How do you prepare for the online QA certification exam and avoid common pitfalls?

For medical device related courses I almost always recommend CQI and IRCA certified courses as then you can assure the content of the course is on par

In regards to the last sentence of this opening, I would say "recognition" should be prioritized over "credibility" or even "validity." In the instance of ISTQB, especially, make sure it is actually recognized in your area. So many times have I been told I "don't have a real cert" because it's not as well known as, say, CompTIA's upsells - uh, certs - so be sure to make sure recruiters and employers even understand who your cert is from and why it's good to hold. Otherwise, don't waste time.

Many different certifications related to QA,Testing,Test Automation,Devops,Agile,Scrum etc.are available all around us. But,how would you choose which one suits you the best. I will not suggest you which one you can go for rather how to select a best certification which can help you in your career progression. 1. Analyse your goals first. 2. Re-review your skills. 3. Understand your overall experience. Based on the above, choose a certification. You can first check the syllabus, eligibility and the exam pattern. You should also check the validity and credibility. You can discuss with experts in your team/company or infact post a query in communities online to listen to other people's view to get a clarity on the subject.

Once you finalise the certification that you want to pursue, first you should review the syllabus. Syllabus outlines the different concepts, topics and the required skills to master the exam. You can read whitepaper to review the entire syllabus. Some certification vendors have a study plan available on their website. Do check it to gain more knowledge about the exam syllabus and the core objectives. Analyse your strength and weaknesses to see how much improvement is needed from your end to master the exam.

After you finalise the certification,next step is to study the material and resources such as online tutorials, online blogs, books,whitepaper,udemy courses,LinkedIn learning courses etc. Do your research. Visit the official website to check the documentation to get good idea on the exam designing pattern and the question syllabus. Once you collect the resources,next step is prepare a plan and follow it in order to master the exam.

It's not a bad idea to scour YouTube for posted lessons, but as noted here, look for recent lessons. The field doesn't change much, but it changes enough that you're going to want to stick to video lessons published within about a year of your testing date. Heretically, don't drill terminology, definitions, and acronyms in to your head at all. Drill concepts. Drill how everything interacts and applies in a practical manner. It's a fantastic thing to know the terms so you can be on the same page, but it's more important to put knowledge in to use rather than to parrot it back.

When doing online courses I always made an effort to connect with the teacher and where possible have a call with them whenever I found any gaps in my knowledge