What is the best thing about being an EMC Proven Professional?

Shannon you will be going for your expert! That is fantastic!!

Besides your own personal learning style, do you think there are any other benefits to needing hands-on experience with the technologies in order to pass the Proven tests?

As with any certification, it's a good way to show that you at least have studied the material that you are certified in. I think the thing I like the most about the EMC certifications is that most of the Specialist and Expert level tracks require you to have some hands on experience with the technology. I find the best way for me to learn and understand anything is to work with it.

I have my EMCIE Specialist for NAS and will be working towards Expert soon.

Oh, absolutely! If anyone were to ask me if I had any hands-on experience with the Celerra, I could honestly tell them that I do. I could give them examples of what I've done, and if I were asked to demonstrate it, I would be able to do so easily.

In the tech industry, too often the certifications mean nothing to the people who actually need to do the tech jobs, and they are merely benchmarks for HR to judge how "qualified" a person is. That devalues the certification to the point that the only reason people will choose to get certified is because they won't be able to get hired for a job without it, but it does not mean that they are capable of actually doing their job.

I don't feel that this is the case with EMC's Proven Professional. The certifications here actually mean something to me. I feel as though the recommended training material leading up to the exam was extremely helpful in preparing me not only for the exam, but for further training that I have taken since. On top of all this, some of the training materials that I have studied have been reference points in my job. I have gone back to look up answers to questions that I have or to review subject material. The entire process of training and certification is rather well done.

ShannonA have you thought about taking the next step and sharing your knowledge with other certified Proven Professionals through the Knowledge Sharing competition?

I'm not sure that I would have the time to submit a good abstract by the 25th of this month, but perhaps for next year I could get something together. It is certainly an interesting opportunity.

Sounds good, keep in mind that the Knowledge Sharing Program accepts submissions all year round. If they decide to publish your submission outside of the competition dates they automatically submit it for the following competition.

Don't forget to add "EMC Proven Professional" to your Profile (under "Expertise") - this allows EMC Community Network members to search for other Proven members.

Thanks for your comment and welcome to the Community.

Do you find people asking about EMC Proven Professional when you wear the shirt - or is more about recognition from others who are already aware of the Proven program?  What other Proven branded merchandise would you find valuable?

The best thing by far are the polo shirts. It's very nice to wear them whenever is possible.

OK, I know there are more than three people that can answer this. Speak up!

It got my manager off my back and he got his MBO

on the serious side, I think it makes it easy for customer to trust you.

Good to know that your manager is happy!  Actually we were hearing (last year) that individuals with Proven credentials were able to penetrate accounts more easily and that the size of the EMC deals were usually more substantial. It would be interesting to hear any examples you might have of close encounters with customers where the credentials played a positive role.

Thanks for the post....!

CK

Hi ShannoNA,

Im planning to take the specialist exam for NAS.. I already passed the Clariion Specialist Exam.

I also done some implementations of NAS.. Can you gave me a pointers about NAS Specialist exam so that I will know where I can focused especially on my review..

Thanks!

Regards,

shiela_rb

Hi Sheila,

If you are looking for the list of training materials and courses to review before the exam, there are a few different options. I'm not sure exactly which NAS specialist exam you are looking at taking, so I'll point you to the list of everything. If you log in to education.emc.com, then click on "Certification" near the top left corner, you will find a list of all the Proven exams that are available. Find the job title that best matches your own, and follow the NAS link from there. You will be able to see a list of recommended materials for both the Specialist and Expert level exams as well as any alerts if the exam content is going to be updated soon.

The only other pointers I can give you is study hard, try the practice exams so you have an idea of your level of understanding of the material, review any areas where you feel you may be weak, and get a good night's rest and a good meal before the exam. And good luck!

Shannon,

   THANKS very much for stepping in with this advice. It is exactly what we are looking for in this community. !!!

Charles

Community Manager