ITIL newbie questions

[saxman]

I have been working in IT for many years now. Currently I am working in IT service delivery for the financial services industry as a IT contractor. To stand a better chance of getting further contract work in the future and being able to increase my day rate I am thinking of obtaining the ITIL Foundation certificate in the first instance. I have a few newbie questions which I would be grateful for some help with. I plan to do some self study (reading and/or CD) and sit the foundation exam at a training centre.

I work in Cambridge, does anyone know of any recommended pro-metric or pearson training centres in the area ? & what price do they charge to provide the foundation exam ?

I know the EXIN exam and the ISEB exam have equal value, but the EXIN exam includes security - so which one is best to have in the longer run ? I presume the EXIN one will have 'greater' future value purely because it is including additional knowledge.


What are the RED and BLUE badges ? whats the difference and which one is the best one to get ? are they worth obtaining to boost potential earning power and improve job market prospects ?

I know ITIL v3 is due in Spring 2007, in light of this whats the best exam path to take ?, it seems to contain 5 core texts .... will the introduction of v3 change any of the existing ITIL values and or courses to take etc ..

Thanks

Saxman

[LizGallacher]

If you go on to the thomson pro-metric website you can search for test centres. It costs about 100 (85 plus VAT)
The amount of secuity in the EXIN exam is very little. Most people in the IK have ISEB, so I do not think there is a different value - but if you are sitting direct (not following a course) it will be the EXIN one anyway.
Green badge is Foundation, Blue badge is Practitioner (specific topic over 3 days) red badge is managers - 11 days of inensive traaining, 2 3-hour written exams, and only about 50% pass both at same sitting - so hard, but highly valued. (and improves your CV!!!)
V3 will change the exam structure, but existing qualifications will remain valid. Fundamentals aare unchanged, but V3 tales a lifecycle approach (or so they tell us). V3 exams start in 08.
Hope this helps
_________________
Liz Gallacher,
ITIL EXPERT
Accredited ITIL and ISO/IEC20000 Trainer and Consultant - Freelance

[saxman]

Thanks for the reply Liz, its appreciated.

Saxman