I got my CSTE exam results today.  And I am proud to say that I am a Certified Software Tester (CSTE) now. 

I took the exam in June.  I had dedicated myself over 3 months studying the exam preparation guide and read some testing related books and articles.  I feel that I've learned a lot through the preparation.  The exam covers software testing principles, testing concepts and testing activities (such as managing test project, test planning, executing test plan, test status analysis and reporting, user acceptance testing, testing software developed by outside organizations, testing security and testing new technologies).  As a software test analyst, I know how to execute a test plan and how to report test status.  But I have never done any security testing before.  By preparing this exam, I got to know some other aspects of testing.  There is a whole category talking about how to test software developed by off-shore contractors.  I found that it's very helpful to me.  These days a lot of companies are off-shore outsourcing.  Maybe later on I need to test some of these softare too.  And I would know how to handle it.

P.S.

The Certified Software Tester (CSTE) certification is administered by Quality Assurance Institute.  For more information about the certification, you can check the following link: www.softwarecertifications.org