Is A Six Sigma Certification Worth It?

Many people every year wonder whether getting a six sigma certification is worth their time. This is a good question when you consider the time and money often needed to pursue this credential. Here, we take a look at the things you should be considering when deciding whether it is right for you.

While considering going after any certification, one must ask themselves what is the value of this credential. In other words, after I perform all the steps and get certified, what is the value of this credential. The best way to look at this question is to look at it in two terms:

1. How much does my current company value six sigma certification?

2. How likely is it that my future employers will value this certification?

Obviously, if your current company does not value this credential, you are thinking more long term. It is possible the skills learned could help you in job performance in the short term but the real benefits would be long term where it could help open some doors with other companies. This is why the second question is important because one must ask themselves how likely some of the other future employees will value getting certified.

This is a tougher question to answer concretely because who can say who they will really be working for over the next 10 to 15 years. Therefore, it may actually be easier to ask the question about whether you want to risk the chance that avoiding getting certified may hurt your career. After all, you are likely to be pigeonholed with companies who don't value this credential.

This could very well be problematic as they will not reap the benefits of those disciplined in this field. It also cuts down your employment chances in half because companies that do value six sigma will likely learn more towards prospective employees who have this credential on their resume. Viewed in this light, this may be an easy choice for many to go after the certification to help keep their options. Considering that many employees end up changing companies every 2 or 3 years, it makes a lot of sense to not want to close any doors.

For all these reasons, we see more and more people opting to get a six sigma certification. The time and cost of the training is an expense, but the greater long term cost could be not getting certified at all.

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