The SQA2 Blog: General
Are you considering a software QA certification? Or do you debate which certification is best? Certifications for hundreds of different specializations fill the IT field. For software QA, two of the most well known certifications are ISTQB and AST’s BBST. If you’re thinking about getting one of these certifications, you probably want to know if it is worthwhile. Do you need a certification before you can get your first software QA job? Will being certified help you advance in your career?
In my experience, it is possible to get an entry level software QA job without any certifications. Myself and many of my co-workers do not have any certifications. However, most of us have degrees in either computer information systems or computer science or have programming certificates from trade schools. A hiring manager might have a different perspective on certifications. Personally, I think they’re valuable. However, there is a lot of debate on websites such as sqa.stackexchange.com.
Will being certified help you advance in your QA career? Personally, I think that given two roughly equal candidates with the same level of experience and educational background, someone with a certification might have a slight advantage over someone without one. Because one candidate spent time, money, and effort to get certified, they are demonstrating a lifelong dedication to learning. This is beneficial in a rapidly evolving and changing industry. This is just an opinion. The preference in candidate choice is still left to the hiring manager at the individual organization for the individual role.
Decide for yourself if certifications are a worthy investment and plan your career accordingly.
