What Do Employers Think About Certificates vs. Certifications vs. Micro-Credentials?

• Certifications offer the most robust validation of expertise, often with broader industry recognition and more rigorous testing.
   
• Micro-credentials are focused and specialized, offering a middle ground by validating specific skills with some level of assessment.
   
• Certificates show you’ve engaged in learning but they don’t prove your knowledge.

• Certifications are highly valued by employers because they are recognized credentials that validate your expertise and often serve as a prerequisite for certain roles. For example, see a list of companies that requested ISTQB certification in their job postings.
   
• Micro-credentials are increasingly recognized by employers as valuable indicators of proficiency in a particular area. They can be especially useful for professionals looking to quickly upskill or demonstrate expertise in emerging technologies or methodologies. Nearly 90% of U.S. employers say micro-credentials strengthen applications.
   
• In contrast, certificates are useful for showing that you have pursued education or training, but they are not typically seen by employers as proof of competence in a professional context.

Take a Leadership Role with Test Automation Strategy

• Provides insights on optimizing test automation to support systems under test (SUT) and demonstrates the effects on shift left and shift right approaches.
• Identifies infrastructure components and dependencies affecting test automation.
• Ensures the test automation strategy targets relevant test cases for a high return on investment, regardless of the software development method—waterfall, Agile, or DevOps.
• Incorporates best practices from a global body of test automation architects, test leads, and practitioners.
• Helps test engineers and managers overseeing the deployment of test automation for projects across the enterprise.

Become More Valuable as a Test Automation Engineer

• Expands on the original syllabus for deeper understanding and practical implementation.
• Includes enhanced test automation architecture discussion for multi-project design.
• Has a greater emphasis on the maintainability of automation code for seamless solutions.
• Offers new topics on test automation in DevOps and CI/CD pipelines.
• Expands discussion on verification and continuous improvement activities.
• Reflects changes in test tools and Agile methodologies.
• Incorporates best practices from global test automation architects and practitioners.
• Is targeted at technical testers, test automation engineers, and others.

Know a Tester Looking for a Job? AT*Work™ Can Help

AT*Work™ connects employers with testers who are seeking jobs due to layoffs or career changes. If you know of someone looking for a software testing job or freelance project, share this with them.

Employers use AT*Work™ to find testers because:

• Employers can search by knowledge/skill.
• The testers in AT*Work have proven themselves through one or more certifications earned through ASTQB and  AT*SQA. These include all of the ISTQB certifications offered by ASTQB.
• The testers in AT*Work are arranged based on their Testing Tiers® rankings with the highest levels at the top.

To opt into the AT*Work™ Software Tester Directory, do the following:

• See the AT*Work™ overview
• Log into your AT*Work profile
• Update your AT*Work preferences, answer two questions, and add your skills and experience levels

AT*SQA Makes It Even Easier to Take ISTQB Exams

"I would like to thank you for the great support..."

No one makes it easier to register for ISTQB exams than AT*SQA, our official ISTQB exam provider. Now they've made it even easier! 

AT*SQA provides detailed videos and instructions on the ISTQB exam instructions page. Learn about creating an account, scheduling/rescheduling an exam, and tips for the online testing experience. 

Exam instructions may not seem that special, but the more you are prepared for your exam, the better your exam day will be! This is another great AT*SQA advantage.