Is anyone doing Six Sigma?

Question

I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience with Six Sigma. Has anyone done any of the training (yellow, green, or black belt) either through work or at b-school? Is it in big demand at companies? OSU Fisher is known (at least regionally) for their operations and supply chain management curriculum and the prof for the ops. mgt. class I'm taking right now is super into lean and Six Sigma.

I'm getting really interested in it, but I'm reluctant to spend the time and money to do it if it isn't really going to help me in the job market. Any thoughts?

I'm getting really interested in it, but I'm reluctant to spend the time and money to do it if it isn't really going to help me in the job market. Any thoughts?

kryzak · Answer

I did green belt training (1 week class) years ago, and Six Sigma is pretty big at bit corporations that have production lines. It's worth it if you're going into operations and supply chain for a big production company.

lepium · Answer

While I agree with kryzak on usefulness, I think that if a company wants you to be a green belt then they'd pay for it (it's not like 1 week of training is gonna get them bankrupt). Then for black belt you actually need to manage a project and achieve some results, so I'd leave that aside until you get a job.

L.

L.

kryzak · Answer

lepium is right, a company that wants you to do 6 sigma work will train you for it. Heck, I was trained at my company without any requirement to do 6 sigma work at all. To be a "certified" green belt, you need to run a successful "leaning" event. Black Belt training can also be taken before you're certified for Green Belt, and that's another week long class.

I had a co-worker who did all the six sigma work. She got trained for Green, then trained for black before she got certified for both.

Hope that helps.

I had a co-worker who did all the six sigma work. She got trained for Green, then trained for black before she got certified for both.

Hope that helps.

ishcabibble · Answer

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I was pretty much thinking that it would be better to see if the company that I end up getting a job with wants employees to have Six Sigma training, and would therefore pay for it, but I just wanted to hear from folks who've had personal experiences with it. :-D

The way that this was explained to our class was that companies will do this so that everyone in the company at least has some knowledge of the lean/six sigma philosophies and can therefore understand why things are done the way they're done at the company. The woman who spoke to our class is VP of Six Sigma for Emerson and said that something like 75% of their employees have had at least yellow belt training.

aaudetat · Answer

I *think* that one of the classes at Fuqua actually includes a green belt certification, but I could be wrong.

I thought of a reason to do it sooner rather than later - maybe. If you don't have a background in ops/supply chain, doing the certification on your own might prove your commitment to the career switch. For career switchers, telling a cohesive story can be very helpful.

Ifqindia · Answer

Yes I know six sigma. I am running Institute of Fundamentals in Quality Institute in India. IFQIndia offers six sigma certification and trained more than 2000 students from Manufacturing, KPO & IT sector. Our Six Sigma Training Courses & certification provide assistance in achieving International ASQ Certifications of Six Sigma-Black Belt & Green belt.

:-D

rodriguezcecelia · Answer

If you choose to enter Lean six sigma field at any level it will enhance your career. I would recommend you to go ahead as Lean six sigma knowledge can change your perspective towards your job. You may want to switch back after certification to your core job. LSS will still help you to solve your problems better as it is a methodology for continuous improvement and value generation.

Abhinavhyd · Answer

Six Sigma is a defined and disciplined business methodology to increase customer satisfaction and profitability by streamlining operations, improving quality, and eliminating defects in every organization-wide process.

sixsigma2727 · Answer

Yes — many people have gone through Six Sigma training either through work, graduate programs, or independently, and the value really depends on how and where you plan to use it.
From a job-market perspective, Six Sigma is not usually a standalone qualification that gets someone hired by itself. Instead, it works best as a complementary skill layered on top of an existing role or career path. Employers tend to value it most when it’s paired with experience in operations, supply chain, engineering, healthcare, IT, finance, or project management.
In practice, here’s how the belts are typically viewed:
 
 Yellow Belt: Good foundational knowledge, but usually not a strong differentiator on its own. 
 Green Belt: Often the most practical and marketable level. It shows you can lead small-to-medium improvement projects and work with data. 
 Black Belt: Valuable for roles focused heavily on process improvement, operational excellence, or transformation, but usually expected  after  real-world experience.  
Companies that run large operations, supply chains, or service processes often value Six Sigma because it teaches structured problem-solving, stakeholder management, and data-driven thinking. Even when “Six Sigma” isn’t explicitly listed in a job description, the skills behind it are frequently expected.
Your point about OSU Fisher is also relevant schools with strong operations and supply chain programs tend to emphasize Lean and Six Sigma because the concepts translate well into real business environments. If your professor is deeply into Lean and Six Sigma, that’s usually a good sign that the skills are applicable beyond theory.
If you’re hesitant about time and cost, a good rule of thumb is:
 
 Don’t do it  just  for the certificate 
 Do it if you expect to apply it in internships, projects, or your job  
Many professionals globally including those pursuing  s ix sigma certifications in the uae find the most value when the training is project-focused and tied to real organizational problems. Providers such as IMC Certifications emphasize practical application over purely academic learning, which is where Six Sigma tends to make the biggest career impact.
Bottom line:
 
 Six Sigma helps most when combined with domain expertise 
 Green Belt is usually the best ROI early on 
 It won’t replace experience, but it can strengthen your profile significantly 
 If you enjoy process thinking and data-driven improvement, it’s a skill that stays relevant  
If you already find the subject interesting, that’s usually a good indicator it will be useful long-term.

dramadb · Answer

Avoid Six Sigma like the plague. It is a destructive fraud built on farce.

Six Sigma's OWN CREATOR, stated:
"Six Sigma Champions are con men" 
“All you have is smoke and mirrors” 
"Six Sigma is a snow job" – a FRAUD
 
“So you get out your smoke and mirrors ... set off a few smoke bombs and create an image of Six Sigma for all to see. "Smoke can also be used to cover areas you want to hide from view"
 
91 % of Six Sigma companies have failed (Qualpro survey). Claimed “successes” of the Scam include a long term study of hundreds of Six Sigma projects at Ford, which showed an average of 1 in 5 parts defective AFTER improvement for “successful” Six Sigma projects.
 
Six Sigma is a destructive scam based on pure farce. It started with uni drop-out, Mr Bill Smith and his out-of-control molding process that happened to drift “as much as 1.5 sigma” because of his tampering. Smith’s buddy, self-confessed con man Harry, a school teacher, “proved” Smith's disaster happened for every process ... based on the height of a stack of discs! Most folk never bothered to check. 
 
“Neutron” Jack Welch at GE described Harry as a “madman” and said no one had any clue what he was talking about. Jack handed over $1B anyway. A scam was born! GE has now thrown the Six Sigma trash out.
 
EVERY aspect of Six Sigma is worthless, from its normalization nonsense, to its irrelevant enumerative methods, to its paralytic DMAIC.
 
Dr Wheeler ,  the world’s leading process statistician, calls Six Sigma “GOOFY” and the stuff of “the tooth fairy”.. CBS calls it the most stupid fad of all time.

Is anyone doing Six Sigma?

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