The best way to learn the methods of Lean and Six Sigma is through practice.
That is why we require the completion of a real-life project with tangible benefits.
However, there are a lot of barriers to completing a project.
- You don’t have enough free time at your work
- You’re not currently employed
- You don’t have or lost support for a project at work
- You can’t figure out what project to work on
- You got stuck in your project and didn’t know how to proceed
- You couldn’t get your improvements implemented
If you’d like to talk to someone about how to get a previous, current or future project completed, book time on my calendar for a 15-minute call to discuss.
There is one other option for those that really struggle with completing a project, the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification (CSSGB).
American Society for Quality (ASQ) is a well-recognized organization and the certification is valued by companies (despite the lack of a completed project).
They offer a 110 question multiple-choice open book exam you can take in-person (at your nearest major city through Prometric) or online for those that cannot go to a nearby testing center. You will have about 4.5 hours to complete the exam, or about 2 minutes per question.
Another advantage to the CSSGB certification is that you do not have to take any specific training course. Although to pass the exam, you will have to self-study from reference materials or sign up for a study course (but they don’t force you into any specific course).
Finally, there is no recertification required for Green Belt, so once you’re certified, you will retain that certification forever.
How much does it cost to get an ASQ Green Belt certification?
The total cost for the exam is $469 for non-ASQ members, or $369 for ASQ members. We suggest you obtain study guide materials to prepare for the exam. We recommend the CSSGB Primer and Solutions Manual from Quality Council of Indiana, which costs $115 + shipping. If you want a reference book to take into the exam, there are a few options like The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook, The Six Sigma Handbook and The Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Handbook, but those cost about $50-100 or more.
In total, you could spend between $369 – $700 to get your ASQ CSSGB certification. That is assuming you pass the exam the first time. If you don’t pass the exam, you would have to pay another $300-400 USD to retake it.
We offer similar priced options for Green Belt certification with project support if you want a more valuable Green Belt certification and do not want to take an exam.
Requirements for CSSGB Exam
You must have at least 3 years of on-the-job experience in one or more of the areas of the Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Body of Knowledge. This limits the certification for those that are in college or university, or newly hired at their company. You will likely need to complete a real-life project to obtain your Green Belt certification.
How difficult are the questions on the CSSGB exam?
The most challenging statistical questions are shown and worked out in our ASQ CSSGB Exam Prep Course to give you an idea what to expect. The CSSGB Solutions Manual from Quality Council of Indiana provide a list of hundreds of practice questions to let you see all the likely questions on the exam (not just the difficult questions).
If you don’t pass the exam, you will have to pay a retake fee and try again.
How often is the exam offered?
The exam does not have exact testing dates, but instead has a monthly testing window. The CSSGB exam is offered every other month (February, April, June, August, October and December). You will need to sign up early in the month prior. For example, you must sign up by early September to take the exam in October.
How much time will it take to study for the exam?
This will vary greatly based on your experience level. If you have a lot of knowledge and experience with Lean Six Sigma, you might not need to study very much. If this is brand new to you, you will need to study a significant amount of time. As a general rule, we recommend allocating about 40-80 hours to prepare for the exam, about 8 hours a week for 6-8 weeks leading up to the exam.
What is a Green Belt certification worth in the marketplace? Will a Green Belt certification increase my salary?
Steps to achieving the ASQ CSSGB Certification
Here are the key steps to achieve your ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB)
- Review the CSSGB requirements and exam information
- Consider taking our ASQ CSSGB Exam Prep Course or ordering the CSSGB Solutions Manual from Quality Council of Indiana to help you decide if you want to take the exam and how much time you will need to study.
- Commit to yourself (and other accountability partners) to study for the exam to set a deadline for completion
- Once you decide you are ready to take the exam in the next few months, pay the exam fee to ASQ and sign up for a testing window in the future (held every 2 months in a major city near you)
- Obtain the CSSGB Primer Book and Solutions Manual from Quality Council of Indiana ($115 USD)
- Read through the Primer book for the first time and take all practice exam questions
- Go through our practice exercises, especially those you struggled with
- Review the questions you missed, and check the Solutions Manual if unclear why the answer was wrong.
- Read the primer book a 2nd time and take all practice questions again
- Add flag and post-it notes to your Primer book for key topics and references
- Retake practice questions (only those that you missed at least once) right before your exam date
- Ensure you know hot to get to the testing facility and schedule your arrival time well in advance
- Get a good night sleep and pass the exam!
In summary, I don’t think the ASQ Green Belt certification route via exam only is the ideal approach for those wanting to really learn these skills.
But for those who cannot do a project easily and want to obtain a Green Belt certification as soon as possible (can take 3-9 months to complete a real-life project), this is a viable alternative approach.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us
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