All organizations and businesses need professional employees who can give timely suggestions on improving their business strategy. If you want to become such a professional, the Six Sigma Black Belt certification is the best choice. However, many people neglect their importance.
Undoubtedly, the Six Sigma Black Belt gives a clear idea about your skills and increases the chances of getting hired at a job position.
This guide contains everything you need to know about the Six Sigma Black Belt, including the preparation tips for the exam.
Also Read: Best Books for IASSC Black Belt Exam Preparation
What is a Six Sigma Black Belt?
Six Sigma has several belts awarded based on performance as well as course-based training to the employees.
While the White Belt is for entry-level employees, A Six Sigma Black Belt certified professional plans the process based on the Six Sigma principles.
They are senior members of the team, and all others work according to their plans and guidelines.
Six Sigma Black Belts play a significant role due to their strong knowledge of Six Sigma methodologies and leadership roles. Thus, they are expected to bring a substantial change to the organization.
Also Read: Guide on how to prepare for IASSC ICBB Test
What are the benefits of becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt?
Six Sigma Black Belts are highly recognized in all industries and organizations. It is because it offers a lot of flexibility in getting better job opportunities and progressing your personality.
Here are some of the best benefits of becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Leadership skills
Becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt will help you enhance your leadership skills. Unlike the white belt and green belt, Black Belts are the leaders of the group. Thus, you won’t be bound to work under someone else or follow their instructions.
Instead, you will organize the whole plan to run the organization efficiently, and all the members will follow your instructions. Such a position in the job will enhance your leadership skills, and you will get to know a lot about different strategies you need to adopt for the improvement of your business.
Better understanding
Training and courses can help you better understand the methodology you need while working in an organization. If you don’t know how to apply the method, you will never be able to fix the problems.
Thus, Six Sigma Black Belt certification and training helps you find the problem and come up with a solution by applying the methodology at the right time.
Also Read: What is Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and How to get it?
Enhance technical skills
When you become a Six Sigma Black Belt, many employees are working under you. Thus, as a manager, you need to have specific technical skills and an understanding of all the statistical tools that will help you get the job done efficiently and timely.
Makes you stand out
The Six Sigma Black Belt certification is the best way to enhance your career as a professional. Even when applying to new jobs, it will help the organization understand your abilities and several skills.
Thus, they will consider no one but you to manage their organization and other employees.
Enhance staff involvement
Due to their leadership qualities, Six Sigma Black Belts are excellent at communicating. They know how to come with better strategies and enhance staff involvement.
As they have to manage a whole group of employers and work for solutions, they encourage the staff to enhance their skills and abilities.
Customer relationships
Becoming a Six Sigma Black Belt allows you to make better relationships with clients and customers. As you are a part of the senior administration, you will become the face of the company.
Thus, you have to manage the clients professionally and explain all the terms and conditions while keeping the progress of your company a priority.
You might also need to support your explanation with some facts and figures. If you have better communication skills, more and more clients will be attracted to your company. While making your company progress, it will increase your chances of promotion too.
Better salary
As the Six Sigma Black Belt is better recognized than the White and Yellow Belt, it increases the chances of advancing your career. You will get a much higher salary as you become the boss of so many employees and the face of your company.
More job opportunities
As the Six Sigma Black Belt certification makes you gain several skills and leadership roles, it makes you eligible for several other jobs. Besides dealing with clients or becoming the manager, you will have a lot of knowledge about marketing and technical stuff.
In this way, it will open doors for new jobs, which might also offer a lot better salary.
Thus, it is always a better idea to pass the test and become a Six Sigma Black Belt.
What jobs are Six Sigma Black Belt hired for?
Six Sigma Black Belts get several job opportunities, which offer better salaries and job positions. Some of the career options for Six Sigma Black Belts are:
- Senior manager
- Six Sigma Lean coordinator
- Business process engineer
- Quality improvement specialist
- Quality assurance manager
- Business analyst
- Senior SQE manager
- Procurement Specialist
What are the eligibility criteria for the Six Sigma Black Belt?
As a Six Sigma Black Belt is a leader of the organization, he needs to have special skills and work experience to make himself eligible for the role.
Six Sigma has several belts and has the most rules for being eligible for the Six Sigma Black Belt.
While most people think that you need to have the Yellow and Green Belt to be eligible for the black one, it isn’t true.
Although most people recommend it, it isn’t mandatory.
For being eligible for the Six Sigma Black belt, you need to have three years of work experience or complete two Six Sigma projects. You also need to provide signed affidavits.
But, make sure that the work experience is in a full-time job.
When and where are Six Sigma Black Belt tests held?
The Six Sigma Black Belt certification tests are mainly conducted by:
- IASSC (International Association for Six Sigma Certification)
- CSSC (Council for Six Sigma Certification)
- ASQ (American Society for Quality)
- Simplilearn
Besides, some other organizations also offer this certification and conduct training courses to help individuals pass the test. You will receive the certificate from the one you decide.
All of them are independent to conduct their tests, for which you need to pay a registration fee. The fee also varies for all organizations, and you can get to know the exact information by visiting their websites.
Generally, the exam is conducted in two different modes:
- Computer-based test
- Paper and pencil test (conducted in test centers)
You can choose any of the modes, depending on your preference.
These are proctored exams with a time duration of 4 hours. The exam contains 150 questions, most of which are MCQs and true/false questions. After filling the form, you will get a schedule for the test.
What are some basic guidelines for preparing for the Six Sigma Black Belt?
Here are some of the basic guidelines for preparation that will help you get the certificate on the first attempt.
Manage your time
Time management is perhaps an essential step to success when preparing for any exam. Most people find it difficult to study while doing a full-time job.
In this case, an efficient study schedule will help you pass the test. If you have 2 months left for the test, a better strategy is to study for two hours daily. At the weekends, you can increase the time to 4 hours.
However, the time you give also depends on your ability to learn things.
If you have more time left, you can study less, like an hour a day. So, consider the time left for the preparation and then make a daily schedule and stick to it.
Have the Green Belt first
Although getting the Green Belt isn’t necessary for the Black Belt, we recommend have the green belt certification first.
This step-by-step strategy will help you gain a better understanding and in-depth knowledge about the Black Belt. Besides, the questions and concepts are similar in both the test, while the Black Belt certification requires some additional skills.
Make use of available resources
The good part is that many organizations that offer Black Belt certificates also have proper training sessions. So, it is better to get the training course from the organization you will get certified. The course will highlight all the features of the test and make you better prepared for it.
So far, many people think that ASQ is the best organization for the Six Sigma Black Belt training and certification.
Although all organizations have a training fee, it will help you pass the test. However, you can also buy some useful books if you have a habit of self-study, or make your own notes.
There are also some free online resources and videos for the preparation of the test.
Final words
The Six Sigma Black Belt is one of the highly recognized certifications globally, which is why more and more organizations have started to offer it.
It offers many benefits and is one of the most highly-paid jobs. However, a better test-attempting strategy and continuous efforts while preparing for the exam are essential to pass it.
Our detailed guide will help you in this process so that you can get the certification without any hassle.