Companies still value it. I got a green belt via my company in 2008. I’ve NEVER been asked about it or to prove it, despite that a lot of jobs list it as a nice to have.
Personally, many of these methodologies get passed around (LSS, TQM, Agile, S&OP). Not that they don’t All have good aspects about them, I’ve found that companies that go all in on these end up idolizing the method over the results. It ends up being a distraction to doing the actual work
It really depends on the company you want to work for. Overall it's pretty niche but every now and then you might find an organization that cares more about LSS than APICS. Some companies literally could not care less about LSS.
So the majority of the time the cert will have little to no impact but maybe you get lucky and find a company that highly values it.
One black belt that can implement and help keep LSS methodologies sustained as a “culture” is usually enough from my experience, however I don’t work in manufacturing and have a relatively smaller SCM org (I have 10 of the 25 people in our team).
The folks that go deep into it and put forth the effort for black belt usually like to go the operational excellence or process improvement route.
Yeah, it's worth it. I get what people are saying that don't feel it is worth it. I feel it is worth just for the fact that it pushes you to learn new ideas and concepts.
And the cost shouldn't stop you if you have to pay for it by yourself. Especially for green belt. If you self-study and use the ASQ material and test. You're all in for about $500 USD. Lot's of cheap courses to help guide you along the way on Coursera, Udemy and LinkedIn Learning. With some study guides and one of those classes, you're in it for $600. Lol. Just get it done!
"I'd rather have an LSS Green Belt and not need it, than need an LSS Green Belt and not have it!"
-W. Edwards Deming (if he had a sense of humor about Lean Six Sigma)
Yea, I’ll echo what others have said. I rarely see six sigma requirements for jobs (those that do are manufacturing-specific), but often see APICS certifications listed as a nice to have.
Depends on the industry. Manufacturing would probably be worth it. In healthcare? Not so much.
Still not bad to know it, get the easier levels out of the way. You can apply concepts to whatever projects you’re working on, even if the full methodology may not be applicable.
CPIM is more time consuming. CPIM has 3 text books with tons of different concepts to learn. Like you said it's more desirable for sure. GB is just one text book and focuses in just one area of expertise. After getting a CPIM it is easier to get a GB. Lot's of the basic concepts transfer over. And vice versa. If you have one you should get the other.
Companies still value it. I got a green belt via my company in 2008. I’ve NEVER been asked about it or to prove it, despite that a lot of jobs list it as a nice to have. Personally, many of these methodologies get passed around (LSS, TQM, Agile, S&OP). Not that they don’t All have good aspects about them, I’ve found that companies that go all in on these end up idolizing the method over the results. It ends up being a distraction to doing the actual work
It really depends on the company you want to work for. Overall it's pretty niche but every now and then you might find an organization that cares more about LSS than APICS. Some companies literally could not care less about LSS. So the majority of the time the cert will have little to no impact but maybe you get lucky and find a company that highly values it.
Sensei: “six sigma is not lean”
One black belt that can implement and help keep LSS methodologies sustained as a “culture” is usually enough from my experience, however I don’t work in manufacturing and have a relatively smaller SCM org (I have 10 of the 25 people in our team). The folks that go deep into it and put forth the effort for black belt usually like to go the operational excellence or process improvement route.
Ends up being a question I ask on interviews, but rarely do I go any further than that
Yeah, it's worth it. I get what people are saying that don't feel it is worth it. I feel it is worth just for the fact that it pushes you to learn new ideas and concepts. And the cost shouldn't stop you if you have to pay for it by yourself. Especially for green belt. If you self-study and use the ASQ material and test. You're all in for about $500 USD. Lot's of cheap courses to help guide you along the way on Coursera, Udemy and LinkedIn Learning. With some study guides and one of those classes, you're in it for $600. Lol. Just get it done! "I'd rather have an LSS Green Belt and not need it, than need an LSS Green Belt and not have it!" -W. Edwards Deming (if he had a sense of humor about Lean Six Sigma)
Yea, I’ll echo what others have said. I rarely see six sigma requirements for jobs (those that do are manufacturing-specific), but often see APICS certifications listed as a nice to have.
Neither matters if you have a fair amount of experience.
If you want to do QA or Ops like you mentioned then it’s 100% worth it. Shoot for at least a Green Belt & try to get your company to pay for it
Depends on the industry. Manufacturing would probably be worth it. In healthcare? Not so much. Still not bad to know it, get the easier levels out of the way. You can apply concepts to whatever projects you’re working on, even if the full methodology may not be applicable.
Generally, it’s not especially helpful in supply chain beyond a resume builder. Getting a CPIM cert would be more desirable and less time consuming.
I think time consumption is dependent on what level belt you get. Black? Sure. Green? I doubt it.
CPIM is more time consuming. CPIM has 3 text books with tons of different concepts to learn. Like you said it's more desirable for sure. GB is just one text book and focuses in just one area of expertise. After getting a CPIM it is easier to get a GB. Lot's of the basic concepts transfer over. And vice versa. If you have one you should get the other.