I'm about to enroll in a lean six sigma certification, taking lean six and then Green Belt.
If I can stay in AIr Force long enough I would like to get my Black Belt. I have a demanding
job in AF that consumes about 10 hrs a day average, lots of 12s and weekends. How difficult are
the classes, I heard there are some statistics involved, which I have never done. Is this certification
worth anything in civilian land?

LSS is the hatchet men at work, they devise ways to eliminate positions

This. they black belted our company to death and severely crippled our division. I wouldn't shed a tear if the cocksuckers were lined up against a wall and shot between the eyes.

Currently involved in it now....not too bad...My impression after dealing with it for a while is it is for TOP heavy companies ....too many people involved.....

Have always been amazed at how many people are involved in a LEAN project....say hello to conference calls out the ass..........

Not impressed with it....

Been through the green belt training (no choice in my company).

I see it as a way to try to teach people with no common sense how to figure out what's wrong with something (activity, process, equipment, etc.). I did my project (sort of - I figued out what was wrong, fixed it and then fit my data and results into the appropriate spots in the program to make it look like I'd used the "tools" to solve the problem). Then I was told the project would not be certified because the results were so far above green belt level of return/success (they said it should have been a black belt project).

Its still "sort of" big stuff at my present site/employer. So far I don't think they've used it for reducing the number of jobs at the site, but more of a way of trying to do things differently.

Again, people with common sense can figure things out without six sigma training, but these days common sense is pretty damned rare in the workplace.

If lean/six sigma is applied correctly, it isn't supposed to be about eliminating positions, but increasing efficiency. If that does result in a position being eliminated, the individual should be assigned temporary duties until a position opens up through natural attrition.

I do contract work for the government. I skim through the contracts my company has won to see if there is anything interesting to switch to.
It is surprising how many positions require or strongly desire LSS cert.

I did a little of the training. It seemed like a bunch of BS buzzwords mixed with common sense.

Thanks for all the feedback, I signed up for Green Belt and Lean Six,
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have it.

Dam have been living 10+ plus years of this BS.

First, let me start by saying you should never ask career advice to people who have 1) no vested interest in your success & 2) are not qualified to give it.

Do get your Lean Six Sigma Black Belt if:
1 You plan on becoming an executive,
2. managing projects or departments,
3. having a career that is going somewhere
4. plan to work in research and development, process engineering, production, quality, ect.
5. what to have education similar to an MBA.
6. Want to know how to measure success and ensure that everything you do produces results.

Do NOT get an MBA if
1. You plan on having a do-nothing go-nowhere career
2. Plan on pushing a broom for the rest of your life
3. Do not want a real education
4. Do not want to understand statistics
5. Do not want career advancement
6. Want to be a lousy leader/manager or engineer and not get consistent results.
7. You want others to have an edge over you on having a successful interview
8. Want to have little value to your employer

There are a lot of people who have zero real understanding of what Lean manufacturing and Six SIgma are. Some of those people were probably fired for being shitty employees, but blame a continuous improvement project for that because the don't want to admit that the writing was on the wall.

Some companies have closed facilities or layed of people due to project work. I would put forth that if the impovements were not made, they business would have closed or layoffs would have happened in much larger numbers. Some people have about as much business acumen as an "occupy wallstreet" protester.

Bottom line....Most businesses that will survive have a LSS program. People who want to stay employed will learn the skills. Others choose unemployment by default.

Add value to YOUR bottom line. Get the training and certification. Don't take your career advice from people who have failed in their own careers and still have not learned from it.

FYI, I am a certified MBB (and ran the training program at my last company), Chemical Engineer, and currently a Director for Continuous Improvement at a F500 Company. That opportunity would have NEVER had happened if I did not have the 10 years of LSS experience and training. Now I make $165k. Without that and some of my ASQ certifications, I would be making $98k still. Training + Successful experience (ROI) = Value = career growth

Also, all of my projects have SAVED jobs and prevented them and the business from going over seas. It was the Six Sigma process that helped my team implement $5 million in perishable goods warehousing, logistics, and inventory savings that prevented us from moving our manufacturing to Singapore.

SS and LSS are great tools when properly applied. At their core they are not about reducing headcount, but unlocking hidden capacity through reduction of waste and variability. If your company is at the tail end in competitiveness of a shrinking market and brings it in, it may well be the last gasp of a dying man. This is where many associate it with management militarism. In reality it is only a tool, how it is used determines whether it is perceived as positive or negative.

My advise to anyone is to learn to use the tools and their application. It will only make you better and more marketable as time goes on. Those who don't are headed for extinction. Figure out which bus you want to be on, and get on it.