Podcast Episode 29 – Certifications

Thanks for joining us for another podcast episode. On this weeks, we talk about all things certification. We discuss the value of testing certifications, what role they play in our hiring practices and any alternatives that may be worth considering.

Russell takes us on a journey into our pasts to look at what we may have overachieved in during our younger days before diving into the main topic.

When discussing the certifications, the peers touch on the difference between the knowledge learned and the value of the multiple choice examinations. The real value is that certifications can often give you a foot in the door and a glossary of terms to go and learn more.

We touch on whether we should have it in our CVs for jobs and what benefits that may give candidates to have it in there. But the key concern raised is around it being held as a Badge of Honour. We do agree that it is worth encouraging people to complete the ISTQB foundation as it can solidify knowledge, but it is by no means a mandatory part of the requirements for a testing role.

We do mention other courses such as the more advanced ISTQB courses and also the Black Box Software Testing courses, Rapid Software Testing, Scrum Master and the Ministry of Testing Essentials too.

Collaborative learning is also touched upon, doing the courses as a team can sometimes help the learning across the team to ensure all are on the same page.

Let us know your experiences of certifications and your thoughts on the value.



Thank you for listening. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to give us feedback to help us improve and grow.


Saffron QA is a provider of recruitment and consultancy services, exclusively for the software testing industry.

You can find out more at https://saffronqa.co.uk/  or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/saffron-qa/

We’ve found Ben from Saffron QA to be a great partner who has signed up to the vision and values that we have set out in our Testing Peers charter and we hope that you will take the time to visit and connect with him.

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