Are HDI certifications worth anything in the job market?

kbremner

My only job experience in IT was almost 10 years ago doing entry level (or slightly better) desk-side support for university students. I am now going back to school to get back into IT, hopefully doing something similar. I recently came across the HDI family of certifications. Seems like there most popular is HDI-Customer Service Representative which seems to be aimed at call center employees. They also offer a Desktop Support Technician. The courses/certs seem to be aimed more toward customers service skills and not with the technical side of IT. Do any of you have any of these certs, particularly the HDI-DST, and have any insight to offer?

lsud00d

I have the HDI CSR--it was the first cert I completed while working Help Desk at my university. It was a very straightforward online exam that my employer paid for. I have not found much ROI on it (I don't bother listing it on my resume) and I would not pay for it out of pocket.

kbremner

Did you find the material behind the exam to be worthwhile to working in a help desk/user support position? Did you take the HDI course before taking the exam or self-study?

lsud00d

For my purposes, no, not really. It runs through a few things that are good to remember in the big scheme of things as far as help desk and customer service go but without knowing your aim I'd say something like the A+ or MS 70-680 will have much higher ROI. I went through the course online and it was very straightforward, as was the exam. I believe HDI is only relevant in the higher ed sector.

Mike-Mike

HDI Support Center Analyst was my first cert, I was so excited when I got it, its even my avatar...


that being said, only one company ever even knew what it was, and literally no one else has ever heard of it

j23evan

I'm an HDI member, though I do not think I will renew the membership. I am interested in getting the certs, but I am not sure how much value they bring, especially for the cost. Most IT professionals I know do not want to do help desk, and while they do offer higher level certs most are predicated on help desk fundamentals. And A+ does spend a lot of time on help desk/customer service/customer relationship scenarios.