In the field of Software Testing we have numerous companies who offer software testing courses. Naturally, people look towards getting an ISEB or ISTQB certified logo or approval in order to claim that they are good with software testing. And the same goes for training companies. As we research on the trends of testing companies worldwide, it is apparent that a lot of those bigger names are based upon employee trainings and providing courses to aspiring test engineers across the world.
There are several ways to gauge or judge an ISEB or ISTQB training company, for instance it should be offering ISEB certified courses such as ISEB foundations, ISEB intermediate, CTFL or certified tester foundation level. Also the ISTQB courses such as ISTQB advanced which are very important for any test engineer in order to further improve his/her credentials. They are all essentially means to get yourself the 'approval' stamp from a known international company. At least the person should be able to do the foundation level courses from the training company so that the gate way to the certifications is opened. Thereafter it is entirely the person's own decision to further pursue any other certification/test offered by the ISEB and ISTQB.
Naturally it is a person's desire to move forward in career line, so after starting with the CTFL it is very much a given that after a few more years on the same line, the person will attempt the advanced level course or the ISEB intermediate. As that further cements a person's caliber in the testing domain. In terms of choosing an ISEB or ISTQB training company a person can look for the following things: how many courses does the company offer in terms of career growth in the field of software testing, and of course what is the cost associated with each test/certification. In fact cost is probably a secondary motive as far as choosing a software testing training company is concerned, the most important factor is the ultimate goal which the person has in mind. It could be a software test manager or a QA analyst, both of which are senior level positions which require a person to be either very experience in software testing, or to have at least two of the major ISEB or ISTQB test certifications. Ideally a person should be qualified as ISTQB advanced in order to qualify for the managerial posts in quality assurance.
Keeping in mind that as the career ladder grows, it gets harder and harder to get a better job in software testing senior positions. The initial posts are more likely to be more on offer as they have a frequent turnover ratio. The senior or managerial posts are less likely to be high in turnover ratio. Therefore a person who is considering a career in this field is better advised to start with the basic certification and then further build on the experience, as it helps in the other certification which are offered by ISEB and ISTQB.