Are software Testing Certifications worth it?

Hi all - new here :slight_smile:

As a test manager whoā€™s been in the testing industry since 2001 I have some thoughts on this. Iā€™ve only ever taken the ISEB Foundation course, that was back in approx 2003-2004. I donā€™t believe they are essential to the growth and development of a tester but I do agree with the sentiments above that they are a signal of an invested interest in development.

Would I mandate a tester attends the ISTQB? No. Would I support them if they expressed an interest in the qualification? Yes. There are many ways in which a tester can develop, I see this as one of those but wouldnā€™t prioritise it above other training such as technical training or mentoring.

I also havenā€™t found the face I donā€™t have the advanced certifications as a barrier to new Test Management or Test Leadership roles. When you have experience and examples you can talk through certifications become less important in an industry such as ours.

The bottom line, however, (and my opinion) is that these qualifications have zero bearing on how good a tester or test manager becomes.

Simon.

5 Likes

In my own experience I can say that the ISTQB certification can open up a few doors. I recently got my own ISTQB Foundation Level certificate and today I came back from vacation and there was a message in my LinkedIn inbox about a job offer. In details there was a ā€œDesirable skillā€ and it was about this certificate.

But personally I donā€™t think much of it because the syllabus and my everyday work is very different. So I think itā€™s just something to be added into the LinkedIn profile to be more ā€œprofessionalā€ tester.

Whilst there are very good arguments against ISTQB, something like

is just plain wrong. All of those skills or traits can be taught to a person, yes some people might naturally be stronger in these areas but they are also very straight forward to teach somebody who is naturally weaker if they want to. It also doesnā€™t serve the wider community to define good testers as these special creatures who are just born that way and if you donā€™t think you have those skills then tough there is nothing you can do about it.

So you see no value in those techniques at all? You would happily have an tester who had been testing for several years who had no idea what these things are?

2 Likes

I did up to the ISEB Practitioner, the real benefit was the depth of the conversation during the course which was based on the content of the course. Sites like MOT, Testing Meet-ups and Test Bashā€™s can replace the tangible benefit I took from my exams.

My advice would still to do the ISEB, it takes 3 hours to do the Practitioner Exam and 30-ish hours to study. It might not improve you professionally in your day to day job, but rightly or wrongly at a career level it opens doors and provides opportunities that might not have been there without it.

I am ISTQB / CAT / IREB trainer, and I own a software testing company un Uruguay, South America.
The certifications donā€™t have a particular value itself. If you are a competent and honest professional, the certification is only a kind of ā€œchecklistā€ of your knowledge.
Lot of people have a confusion between the content of the certifications and the evaluation method. They said ā€œyou are evaluated in a multiple choice way, and it is not seriousā€. The ISTQB does not evaluate any other points that the points described in the syllabus. It does not contain anything about ā€œsoft skillsā€ā€¦ it is true, absolutely true. May be this method is not the best (I think that is not, for sure).
At least here in South America, the certifications are the only way for a lot of people to demonstrate their proficiency, even they are not passed trough the academic education.

Just to complement, I put here a note by Cem Kaner about the certifications: http://kaner.com/?p=401

all by best from uruguay :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Iā€™ve been involved in software testing since the mid-90ā€™s in some form or other as part of my original qualification (non-IT), and got my ISEB certification in 2001 when I switched to software testing full-time. At the time, I was told ā€œget the certification, or youā€™ll get nowhereā€. I did the course, passed the exam and entered the IT world. Since then, Iā€™ve had a lot of different jobs in IT, and each one of them has been based on that first little addendum to my CV- ISEB. Has it made me a better tester? I donā€™t think so- Iā€™ve managed to forget most of what happened then, and replaced it with real-world knowledge and skills.
What it has done, though, is establish that I have, at least, passed a formal exam and therefore know at least the basics of what I need to do.
Since then Iā€™ve neen hiring and firing, and been hired and made redundant. The one common thread is still ā€œhave you got your xxxxxxx certification?ā€, which is simply HRā€™s way of filtering out applicants who do not meet at least that basic level of fitness for purpose. Some of the best testers Iā€™ve met and worked with took the certifications as an afterthought, when it became clear that their new position would not be possible without it. They would not have made it past that initial hurdle of filtering the CVs even though they have been testing for years, and are extremely good at what they do simply because of a clerical requirement.
@sjwatsonuk 's comments below are extremely similar to what I ask new starters on my team when they arrive- I find these answers and their attitude and approach are more important than a piece of paper that satisfies HR.

In terms of value of the certifications? They all espouse ā€œcommon thisā€ and ā€œcommon thatā€, but there is certainly very little ā€œcommonā€ whatever, even within departments of a company. What is useful is the basic knowledge of what should be tested from a purely technical perspective, and the doors that these certifications open. Proper testing, though, is as much attitude and approach as technical testing, and that cannot always be taught, or revealed in an exam.

3 Likes

Not really! Unless you could justify the experience related to the same.

1 Like

I think that the concept of certifications doesnā€™t work. I donā€™t know about the content of the courses except the ones Iā€™ve done, and I can say that the following courses were helpful to me:

  • Rapid Software Testing - James Bach (best course Iā€™ve done by far)
  • Mobile Testing - Stephen Janaway
  • Security Testing - Bill Matthews & Dan Billing

I donā€™t have certifications in any of these things. I have a certificate of attendance for RST that says I was there, but so would anyone who paid and turned up. It doesnā€™t say I passed anything or achieved anything beyond proof that I showed up. As it turns out I got a lot from it and use things from it every day, but the paper doesnā€™t say that, my achievements do.

A vaguely intelligent person hiring anyone knows the difference between a record that says someone can do something and them actually being able to do it. If you can find someone who doesnā€™t know the difference then you can use your certificates to get hired! But then youā€™re working for someone who doesnā€™t know what theyā€™re doing and youā€™re going to feel that pain sooner or later. Unless the person being hired doesnā€™t care about doing good work and the person hiring wouldnā€™t know what good work might be, in which case yeah, do whatever, the whole thingā€™s a circus that makes money and keeps widget crankers employed and churns out something of no known quality with no regard for its users no matter what the clowns inside are doing.

5 Likes

I think the question we should be asking is not so much ā€œare the certifications worth it?ā€, as ā€œdo the qualifications relate to the real-life knowledge that they are trying to validate?ā€. We seem to have established that the certifications merely establish that someone has attended a class and has answered a series of questions on the subject, not that they actually know what theyā€™re doing!

1 Like

Hereā€™s an excellent writeup:

3 Likes

Regarding the ISTQB foundation, I didnā€™t think much of it. Out of date, far too easy and largely irrelevant for modern testing practice. A bit of a scam tbh. I did do the ISTQB Advanced Technical Test Analyst exam however and found that an order of magnitude harder, with much better and more fulfilling content. I think thatā€™s how the ISTQB roll. An easy foundation cash cow and much harder, more informative and respected advanced and expert qualifications.

2 Likes

So, would the majority of people then agree that certifications are probably a good thing for really junior testers who are still breaking into the profession, but less and less useful the longer youā€™ve been working (and have a lot of successes on your CV), except where it relates to a new subject (e.g. your past work has been all in Waterfall and you now want to break into Agile)?

If someone like me, starting out, does want to do the ISTQB Foundation course, what price should I reasonably expect to pay? Iā€™ve seen prices from Ā£15 - Ā£800, a huge range!

I donā€™t know, but I wouldnā€™t. Then again I havenā€™t been junior for a very long time, maybe the industry has changed to the point where not having an expensive and valueless sheet of paper means not getting any job. Iā€™ve never had one and Iā€™ve never needed one and Iā€™ve turned down work where itā€™s a requirement, but thatā€™s because of my situation and my own needs - Iā€™d rather work for a good company for less money, and Iā€™ve always been stable enough to turn down work. Iā€™d say that they are a bad thing for new testers, but perhaps, unfortunately, currently necessary.

Depends on whether you want to do a full course or go for self-study and just pay for the exam. I went down the latter route a few years back, the test was about Ā£200 IIRC . This was mainly because I was trying to get out of the job I was in and a lot of the jobs that were around mentioned it as a desirable. As an aside, I found it odd that quite a few jobs advertised as tester roles I looked at had Comp Sci degree or equivalent as a must-have, but specific testing qualifications desirable. I did once respond to an agency whoā€™d contacted me by saying that the job spec theyā€™d sent through seemed to be written for recruiting a junior developer, not a testerā€¦

1 Like

Thanks for your reply.

Iā€™d like to do self study to keep costs down as itā€™s me paying for it. I donā€™t have a Comp Sci degree or an IT background as such. Iā€™m hoping if I do this Qual and if I perhaps volunteer my services somewhere, Iā€™ll be able to get a junior/entry level job eventually.

I did my test electronically using Pearsonā€™s version; the BCS website lists test providers but I canā€™t remember off the top of my head whether you can search for a local test centre there or whether you need to go to the providerā€™s website. I also bought the standard textbook from the BCS, but there are other alternatives out there. If you do decide to pay for your own ISTQB then make sure you stress that youā€™ve done this when applying for jobs, it shows willingness to learn and take the initiative to further your own career. Good luck!

2 Likes

Thatā€™s a great point. Yeah, I think Iā€™ll try and do the Pearson version; think I can do it in Brighton, not too far from home.

Thanks again for your comments!

1 Like

I may be in an audience of one with this opinion but I think that as we move even more towards automation and CI/devops and rely on greater tech skills employers will move towards recruiting those with tech-specific certs and/or CS/SE degrees. The ISTQB, especially the foundation cert, will become irrelevant.

1 Like

In Estonia for participation in some local IT projects the ISTQB foundation level is required, especially if customers are public enterprises.