SolarWinds SCP: Real-World Value & Career Impact - Seeking Your Insights!

1.  I think SCP certification is a worthwhile investment for a SolarWinds professional.

2.  I don't think the absence of an SCP certification significantly affects the standing in my current role, I think having a certification greatly improves my future job opportunities.  Many companies would select a candidate with SCP certification over a candidate without SCP Certification.  If you are applying to a company that is a 3rd party vendor for SolarWinds or that does SolarWinds upgrades/ configuration, a SCP certification would benefit that company.  Regarding my current role, I think the SCP Certification provides a level of credibility to my opinions that other people may not have had before - because now i am a SCP - which I do have on my email signature.  Every email the get from me now reminds them that I am a SCP .

3.  We work with a 3rd party Vendor and in conversations with them, they have stated that the first thing they needed to do when joining that company was to get SCP certification, so it is a sales point for their company when they are approaching new potential customers.  

Hi WindsOfNishat , For SolarWinds Partner there is a requirement for the partner to have SCPs employed.  As employer going to market soon to look for an SolarWinds application engineer, an SCP Certificate would stand out on a persons CV, but you can't replace experience as exams aren't for everyone.

To answer your questions though:

1. Is SCP certification truly a worthwhile investment for a SolarWinds professional? I would say it is, especially if you are looking to get employed with a SolarWinds Partner, or if your company are looking to become a SolarWinds Partner. 

2. Does the absence of an SCP certification significantly affect your standing in your current role or prospects for future job opportunities? No I don't think so, as I said above you can't replace experience. 

3. Are there any industry guidelines or de facto standards indicating that only SCP-certified professionals are authorized to handle SolarWinds-related tasks or jobs? No there isn't as I manage a team that supports SolarWinds day in day out.  What would be nice is if there was training to handle more in-depth trouble shooting of SolarWinds, not just the shiny front end.. 

Good points 

Thanks LeBeauUK  for your detail response. But for this sentence "For SolarWinds Partner there is a requirement for the partner to have SCPs employed." I am not sure that it's compulsory requirement and all solarwinds is following this.

Hi for the elite partner level it is a requirement. For the other levels it is recommended. A lot of contracts that companies tender for ask for proof of SMEs how better than having SCPs employed. 

Our company typically promotes from within unless we can't find someone to meet our needs internally. Once we do go outside it's all in the HR department to screen candidates and then they typically only present us with 4-6 to interview. Since SolarWinds is one of the tools specifically spelled out as desired in the job requirements, I am sure a SolarWinds certification would get your resume higher in the pile before it gets to us for interview. Just my thought.

So i think there are a few ways to look at this.

Is the SCP certification a worthwhile investment?  I had lots of experience with SolarWinds before they started certifying people, so the level of effort to study to pass the tests was always trivial.  I spend an hour or so the day before the test refreshing myself against the study guide.  It honestly always took me more time to make sure i had an environment that could pass the PSI "inspection" than it does to study.  And my employers always pay for my certs and usually likes to see me doing at least some level of annual professional development and a few certs a year was an easy way to knock that out. So In that regard it was worth it to me because it cost me very little in terms of time and nothing out of pocket.

When I have applied for jobs as a dedicated SolarWinds admin HR always asks me if Im certified in the tools, so I expect it benefits me there, and I've been asked about it when doing consulting gigs.  When I've taken roles that were not specifically a monitoring admin they are more interested in my scripting and automation skills, so it depends on what roles you are applying for.

Another thing to consider is the market segment you tend to work in, big companies like certs and specialists and can afford to have several people who just do monitoring all day every day.  Small to mid companies will expect you to be a generalist and in that case I bet a cert in whatever OS they use is way more important that any monitoring vendor cert.


If I was unemployed or just starting out today I wouldn't prioritize a vendor specific cert like this ahead of working on more widely applicable skills. If I was currently in charge of a small to mid size SW environment and wanted to move to a bigger company where it was one of the central aspects of my day to day work, or get into consulting I would pick it up.  I still would expect to make my current job pay for it.  I can't see myself coming out of pocket for any vendor cert.

hi guys, slightly off topic, does anyone have SCP practice tests or provide link to free practice tests? Please, advise. really appreciate it.

Hi RAJPAD 

First, you need to identify the specific module for which you wish to take the SCP exam, as SolarWinds offers more than 12 SCP exams. You can check these modules using the provided URL.

Secondly, you can utilize the different available portals for your SCP exam practice sessions and other relevant information, using the URLs mentioned below.

1. (+) SolarWinds Litmos Academy Portal - SolarWinds Certified Professional - SolarWinds Academy - THWACK
2. (+) Exciting News – HCO NET-MOM SCP Exam Prep Course is Live on Udemy! - Forum - SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted (formerly known as Hybrid Cloud Observability) - THWACK
3. (+) Please provide guidance on studying for the NPM exam or any related study materials. - SolarWinds Certified Professional - SolarWinds Academy - THWACK

Thanks mesverrum , I appreciate your honest response.