CQPA Certification Provides Competitive Edge for New Grads
With unemployment rates hovering around 10 percent, opportunities are scarce in nearly every field. At Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT, statistics majors are discovering a competitive edge by earning ASQ’s Certified Quality Process Analyst (CQPA) certification.
Incorporating Certification Exam Prep Into Coursework
BYU, an ASQ Site member, became involved with CQPA exam preparation two years ago. Statistics professor John Lawson recalls, “I told students that we’d prepare for the exam as part of
a class [Introduction to Quality], and that it would help them find internships and jobs.”
Fifteen students took the CQPA exam in the fall of 2009: (from left) Emily Bennett, Chris Barbakos (kneeling), Nathan Scheurer, Jacob Wilkes, Erik Josephson (holding flag), Casey Stoddard, Sara Gividen, Scot Morris, Brad Smith, Mike Ulmer, Tim Perkins, Chad Pharo, Brian Wells (kneeling), Regan Russell, and David Paul (holding flag).
Lawson uses the Certified Quality Process Analyst Handbook in his curriculum. His semester-long course also incorporates group activities using cause and effect diagrams, affinity diagrams, and other common process improvement tools.
The professor says that the CQPA credential is especially valuable for students earning a bachelor’s degree in statistics because most companies that hire statisticians prefer candidates with advanced degrees. “The CQPA credential opens some doors where students [who earn bachelor’s degrees] can use the expertise they’ve gained in our program,” notes Lawson.
CQPA Enhances Job Prospects
In the fall of 2008, 12 students completed Lawson’s introductory class. All nine who took the CQPA exam passed it. A year later, 15 students completed the course and the exam. From the first year’s class, seven of the 12 students secured either an internship or project in the semester after earning the credential.
The Utah Transit Authority hired recent graduate Scott Merrell to do contract work shortly after he earned his CQPA certification in 2008. “Because I was familiar with quality practices, they kept me on for a statistical internship the following summer,” explains Merrell, who is now a global operations analyst for Erickson Air-Crane in Portland, OR.
Another recent graduate, Phil Witt, credits the certification for helping him find both an internship and eventually full-time employment. “The comment that I got at a number of job interviews was, ‘Wow, that shows great initiative on your part to get a certification while you’re still in school,’” recalls Witt, now a continuous improvement analyst at WesTech Engineering in Salt Lake City, UT.
Hannah Westover, a 2009 BYU graduate and business data analyst at IXI Corporation, a division of Equifax, reports that several areas of the CQPA Body of Knowledge already have made an impact in her career. “Preparing for the certification was about more than calculating a z-statistic. It was learning about the complexities of quality and receiving exposure to various tools and methods I can use to solve problems and make lasting improvements in my job,” explains Westover.
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