Better certificate for my situation: ITIL or PPM

Drbsanfran

Hi, im planning on making a career shift into the IT field. My previous experience involves project management in the restaurant industry (construction, market research, and budget) and film-making (digital editing, directing, and budget). This summer I will be finished with my masters in Organizational Psychology: team and organizational performance and my internship assisting in project coordination at a IT start up.

My goal is ultimately to get into IT project management however I do not have much more experience then the above. I never held a official IT paid position. Nor do I expect to get a IT PM position right off the bat but rather starting off in a good position to eventually become one.

Consequently, im debating what would assist me more for my goal. Should I go for the PMP (I meet the requirements) or the ITIL. What would be most attractive to an employer for someone like me who is trying to get into IT that has a ton of leadership experience in other fields. I am concerned about breaking into this field and am looking for the certificate to better my chances. I will probably only get one certificate before I start applying and would like to get info on this. I do not expect a clear cut answer on this but just looking for some feedback

Thank you

lordy

If I was in your position I would go for PMP.

From what I have read so far this is a valueable certificate even outside the IT and more focused on Project Management than IT processes.

I also think that ITIL is highly overrated. The concepts of Change|Incident|Problem-Management are fine and dandy but, to me, that's about it. If you have been in IT for a while the concepts are obvious. To me there is no need to create this ITIL buzz.

Priston

I could be wrong but ITIL seems to be more popular.

N2IT

lordy wrote: »

If I was in your position I would go for PMP.

From what I have read so far this is a valueable certificate even outside the IT and more focused on Project Management than IT processes.

I also think that ITIL is highly overrated. The concepts of Change|Incident|Problem-Management are fine and dandy but, to me, that's about it. If you have been in IT for a while the concepts are obvious. To me there is no need to create this ITIL buzz.

I would think if you are going to go for one certification I would go with the PMP. I believe it's only one test (I've never taken it or even looked into taking it).

ITIL requires 6 test at the least to get the expert v3. You could take the ITIL V3 Foundations and then take the ITIL Transition stage exam. That core really drills into implementation into operations.

I don't think ITIL is worthless. I learned a lot from my OSA certification and refer back to the book from time to time.

NinjaBoy

Drbsanfran wrote: »

...Consequently, im debating what would assist me more for my goal. Should I go for the PMP (I meet the requirements) or the ITIL....

Why not go for both, PMP as well as ITIL v3 Foundation? You've already stated that you've got the requirements for the PMP, and in my opinion as you're not in the IT field already anything above the Foundation level would not really benefit you (like I said imo).

-Ken

forkvoid

ITIL isn't going to help you unless you're in an ITIL organization, which you won't know until the interview. Therefore, it's hit or miss on it's usefulness. Also, ITIL has very little to do with project management.

Project management, however, is useful in any organization, and you have experience in it. Go that route.

lordy

@Forkvoid: Very well said, that was the point I was trying to make.

erpadmin

Prior to getting more involved with Techexams, I've never heard of ITIL. PMP though I have heard of. But popularity aside, I have also seen demand for PMP on job boards. (Though that should never be the reason to go for a cert, IMO...it should be done based on interest.)

Having said that, PMP with your background would be much more useful than ITIL. As others have said, it can be used in situations/organizations that aren't even IT-related. If not PMP, CAPM would even be a good one if you don't 100% qualify for the PMP.