A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
Anybody on here got these qualifications?
Working in both a project and process environment within a company that doesn't actively promote these qualifications (but sees them as hugely advantageous), I'm looking to perhaps fund them myself with a view to both furthering my career where I am but also making myself more 'desirable' outside of my workplace, as people know, the financial sectors pretty unpredictable at the moment.
How did you pay for the course, did your workplace pay?
Would you say its benefited your career?
Do you use the knowledge you gained on a daily basis, ie. did you find it valuable?
|
Simon L
Member
Registered: 24th Mar 02
Location: Glasgow
User status: Offline
|
Both are well known and recognised, but both are quite different.
Six Sigma is used to identify opportunities for efficiency in processes and Prince 2 is aimed at project management.
Depends what route you want to go down.
Six Sigma is internally trained and certified at my company. Prince 2 is externally run. But work cover any costs associated with either.
Doing both would make you more desirable.
|
Simon L
Member
Registered: 24th Mar 02
Location: Glasgow
User status: Offline
|
The people trained up as Yellow/Green/Black belts are dropped in to certain areas requiring improvement, have X months to do it, demonstrate they have delivered and then onto the next one.
It's not something that dabble in, it's 100% of their job in my work at least. So they use it day in day out. But other companies may use a different approach.
|
cunningham
Member
Registered: 25th May 05
Location: Lochore, Fife
User status: Offline
|
It's pish I'm a six sigma specialist. I think its the same as yellow as my next target is green belt we get £50 vouchers for every specialist project
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
Having spent a couple of hours researching on the internet I think both would be valuable, perhaps moreso Prince2 in my current role.
The courses price at:
Prince2 Foundation & Practitioner (On Site Training): £1100
Prince2 Foundation & Practitioner (Online e-Training): £545
Six Sigma Green Belt (On Site Training): £3600 + VAT
Six Sigma Green Belt (Online e-Training): £1000 (6 months)
Six Sigma Black Belt (On Site Training): £5350 + VAT
Six Sigma Black Belt (Online e-Training): £1500 (one year)
Looking on forums it would appear the online versions are just as valid as the 'classroom' ones and the certifications are exactly the same.
I just need to justify the £2000. If it helps me increase my salary over the next 5-10 years it could be a worthwhile investment.
[Edited on 05-08-2011 by A2H GO]
|
SetH
Member
Registered: 15th Jul 01
User status: Offline
|
I'm a prince 2 practioner and it was a pre-req for me landing a PM role with HP.
Paid for it myself when I was made redundant from my previous job.
I apply some of the methodology day to day, but you'd never actually deliver anything if you followed it to the book!
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
Good to know it benefited you in finding more work following redundancy, exactly the sort of thing I want to protect myself from as much as possible along with improving future prospects.
How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking? Did you do a 'classroom' based course?
|
Siberia
Member
Registered: 9th Oct 03
Location: Leprechaun Land Drives : Zafira GSI
User status: Offline
|
i held a six sigma yellow belt at a previous job.. it was done internally and was just participating on an improvment team to sort out high failure rates of product at final QC.. load of nonsense really but american companies seem to love this stuff
[Edited on 06-08-2011 by Siberia]
|
Conway563
Member
Registered: 7th Jun 06
Location: Yate, Bristol
User status: Offline
|
I did the six sigma yellow belt a few years back that an old company paid for. Never used anything from it TBH, every role I've had since has been more interested in me doing ITIL qualifications
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
Perhaps not worth it then unless your company pays for it?
|
SetH
Member
Registered: 15th Jul 01
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by A2H GO
Good to know it benefited you in finding more work following redundancy, exactly the sort of thing I want to protect myself from as much as possible along with improving future prospects.
How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking? Did you do a 'classroom' based course?
I did a Classroom delivered Course and paid about £1300.
The trainer was really good, was nearing retirement and had worked on some epic projects during his career.
The first 2 days covered the foundation with a multiple choice exam at the end. the last 3 days covered the Practioner material with Essay exams at the end. I did the lot in one Week which is not reccomended, they say you should do the foundation, go away and digest the material then come back. I think doing a week's prestudy at home helped me.
Non Prince 2 people in the Work place always seem to make a habit of telling me that its bullshit  but from what i've seen on the job boards of late employers have a hard on for it.
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
Yeah our place doesn't promote PRINCE2 etc and tells its people its because we want to use our own ways of managing projects rather than set principles. Yet when we get applicants with PRINCE2 they virtually get handed the job.
|
Fro
Member
Registered: 20th Jun 06
Location: Rainham, Essex Drives: A3 2.0TDi Sport
User status: Offline
|
Not studied it but work offer to pay for Prince2 training.
|
Tom
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: Wirral, Merseyside
User status: Offline
|
I did a course on MS Project delivered by some noob project manager from Hull a couple of weeks ago. Waste of time.
|
Gary
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Whats the pay like for a pro0ject manager?
Anything else needed exept from a Prince 2 and a bit of intelligence?
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Gary
Whats the pay like for a pro0ject manager?
Anything else needed exept from a Prince 2 and a bit of intelligence?
Not really apart from a few years experience in a project environment along with evidence of having managed a project and delivered within time and cost. We pay £30k - £70k.
|
Gary
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Nice wage there.
Is there such a thing as a junior project manager?
|
James
Member
Registered: 1st Jun 02
Location: Surrey
User status: Offline
|
PRINCE2 is the kind of thing that companies feel like they should ask for when hiring a PM, but in practise, they don't actually use any of it.
My understanding is that it's quite a rigid framework and if the company you work for don't use that framework religiously, getting the qualification won't add much value.
It does look good on a CV though.
|
Gary
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Would be pretty pointless to get into PM, surely there will be a lot of people out there with a degree in it??
|
James
Member
Registered: 1st Jun 02
Location: Surrey
User status: Offline
|
There are different types of PM, the most common being an IT PM. Obviously someone with an IT degree would be better placed than someone without one. But any experience working on IT projects is usually enough to get a foot in the door in a junior PM role. You would usually start out as a project assistant or similar where you basically support PMs.
|
Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
|
Someone i know did their Prince2 and because of that managed to land an IT PM contract with a big pharmaceutical company on a 90-100k salary (about a 60% increase in salary from their previous job). They did it over a week or two, classroom teaching, said it was a bit of an arseache in terms of studying and cramming in everything over that short period but most big PM contracts require it even though you only use a small part of it during day-to-day work.
|
ed
Member
Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
|
Going to start reading up on Six Sigma for a few job interviews I'll be having soon. Seems a lot of companies are more interested in lean manufacturing for the stuff I'm interested in though. At least one of them pay for you to get your Six Sigma 'belts' though which will be nice 
|
A2H GO
Member
Registered: 14th Sep 04
Location: Stoke
User status: Offline
|
From a couple of weeks research it clear Prince and lean/6sigma are becoming much more desirable in UK business'.
I agree that a lot of companies (including mine) don't require you to use the methodologies within the working environment but see it as a benefit to have this experience and be able to call on the relevent principles when required in practice.
Project management is one of the few fairly high paid jobs that you can 'work' your way into without a formal degree. I'm a Project Analyst at the moment, basically working under a PM in 'mini-projects' and nearly all the PM vacancies specify Prince2 and 6sigma despite none of our 137 PM's ever using any of the principles.
|
