Where the hell is Plunkey when I need a reply from the 1%
I was out with a key supplier this evening. Talk about a long day... start at 5:00am and finished at 9:00pm.
Plunkey needs to sleep.
But to answer your question. I did a green belt at GE but never pursued the black belt certification. If you're in a company that values that as part of a career advancement plan, I'd say do it.
If I personally see it on a resume, it's not a big deal to me.
So if this is truly optional for you, ask yourself a few questions:
1) Am I comfortable with basic statistical measures and tests of significance?
2) Am I capable of quantifying key aspects of a product/program/process and then working with the resulting numbers in a meaningful way?
3) Do I know the basic quality/process control tools such as Pareto charts, X-Bar and R-Charts and U/P Charts?
4) Do I know a little about experimental design, particularly factorial experiments and the tenets of sound testing regimens?
If so, I don't think you need the black belt certification.
If this is all new to you, I'd say do the black belt.