ITIL Worth It

The ITIL Certification has recently caught my attention. Is this certification worth getting and if so, what field of work would this apply to.

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Todd Burrell

It would obviously apply to IT companies or IT organizations. ITIL is sort of a PMP type set of processes but specifically for IT Services and for providing services for customers. If you work for an IT company that provides services to internal and/or external customers then this would interest you. There seem to be more and more companies that are looking into using ITIL processes to handle their services.

I personally think that the ITIL Foundations cert if pretty worthless overall, but if you work on beyond that then the ITIL Intermediate courses cover a lot of the ITIL framework in good detail. However, the ITIL Intermediate exam format is a complete pain.

Go here for more info:

http://www.itil-officialsite.com/

ptilsen

The short answer is yes.

It will be seen as highly valuable in any organization that has adopted ITIL, plans to adopt it, or values it. While managed service providers do favor it heavily, it is not uncommon for large corporate IT departments to adopt ITIL.

Claire Agutter

Hi just in time

I'm an ITIL trainer, so obviously I think it's worth it

For you, I guess the answer depends on what you want to do in your career? If you want to be in a certain type of job in 1 year or 5 years, check your local job listings and see if ITIL is mentioned. If it is, it's worth it.

You can get the Foundation qualification for a pretty small investment if you self-study (there are lots of threads on here that will help you) so it may be a small pain for a long term gain.

Let us know what you decide,

Claire

ConradJ

I found it very dry and difficult to study for because I've never worked in an environment which incorporates it. However, at least up here, I'm seeing a large increase in job postings that list it.
As Claire said, it's not tremendously involving and really won't cost much to learn, but it is going to be a gain in the future for sure.

odysseyelite

I've seen some jobs ask for the the cert but not too many. The value I got from getting the cert was being able to communicate with the project managers. It makes it easier to be on the same page during a large scale project. Down the road I'm sure it will be helpful when trying to move into management or PM work.

Everyone

IMO, very valuable, even in places that don't actively use it. It's not technical, so if you get bored with non-technical learning, it can be hard to get through, but having an understanding of ITIL will certainly benefit your career.

rob7278

My $0.02:

I felt like the ITIL V3 Foundations exam was a gimme (by far the easiest of all the certification exams I have taken thus far)- I spent very little time studying for this exam and passed easily. Of course I am currently an Incident Manager, so I am expected to understand ITIL processes.

jeng

In several of my past positions we utilized ITIL so having just the foundations was good for everyone so we were all speaking the same language. However I went beyond that to get my ITIL expert designation and this has helped me greatly in my current role as an ITSM consultant that implements IT Service Management solutions. It really just depends on what your role is and where you see your career going.

N2IT

Todd Burrell wrote: »

I personally think that the ITIL Foundations cert if pretty worthless overall, but if you work on beyond that then the ITIL Intermediate courses cover a lot of the ITIL framework in good detail.

I think if you take the time to study the high level processes and actually learn the material and utilize that material the foundation certification is very valuable. But if you **** it or just race through it you are absolutely correct. But that goes for the MCSE and CCNA as well. If you just run through them or **** them they are worthless.

JustFred

Could someone recommend which ITIL book to start with? I will like to get a cert for this. Where do i start?

jibbajabba

FredWatanabe wrote: »

Could someone recommend which ITIL book to start with? I will like to get a cert for this. Where do i start?

When buying books make sure it is based on the new Syllable (as of Feb 01).

There aren't many books out there yet but I used

ITIL 2011 Edition - A Pocket Guide English Version Best Practice Van Haren Publishing: Amazon.co.uk: Jan van Bon: Books

and the official aid

Passing your ITIL® Foundation Exam - 2011 edition: Study Aid from the Official Publisher of ITIL

Both combined have pretty much the same content (almost identical) as the course book I got from a 3-Day course so that is def. sufficient to pass the exam ...

JustFred

jibbajabba wrote: »

When buying books make sure it is based on the new Syllable (as of Feb 01).

There aren't many books out there yet but I used

ITIL 2011 Edition - A Pocket Guide English Version Best Practice Van Haren Publishing: Amazon.co.uk: Jan van Bon: Books

and the official aid

Passing your ITIL® Foundation Exam - 2011 edition: Study Aid from the Official Publisher of ITIL

Both combined have pretty much the same content (almost identical) as the course book I got from a 3-Day course so that is def. sufficient to pass the exam ...

Great thanks for the links.

There are for the entry level exam right?

jibbajabba

FredWatanabe wrote: »

Great thanks for the links.

There are for the entry level exam right?

Correct, for the Foundation exam. You can find the exam on Prometric / VUE under either EXIN (EX0-101) or ISEB (BH0-012) - both are the same exam ....

JustFred

A sweet, i will pick up the books after my CCNA and i think i could ace it within a month of intensive study.

jibbajabba

FredWatanabe wrote: »

A sweet, i will pick up the books after my CCNA and i think i could ace it within a month of intensive study.

I sat a three day course and I am sure I passed it (not received the result yet) so I am sure you'll be fine

jibbajabba

By the way, here you can find a sample paper (sample exam) from ITIL

http://www.itil-officialsite.com/Qualifications/ITILSamplePapers/ITILSamplePapers.aspx

40 questions - 60 minutes time - 26 correct to pass

hikerguy

I'm curious how long this certification is good for. Companies like Cisco usually make you recertify every three years (which to me is just a money-grabbing scheme).

Claire Agutter

Hi hikerguy

There isn't any expiry date on ITIL certs themselves, but if a new version is released then most people will choose to re-certify. For example, in the last 5 years we've seen the move from ITIL V2 to V3 and many people updated because of the level of change.

ITIL is linked to processes and good practices so the value of the cert (to me) is a bit different to software/tech related certs. Just because a new version of ITIL comes out doesn't mean the old processes are obsolete and your ITIL cert is worthless. Most people take ITIL certs but then build on their knowledge with experience and practical use at work.

Claire

Zorodzai

I did a short course in project management before pursuing the ITIL Foundation exam (work requirement). Though the exam itself is, in my opinion, way too easy I find the material useful especially as we are in the process of trying to sort out our helpdesk and support services at work.

I used Foundations of IT Service Management with ITIL 2011: Brady Orand, Julie Villarreal: Amazon.com: Kindle Store which, considering the price, I found to be really good value for money.

hikerguy

Thanks for the info Claire. That helps.

Andy

Claire Agutter

My pleasure

Somnipotent

If you work in an operations environment like I do it's a very good cert to have, at least for the information. My managers refer to the ITIL process daily so it's a good idea to have an understanding of what it is they're talking about. The ITILv3 also aligns very well with the CCNA SP Operations certification, which I feel is a waste of money but I'm getting a monkey itch to take it just because it will probably an easy pass.

palit

Must say..this thread is very helpful..gotta pass my CCNA (tough exam really)and then go for ITIL Foundation the easier one

newb

Is it worth it as a first cert out of college when trying to get an entry level job? Or is it more of a supplementary certification? I'm tight on cash right now and this cert seems to be one of the cheapest out of the ones I'm interested in...

spiderjericho

It's a supplemental. It provides good basics on the processes in an IT organization. If you work in a small shop, it has personal value but none to the organization.

You're still going to need knowledge in whatever your specialty is so if you're a system administrator, you're probably going to want A+, Network+, security+, MCSA and Linux-related certs. If you're a network administrator than you'll want CCNA, Network+, Security+ and whatever other vendor equipment you use.

mils24

hello claire
please guide me about ITIL, syllabus
Foundations of IT Service Management with ITIL 2011 is this the book to complete ITIL V3 foundation certification

Claire Agutter

Hi Mils

ITIL 2011 is the latest version of ITIL - it replaced V3. So any 2011 book is the most current you can get and will prepare you for the exam.

Good luck!

Claire

praving5

For book information, please read the thread http://www.techexams.net/forums/itil-certifications/83831-books-shall-i-buy.html

mguilmot

I have my ITIL foundation v3 since a few years. Everywhere I go for a job interview they say "Oh nice, you have your ITIL certificate", as if it actually means anything. I think it is completely worthless, and I only have it because I had to

It's a lot of theory, how nice it would be if anyone would actually followed those. In my experience the last few years: the companies that absolutely like your ITIL cert, are the ones who follow it the least.
That said, if you DO have the cert, it seems to open some doors more quickly... So in that respect, it's not worthless at all.

ITSuperman

I too find this thread very informative. I've had the ITIL itch for a while but, recently, I've wanted to move out of systems administration and into management and have discovered that most IT management positions require you to at least have an ITIL certification (among other things). So time to buckle down