I'm wondering if I should bother shelling out $130 for the Goethe-Institute B1-Zertifikat Deutsch exam.

Does the actual certificate make a difference or can I just say I'm at a B1 after taking so-and-so courses? I imagine they would do their own assessment in any interview.

Plus, I intend to continue studying, so I'd hopefully be at a B2 in a year and the certificate would be useless after that.

Your thoughts?

At the very least, a B1 Zertifikat is proof of adequate basic knowledge of high-German, which is better than no proof. In CH, proof by papers is important and certainly gives a good impression of the foreign applicant.

Besides, CHF130 or equivalent is a small investment and worth it if intending to be seriously considered for work and / or higher studies within the German speaking regions of CH.

No, it is not impressive, but it is better than nothing. Additionally, if you take it seriously, exam preparations improve your overall language knowledge and communication abilities. And of course it opens your way up on the up to C2 level.

V.

I wouldn't say so impressive, but certainly proves that you are on your way to learn more. That is important for employers and shows you are not just one of those expats who won't care for learning the language. And they care for that very much here. As said before, certifs are big here. I would list it, C.V. are longer here and a bit more elaborate, too, so go ahead.

If you can prove to them anyway in an interview that you can speak fluently and enough for business circumstances, the extra certificate is superfluous. Just my 2c.

Yes, but the point is to get a chance to prove the abilities.

B1 will definitely look better than my B0 (that is a zero btw).

You can speak all you want but the main point is to get to the interview stage. People who will do the pre-selection won't speak to anyone. But, in principle you are right, it's a valid point after you succeed through the few first filter screenings.

I always thought that the minimum required level for working in a German speaking company is B2.

In my opinion it would be a waste to shell out that much money for a certificate that will be worthless if you're intending on continuing your studies anyway. Besides, you can always state on your CV that you are at B1 level, I doubt many firms would want further confirmation of this if you could demonstrate your level of German in an interview. Is there no internal examination you can do with your course or is Goethe the only option available to you?

Level B1 helped me get the recognition from the EDK to teach in all Swizterland.. but it does not mean I can get a job.. even if I had C2 , I'm not Swiss so it does not matter in the end...

I wonder...That's excellent you had your teaching license recognized only with B1, for teaching subjects it is usually C1, for teaching foreign languages it is B2. I know plenty of non Swiss teachers, me included. It might be that you need to add another subject to your teaching degree? There might be a surplus of teachers with your subject. It seems to vary from canton to canton, though. But if you are a language teacher, you do need to know the local lingo, at least to level B2, it seems. All the official communication needs to be done in a local language, anyways. Good luck, don't lose hope.

The course will give me a participation certificate, but I was thinking taking the exam and getting an official one would look better.