I would definetly follow your suggestion and thanks again for your words.

I hope this is what I always describe in my comments...there is a bond when you work with EMC.

I believe the brand, the company holds its presence so much that who so ever comes in contact with "THE EMC" gets automatically connect with this bond. I am sure this bond with EMC will always stay with us; getting stronger and bigger everyday.

Thanks Allen.

Regards,

Rohit