(Aveta Business Institute: Cleveland) -- It's no secret that in today's economy no job is secure. For the first time in more than 25 years, the United States unemployment rate has risen to 9.4 percent, as of May 2009. Along with this grim statistic come salary cuts, demotions, layoffs, and job cuts.

Craig Setter, president and CEO of Aveta Business Institute's Six Sigma Online Program, has noticed a new trend in his company's scope. "At least a few times a day, someone will e-mail our customer care team, asking if a Six Sigma training class or certification could help them either get a job, or help cement their position in their current job," he says.

He wanted to answer that question in a non-biased way.

Setter was curious, so he put together a small research team who conducted an email-based survey of United States management-level business professionals between April 1, 2009, and June 1, 2009. There were 186 respondents, with questions centered around the subjects of work experience, possessing an MBA, possessing a project management certification, and possessing various degrees of Six Sigma certification. All of the questions asked who the respondents would hire based on qualifications alone.

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