Six Sigma Black Belt Certification

I did. I took it about a year ago and during that testing session I think the pass rate was right around 45%. I also took the PMP exam about 2 years ago and can say, without any doubt, that if you are to use that a baseline, the SSBB exam is much, much more difficult.

 

We recently undertook a process improvement in my place of work which was lead by and advised by a SSBB and I'll say this for them, there's a lot to it. I would think the quantitative stuff alone would (or should) scare of the wanna-bes from the real deal.

Saddly there are a lot of "other" SSBB certification offerings outside of ASQ. I like the Villanova program as well but other than those 2, I don't know of any that would really hold much merit where I work at least. ASQ is pretty much the standard.

Edited to add: I didn't see ASU's program but I'm certain that would hold weight in my office...(my boss is an ASU alumni).

 

Hey Randall,

For what it's worth I forgot about Southwestern College's Lean Six Sigma certificate program. I know in the software development world at least "lean" is one of the major buzz words flying around (though not always understood). Lean Six Sigma might just be the way to go as it kind of kills two birds with one stone. A down side (or up side depending on how you look at it) is that these are 6 week, full credit courses...not a "certification" in the sense you sit and test for it.

Lean Six Sigma

 

I think I will go with the ASQ course or the USF course and try the ASQ test. I was thinking of looking into Lean after 6Sigma. Maybe I will try to tackle the PMP first. Just so much to learn!

 

Not a bad plan. I'm studying for the PMP right now...it's slow, dry and painful but eventually I'll get there. Afterwards if I do go Lean, Six Sigma I think I'll do the Southwestern College one and just tackle both at the same time. I don't know if I'll even bother with the ASQ test as honestly I am project oriented and do not often work in process improvements, thus may not have the requisite work experience to sit for the exam. Also as much respect as Lean Six Sigma gets in IT and specifically software development, I have heard it derided in financial and production circles as more hype than substance...but that's anecdotal. Besides, I like the idea of returning to Southwestern for a little while...I really love that school, it's a Moundbuilder thing I guess.

I would also like to get a graduate certificate from Penn State University in Project Management but that comes after my MS is completed. I've pretty much got about 5 more years of school and training I've planned out for myself but on the plus side, I'm not in a real rush. I just have to get the PMP this year, after that it's pretty much up in the air.

 

I think I am going to go for the PMP first. There is a lot of downtime on my PhD since I just do a bunch of work (required changes), submit, and wait 2 weeks. I already have my CompTIA Project+ so the PMP should not be so bad.

I am going to go for the USF Six Sigma and Lean Mastery programs. I should finish them all up by the end of next year. That is my plan now...subject to change.

 

Well planned as there is going to be some overlap between the PMP test and the Project Management piece of the SSBB (which is taken almost in its entirely from PMI's body of knowledge).

 

The University of South Florida program is certainly less expensive than Southwesterns...good find.

 

It is pretty cool because it is offered from Gatlin Education Services which is partnered with colleges. St Pete College offers the same program/same price. The certificate awarded has the name of the college. I guess you could go to the Gatlin website or call them and ask for partner schools in your area to get the "name" on a resume...does this make sense?

 

Yep, not a bad idea. I might try that. Though in looking at it I suppose it's not fair to compare it to Southwestern's program, which is actually for credit coursework resulting in semester hours. Perhaps rather than being a "certificate" or "certification" Southwestern's would be better called a "certificate of completion" indicating that it is an academic certificate, not necassarily a certification or professional development.

 

I was going to suggest VU as well.

Here's a link to the Six Sigma page: Six Sigma Online | Six Sigma Certification | 6 Sigma | Villanova