What certifications or courses have helped you the most as a tester?
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Certifications, none 
I’ve never said “hey I have this cert” and it helped me somehow.
Courses, probably every course I’ve followed there has been at least 1 thing which was interesting or I didn’t know yet. I have ~146 certifications at the moment (including “certification of completions” so not real certifications) - yes I like to learn stuff
But none of the certifications have ever helped me in an interview or anything alike. It’s basically always knowledge sharing and the “things I do” like - hosting meetups, giving talks etc…
I rather have people join courses and not get certified, since that’s what is mostly valuable.
I’m not saying certifications are bad, ISTQB is still a “must” for interviews here in Belgium, especially for juniors. But if the company you want to work at requires a SoapUI certification, then that will be most valuable for you.
So let me ask you a question! What are you looking for to learn? 
Maybe we can then guide you a bit further also?
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I have ISTQB Foundation and Agile Foundation. Neither of those have helped me professionally in any sense as a tester.
As an interviewer, I cringe at CV’s that stick the ISTQB logo in the corner as if its some kind shoe in. Guess what, most applicants over the last 20 years fell into the trap of thinking they need one - including me. That created an alternative reality - it made the CV’s without ISTQB more interesting.
However, I won’t sit and 100% bash it. What it did give me was more confidence. I wasn’t good academically at school (never attended Uni, did 1 year in 6th form etc.) so just the act of sitting 2 exams and passing them convincingly, helped me mentally.
I would say if you’re looking to learn, learn specific skills and practice them. I believe your in the right place to look for learning opportunities 
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MoT have great courses that you so happen to get a certification at the end.
The more I speak to people privately, the more I hear people appreciate a set path of studying to follow. Which is what our certs are really, in addition to plenty of other resources to study and learn more freely.
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This is precisely what courses are good for. It’s never about the finish line (certificate), but the journey instead. There are plenty of learning resources out there, many of which are free, but it can be overwhelming for those who are just getting started. Having carefully planned learning track helps skill up in essential areas efficiently without wasting time on materials that are not essential for specific goal at that time.
That being said, it’s always a good idea to learn different things and have broader knowledge, but for those just getting started it’s better to first focus only on essentials. Getting good foundation knowledge is very important and can speed up learning later.
And another “harsh” truth, having certificate might sometimes land you intro interview for a job, but it’s the knowledge that will take you to the next round and beyond.
From the perspective of someone who interviewed candidates a few times, I’d be more curios about someone with 0 certificates and some practical experience (freelance gigs, attempts to write test docs or some automation, etc.), than certificates and 0 experience.
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What I like about the Software Testing Essentials Certificate (STEC) is that it gives you more than a set of knowledge about how to get started with testing.
It gives you a whole load of people to connect with and learn from beyond the certificate. These people are practising professionals, and they’ll help you identify even more professionals.
I guess you could say STEC gives you content, connections and confidence.
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I am still not certified.
But my portfolio is my biggest certificate (proof) of my skills.
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