Information Assurance and Security

Software quality assurance and testing is an industry involved with making sure that software programs and applications are in great, working order before entering the marketplace for sale to consumers. As such, software quality assurance plays a vital role in the product development stage for software producers and makers. Many opportunities exist for individuals who want to further their education with either a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and some software QA and testing jobs can be quite lucrative-paying as well.

Educational Requirements for QA Careers:
As mentioned, a bachelor’s or master’s degree is required by the majority of employers. Getting one of these degrees in the field of quality assurance or even software engineering qualifies you for working in the field. Beyond your degree, however, two major certificates can further qualify you for software quality assurance and testing careers. The first certificate, the Certified Associate in Software Quality (CASQ), is a two-part test and can be obtained once you have at least three full years of undergraduate education even though most CASQ candidates choose to finish out their undergraduate bachelor degrees.

The second possible certificate, the Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA), can only be obtained for those who have earned a bachelor degree plus related experience in the software quality assurance and testing industry. Unlike the two-part Certified Associate’s test, the Certified Analyst’s test consists of four parts and tests your knowledge on topics such as quality control, quality assurance procedures, and security. Read the rest of this entry »