How much Money does a Six Sigma Black Belt make?

Reading about lean, six sigma, and theory of constraints, made me start wondering about the value these add to an organization and how much money a person who is an expert in Six Sigma makes.

I looked up the Salary a Six Sigma expert makes on three different websites,

According to these websites on Monday, September 16, 2013:

 indeed.com reports:

A Six Sigma Black Belt on a national average makes $92,000[1]

Salary.com reports that

A Six Sigma Black Belt makes between $96,670 and $167, 444[2] nationally.

Glassdoor.com reports

That the median amount is $80,000[3].

These numbers are incredibly high. But why are Six Sigma professionals so well paid? Why would a company pay that much to an individual?

Six Sigma Black belts make a lot of money because they have to meet a lot of requirements. They have to be certified and tested based on their experience. Usually a Six Sigma Black Belt has had ten years of experience and a Master’s degree. I have included a link for a brochure that identifies the type of test questions. [4]

Six sigma is implemented in order to simply to improve productivity and efficiency that could save a company thousands or millions of dollars. Companies that have used it are Sears, DuPont, General Electric and Motorola. [5]

According to author Mikel Harry, “When a company is operating at six sigma, costs that would otherwise go to inspection, rework, warranties, and customer service drop to the bottom line.[6]” Companies save money!

So as a Heinz student would you become a Six Sigma professional? Could a non-profit value from a Six Sigma implementation?

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[1] http://www.indeed.com/salary/Six-Sigma-Black-Belt.html

[2] http://www1.salary.com/Six-Sigma-Master-Black-Belt-Salary.html

[3] http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/six-sigma-black-belt-salary-SRCH_KO0,20.htm

[4] Link to brochure: http://prdweb.asq.org/certification/resource/pdf/certification/inserts/cssbb-insert-2007.pdf

[5] http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/09/09/lean-government-six-sigma-why-do-politicians-ignore-it/

[6] Harry, Mikel J., and Richard Schroeder. Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World's Top Corporations. New York: Currency, 2000. Print.