Management training / sigma six
- Thread starter JMORC2003
- Start date
Only about 3.4 out of every million people who get a Six Sigma certification find it worthwhile.
People working in supply chain or engineering find it worthwhile. Other than that, agreed. It's a lot of work for little return.
^ Didn't get the joke.
Joke aside, Six Sigma draws a lot of criticism, particularly in fields / industries that are heavily innovation-focused. There's a fairly popular belief that regimented processes are the antithesis of creativity and studies done on Fortune 100 firms which implemented Six Sigma have shown a decline in a number of productivity metrics. Some firms have gone so far as to eliminate the methodology, entirely.
I would loo into lean mfg. A good book that people in software treat it as their bible is "Lean Startup" by Eric Reis. He takes the ideas of lean from Toyota Production System (TPS) used in the manufacturing process and applies it to software. GE is big into lean for software development.
Be careful of paying a lot of money for certifications. It will not help much if you don't have experience.
Be careful of paying a lot of money for certifications. It will not help much if you don't have experience.
Six sigma is a tool, and like all tools, it is appropriate for some situations and not others.
But if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
If you get six sigma certification, you still need enough other tools and experience in your portfolio so that you use six sigma appropriately.
But if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
If you get six sigma certification, you still need enough other tools and experience in your portfolio so that you use six sigma appropriately.
haha
If you want to see what is "worthwhile," go to any number of job search boards--indeed.com, LinkedIn Premium, etc.--and see what qualifications are "required" and then "preferred" for positions you see yourself going after in the next 12-18 months.
LinkedIn offers Premium free of charge for a month if you've never taken advantage of it. If you are even passively in the job market and aren't stalking LinkedIn daily, you're wasting a huge opportunity.
Project Management (PMP) certs are in high demand now. However, as mentioned above, if you can't couple them with in-field expertise or even experience, it's an uphill slog. Also, just getting one can be an issue. There is a practical requirement that you must meet (like the CPA) which requires you to have live project management experience.
The MBA is probably the biggest fish out there. That said, do your calculations VERY carefully. If you go full time you are giving up two years of salary, plus paying tuition and living expenses. Even at RU, that works out to close to a $200-300k investment for anyone who is earning north of $80k a year when they enter the program. That said, RU is a very good value, offers a boatload of scholarship dollars and is well positioned in Supply Chain and Big Pharma. Things like consulting are picking up. Big Finance is a no-go unless you do all the legwork yourself. Corp finance is also hit or miss. Several big pharma finance placements. Some with Wells Fargo in commercial banking this year. After that, pickings are slim. Marketing is also hot or miss with many ending up at pharma companies or CPG groups with Church and Dwight.
If you are in operations or supply chain most organizations are looking for management level candidates with six sigma/lean knowledge. Often it is just another qualification they want to see on your resume as I have found many organizations are not willing to make the significant commitment required to implement it fully and across the board. Personally, I think it places to much emphasis on metrics data collection which can take associates time and effort away from actually being productive and focused on the core metrics vital to an efficient and productive operations.
Agreed. I was supply chain for 25 years then forced to earn six sigma certification as part of corporate "program of the year". Big waste of time. Maybe O.K. for rookies but not old pros. Get an MBA and have your employer pay for it.
