ISO 9001 Audit Observations - Transitioning my career into auditing

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StephanieB

Hello all,

I have recently decided to transition my career into auditing. I plan on obtaining many different certifications for more opportunities but as of right now I have achieved my ISO 9001:2015 lead auditor certificate. I understand that I need to obtain a certain number of observation audits before I am “officially” certified. Would anyone be willing to give me some guidance on how I go about getting these observations? I am pretty new to this but eager and willing to put in the time and effort. I have spoken with a few registrars but I feel they are looking for people with more experience in the auditing industry. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Or if there are any auditors out there willing to let me tag along just let me know! ;)
 

Randy

Super Moderator
What you need to do is get at least 1 other Lead course under your belt, I'd recommend Environmental. (Hopefully you took a TPEC type training course for your Quality Lead). Even without a great deal of experience you become more hireable with multiple course/certificates on hand.

This isn't the best time for making the switch in careers to one of becoming a road warrior for a CB, after all this transition work is done there's going to be some "trimming of the fat" especially of those that have little to offer beyond a single scheme and it's not going to make a bit of difference whether they are full time or contract like me. (All I do is audit)

In your case most likely your SOL when it comes to tagging around or just getting some audit days, your quickest method for hire will be as I said, get at least one more Lead course under your belt and then look, but right now, your future is dim.
 

AndyN

Moved On
Hello all,

I have recently decided to transition my career into auditing. I plan on obtaining many different certifications for more opportunities but as of right now I have achieved my ISO 9001:2015 lead auditor certificate. I understand that I need to obtain a certain number of observation audits before I am “officially” certified. Would anyone be willing to give me some guidance on how I go about getting these observations? I am pretty new to this but eager and willing to put in the time and effort. I have spoken with a few registrars but I feel they are looking for people with more experience in the auditing industry. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Or if there are any auditors out there willing to let me tag along just let me know! ;)

Actually it's a great time to get into being a CB auditor! There's so much gray hair out there, so many really poor auditors, the whole industry needs an injection of new talent. Don't bother with another certification, either.

So, you have a certificate from a class, right? That doesn't mean "Lead Auditor Certification", it means you attended a class, that's all. You should go the the IRCA or Exemplar Global website and down load the qualification criteria. Read that. Basically, you have to do system audits to ISO 9001 or something very similar and be in charge of the whole audit, including - important this one - one other person. Leading an audit means managing the audit, so one other person must be under your leadership for at least a proportion of the total number of hours. They cannot be internal audits.

Beware of unscrupulous CBs who will offer you audit opportunities. You will do the work for free and they pocket the fees. If you screw up, they will not support you and they won't provide any training, as they don't want to invest in you at all.

You might try your local ASQ section to see if they can offer opportunities for you to audit local companies and do "pre-assessments" or similar.
 
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SpinDr99

Involved In Discussions
Stephanie,

There's a reason people say "Beware what you ask for", for a reason. I spoke with a larger CB regarding a position with their company, and looked at the e-mails I received from my current CB auditor. The CB mentioned that I'd need to travel Sunday nights to perform audits on Monday mornings, and as well, I'd very possibly be getting in late on Fridays for audits done on a Friday. In addition to that, my current auditor frequently e-mailed me during the middle of the night. So with that, I took away the question "What kind of personal life would I have". Granted, you can sometimes make your own schedule, but not always. Do you want a personal life with your significant other or friends? Will you be able to make your schedule as a contractor? Even then, if you refuse assignments to have a "life", will they be eager to direct assignments to you in the future? Just things to consider. When you get into "specialized" industries such as medical device and aerospace or environmental, there is GOOD money to be made. And if you can handle the schedule and travel, then this is a good field for you.

As mentioned previously, after CB's catch up on all the transitioning, and the pool of auditors shrinks after retirement, there may still be a good field of business for auditors.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Look at it this way, since 2004 I've acquired enough nights at Hilton owned hotels to be Lifetime Diamond and that doesn't count Holiday Inn, Marriott, Choice or other brands I use on a regular basis.

Wanna guess the air miles on American alone in the lower 48?
 

AndyN

Moved On
Look at it this way, since 2004 I've acquired enough nights at Hilton owned hotels to be Lifetime Diamond and that doesn't count Holiday Inn, Marriott, Choice or other brands I use on a regular basis.

Wanna guess the air miles on American alone in the lower 48?

That's NOTHING! When I was a CB auditor, I had to live in a shoebox in the middle of the road...:notme::lol:
 

dsanabria

Quite Involved in Discussions
Stephanie,

There's a reason people say "Beware what you ask for", for a reason. I spoke with a larger CB regarding a position with their company, and looked at the e-mails I received from my current CB auditor. The CB mentioned that I'd need to travel Sunday nights to perform audits on Monday mornings, and as well, I'd very possibly be getting in late on Fridays for audits done on a Friday. In addition to that, my current auditor frequently e-mailed me during the middle of the night. So with that, I took away the question "What kind of personal life would I have". Granted, you can sometimes make your own schedule, but not always. Do you want a personal life with your significant other or friends? Will you be able to make your schedule as a contractor? Even then, if you refuse assignments to have a "life", will they be eager to direct assignments to you in the future? Just things to consider. When you get into "specialized" industries such as medical device and aerospace or environmental, there is GOOD money to be made. And if you can handle the schedule and travel, then this is a good field for you.

As mentioned previously, after CB's catch up on all the transitioning, and the pool of auditors shrinks after retirement, there may still be a good field of business for auditors.

It is not that bad - but yes - it is dark - airport are hard to sleep on and delays on aircraft are common which will cause your flights to be missed. S a 2 hour flight turns into a 12 hour flight. :tg:
 

Randy

Super Moderator
It is not that bad - but yes - it is dark - airport are hard to sleep on and delays on aircraft are common which will cause your flights to be missed. S a 2 hour flight turns into a 12 hour flight. :tg:

Did that just last week. Broke down and laughed 3 times:lol:
 

ScottK

Not out of the crisis
Leader
Super Moderator
The travel is what's holding me back.
If I could get an auditing job that is regional with minimal overnight stays I would probably move into auditing.
But haven't seen any registrars that can offer that work/life balance.
 
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