The idea of becoming a certified QA engineer is exciting and tiresome at the same time. If you are a newcomer, this certification gives you a chance to stand out of the crowd and helps your resume to get a better chance of getting selected during the initial screenings. If you are experienced, this certification can help you grow your career in your firm and it also opens the gates for new opportunities. There’s a lot of options in the certification market like ISEB119, IIST65, QAI, CSTE, and ISTQB.
It’s needless to say that ISTQB is no doubt the best of all options because it is universal and accepted worldwide. It also provides you with a wide range of certification options. You can go for foundation, advanced, and expert level of certification. However, the expert level is still under development and you must pass the foundation level test to go for advanced level certification.
This article is a step by step guide on how you can become a certified QA engineer.
Step 1: Levels of certification
The first step is to get to know the levels of certification and decide what suits you best. Regardless of your choice, you must complete the foundation level first because it is a prerequisite for the next certification levels.
Step 2: Prepare and Study for the exam
No doubt, the most important step. To prepare for the exam you must get the glossary and the syllabus. You can find the syllabus at the official site of ISTQB. They also provide sample tests, questions, guideline material, exam structure, and rules at their website, which is very helpful. Download the material and start preparing for your exam. Many online websites provide mock tests. So, it will benefit you a lot if you attempt those tests because it will show your strengths, weaknesses, and points of improvement.
The time required for preparing the exam solely depends on your capacity to digest the information and your prior knowledge in the field. If you are consistent, you can prepare for it in a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months. So, plan accordingly!
Step 3: Registration for ISTQB exam
You can also do this step before step 2, but if you are a procrastinator, it will not help. Although, you can check for exam dates before preparing for the exam to get yourself to speed. To check for the exam schedule, you have to contact your National and Regional Board. A list of national and regional boards can be found on the website of ISTQB. The national and regional board is responsible for ISTQB certification and training in a specific country. So, to register visit the website of your national and regional board and you will get all the necessary information.
Step 4: Exam
Finally, the exam day. The exam is based on multiple-choice questions and the duration is 60 minutes. You can get more information about exam structure and rules from the ISTQB downloads page. If you have studied and prepared for the exam, according to the syllabus, the glossary and sample tests provided, it should not be difficult for you to pass the exam and get certified.
Step 5: Certification
If you have taken the online exam, you will know the result immediately or if you have taken the paper-based exam you will get the result in approximately 2 weeks. Candidates who pass the exam get their certificates in 8 weeks. To pass the exam you must get 65% of your answers right.
Well, that’s it! Now that I have provided you with all the guidelines, it is time to get in action and get those certificates rolling in!
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