Should you get a Six Sigma Black Belt?

Six Sigma is a technical, data-driven and statistical quality improvement program primarily for the manufacturing sector, though in recent years it has been applied elsewhere, including the service sector.

Six Sigma advocates for quantitative measurements of success over qualitative markers. Those who are most engaged with Six Sigma are the employees who use statistics, financial analysis and project management to achieve improved business functionality.

The various Six Sigma certifications are:

• Yellow Belt
• Green Belt
• Black Belt
• Master Black Belt

Black Belts tend to be senior managers and usually mentor Green Belts. Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to have sound working knowledge of Six Sigma methodologies. Besides the technical knowledge, Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to lead a change within an organization and play a strong leadership role.

If the admittedly-biased Go Lean Six Sigma training program is to be believed, Six Sigma belts can significantly increase your salary. The average Black Belt makes $99,000 a year; the level one below that makes $83,000 – a full 19% increase.

(For related reading, see: "What's the Difference Between Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma?")

At the Black Belt level, students are expected to already have a Green Belt certificate or at least three years of work experience in the field or they must have completed two Six Sigma projects, according to the American Society for Quality. Experience must be full-time paid work. Co-ops, internships and part-time jobs don’t apply.

Depending on the organization, the format of the exam and training might differ. Training could be on-site, online or in a formal classroom setting along with mentoring and workshop sessions. The certification mandates the completion of two successful Six Sigma Black Belt projects. A project is considered financially successful once approved by a company's accounting department and the sponsor.

Black Belt certificate courses build on the Green Belt certificate and tend to have an organization-wide perspective.

On top of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control), it adds the following (based on ASQ’s Black Belt certificate):

• Enterprise wide deployment
• Integration of Lean and Six Sigma
• Enterprise leadership responsibilities and team management
• Six Sigma projects and Kaizen events
• Critical to X requirements (i.e. critical to quality, cost, process, safety, delivery)
• Benchmarking
• Business performance measures
• Customer feedback
• Financial measures (i.e. market shares, profit margins, NPV, ROI)

The Exam

• The Green Belt certificate has an exam of four hours with 100 questions.
• The Black Belt certificate has an exam with duration of four hours and 150 questions.

The Project

• Only one simple limited-scope project is required for the Green Belt certificate, which should generate at least 15 percent improvement in primary project metrics.

• The Black Belt requires two complex strategic projects, resulting in about 50 percent improvement in primary project metrics.

A Black Belt certificate is appropriate for more senior technical roles, such as project managers, quality managers, operations managers and new product engineers or managers. For junior roles in technical industries, a Green Belt certificate will probably suffice.