One of the truisms of the training world in quality assurance is that many of the certifications are general enough to encompass a lot of different skill sets. That means that if you would like to validate your qa training and placement skills, you can do that by obtaining a general certification.
For those that are interested in more specialization, it is also possible in some industries to get a certificate that specifies training and/or placement as the skill that is being certified.
Here are some ways to find the best certificate options for qa training and placement…
Get certified for life:
Although it might be tempting to think that you could get certified once in your industry and it would be good for the rest of your career, get certified for life actually means join an organization that requires that you maintain your certificate by taking additional courses.
Organizations like the American Society for Quality actually require some of their certificate holders to do qa training and teach courses as part of their certificate maintenance. The idea is that you will be using your knowledge as you expand it at another level. Another benefit of spending your lifetime or your career in a system that requires constant coursework is that it keeps the playing field fairly level. In some industries, it is possible for people to get used to being an expert in their field and so they stop their training and career education. In many qa jobs, if you don’t have the latest training and information, you may fail at your job. So you go take classes and you don’t have any cultural stigma regarding an expert continuing to take classes because everyone that is a master in a lifetime system knows in advance that they need to continue to learn for their entire career.
Get specific:
If you are working in a hardware or electronic industry, you can normally choose from a variety of courses that focus on training. Unfortunately, when it comes to placement, you will need to provide your own experience or look at a different type of discipline in order to get experience. One avenue that you might follow is to go to a local college that has business courses on staffing. Because high-tech jobs are quite popular, you will likely find a course on high-tech staffing broken out separately. And, of course, although you may not find that it directly applies to a professional certificate, it will apply to a degree in qa placement, which is also a form of certification.
In addition, using professional societies for business, you may be able to concurrently study to get a qa placement certificate.
Get experience:
One of the components of being able to sign up for specific committees in organizations like IEEE is to have experience in training others in that particular discipline. So, for new admittees into the organization, it is possible for them to offer seminars or talks locally that are in line with IEEE topics and gain experience as a presenter so that you can use that to make larger presentations and join specific committees without needing to fulfill any requirements.
Another reason that getting experience can help you with certificate is that some certifications are more than just a multiple choice exam. Sure, you need to show that you have competency in your skill area by passing a test, but you also may have oral questioning that focuses on your direct experience in qa training and placement.
Finding the best certificate process for your needs in qa training and placement means looking at getting experience, specific coursework, and lifetime certification. If you approach your education that way, you should end up being qualified for better jobs and salaries.
