Your Yellow Belt Career with Six Sigma Certification

One of the earliest Six Sigma belts you will earn is the Yellow Belt. More in-depth than the foundational White Belt, but not quite as complex as Orange or Green, Yellow Belt training creates ample prospects for steady employment plus career progression. Stay on the lookout for profitable business ventures, as you never know what might be waiting. Here are some opportunities you can expect to find on your Yellow Belt career path.

Continuous Improvement Manager

As more businesses start to adopt Six Sigma practices, many are on the lookout for continuous improvement managers to join their team. This mid-senior level role involves managing multiple active Six Sigma projects for your business. Your job is to identify improvement opportunities for your business, cultivating Kaizen culture and using Six Sigma and Lean to eliminate process issues. You will support the manufacturing areas using techniques like DMAIC, Kanban, and Poka-Yoke to help your business meet its goals.

You could find yourself working for an expanding company in need of help with its site consolidation. Business expansion, however large or small, can be a tough nut to crack. Without the right staff for the job, what should be plain sailing can quickly turn into a logistics nightmare.

But these workplace changes can also signal great things for a potential employer. You can do a lot with your Six Sigma certification, but don’t sell yourself short. Experience with value stream mapping, problem-solving techniques, 5S, standardization, PDCA, and similar methodologies will bolster your suitability for the role. Furthermore, the wider your skillset, the more prosperous your Yellow Belt career will be.

Performance & Reporting Analyst

Another great stop on your Yellow Belt career is as a Performance & Reporting Analyst. Your duties will include monitoring project change applications, plus reviewing process issues. Yellow Belt curricula typically involve a great deal of analytical training to support business decisions. After all, you can’t make lasting process changes without valid data to back them up. You can also expect to use a variety of Six Sigma Yellow Belt techniques in your work. These include value stream analysis, lean performance metrics, and process mapping.

This role usually takes the form of a contract position, either for a fixed period (around six months) or on an ongoing basis. Many businesses who take on analysts as temporary staff eventually extend their contracts or offer permanent positions. As such, this can be an ideal jumping-off point for Yellow Belts looking to gain experience for more senior roles. On the other hand, it can also lead to long-term employment under the right circumstances.

Further Training: Greater Opportunities

While Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification is an impressive achievement, your education isn’t over yet! Yellow Belt training is the foundation of many great Six Sigma careers, but further study will open more doors for you. Graduating to Green Belt or Black Belt level will allow you to pursue a Six Sigma consulting career. As a Six Sigma consultant, you will work in-house or freelance, using an array of techniques, and helping businesses to implement Six Sigma practices. And to top it off, your salary can increase on a yearly basis according to experience. Moreover, consultants with only a year’s experience can earn up to around $80,000 per annum. Think yourself ambitious? Use your skills wisely to earn even more.