Your Guide to Scrum Master Career Path

Who Is a Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master is a guide to the Scrum team, leading them in using Scrum practices for agile project management. Scrum is an agile framework used to develop complex projects, usually software. The agile project management technique involves using short development cycles called sprints to ensure continuous improvement of a product or service.  The method is highly collaborative and popularly used for fast moving projects. 

The scrum master is accountable for the scrum team’s effectiveness and takes care of all communication and collaboration among leadership and team members to facilitate a successful outcome. The Scrum master focuses on the team, taking initiatives to ensure success of the team as well as individual team members. 

Scrum master jobs can be found in every industry and for all kinds of businesses around the world. The job can be both exciting and challenging. 

Top Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

The role of a scrum master is to apply agile project management methodologies to guide a project and team members. The responsibilities of a scrum master vary with work settings, but the main duties may include:

• Heading daily meetings, reviews, demos and other project related meets
• Supporting team members 
• Guiding the team on scrum principles, methodologies
• Encouraging open discussion and conflict resolution
• Identifying and resolving issues
• Updating activities in tracking tool for project management

Scrum Master Education

There are no strict educational requirements for Scrum Master job role. However, most companies prefer candidates possessing bachelor’s degree in IT, business administration or related field. Having a college degree can also facilitate gaining on-the-job expertise, which is often required in scrum master job listings.  

Scrum Master Certifications 

Earning a recognized industry certification is an excellent way to validate your expertise in Scum framework methodologies in front of potential employers. This will help:

• Strengthen the fundamental knowledge you possess
• Build a learning mindset by investing productively in yourself

Among the most popular ScrumMaster certifications is the Agile Scrum Master Certification Course from Simplilearn. Explore a range of free online courses in Agile and Scrum to skill up and master how to lead teams successfully.  

Scrum Master Career Path

The job of a Scrum Master comes with a high level of responsibility. A scrum master career path will open up doors to several lucrative careers, organizations, and industries. Many who begin their journey as Scrum Masters look for opportunities that exist beyond the role. If you are eager to develop your skills while looking for new insights and opportunities, you can make progress to become Scrum coaches, project managers, product owners, etc.

Job Roles After Scrum Master

1. Product Owner 

If you are a scrum master interested in the business aspect of the product, product owner can be a good job role for you after scrum master.  

Description – a product owner works with a team to help develop a better product that suits user needs. The product owner will have responsibilities like managing the budget, planning product release, etc.   

Salary – the national average salary for a Scrum Product Owner is $101,821 per year in the United States and ₹14,78,881 per year in India.     

2. Senior Scrum Master

This job title is apt for you if you are committed to delivering the finest value, helping your company reach business goals, and leading many teams through major resource intensive projects. 

Description – Continue diligently on your scrum master career for some time to advance to the senior scrum master level. The job offers huge salaries and benefits. Main duties include monitoring subordinate scrum masters, developing numerous product types and removing obstacles. 

Salary - The national average salary for a Senior Scrum Master is $117,062 per year in the United States and ₹19,04,824 per year in India. 

3. Agile Coach

Description – an agile coach can handle the company through the various challenges it is faced with. The coach also helps maximize ROI through the many aspects of enterprise coaching. If you are adept at motivating, teaching and nurturing Agile adoption in a company, consider becoming an Agile Coach. 

Salary - The national average salary for an Agile Coach is $112,632 per year in the United States and ₹24,16,634 per year in India.  

4. Project Manager 

Description - A scrum master is different from a Project Manager, but he/she can take up the role of project manager in non-Agile projects. A good project manager can motivate the whole team to strive towards a particular goal. A manager having knowledge of scrum can properly guide their team and support them in the right way.  

Salary - The national average salary for a Project Manager/Scrum Master is $96,452 per year in the United States, and ₹16,83,801 per year in India.

5. Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Description – a good Scrum Master can get the best out of the team, the project and the organization. Scrum Masters with a great deal of experience make great CIOs as they are passionate about and committed to excel, improve relentlessly and motivate others to do their best.  

Salary - The average salary for a Chief Information Officer is  $106766 per year in United States, and ₹13,77,253 per year in India. 

Conclusion

Scrum Masters offer numerous career opportunities with lucrative pay packages and great professional growth. Getting a Scrum Master certification will open the doors for you to step into a career that is growing in demand. Choosing the right certification is crucial to your success. Get in touch with us to help you know your options.  

FAQs

1. What is the career path of a Scrum Master?

A scrum master career path opens avenues to several lucrative careers, industries, and organizations. Once you gain additional skills, you can progress to senior positions such as Agile Coaches, Project Managers, Product Owners, Mentors, and Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

2. Is Scrum Master a growing career?

The project management industry has observed more than 1 lakh new postings in the last 12 months. The Scrum Master skill growth is estimated at 49.8% per cent over the next two years. The career is expected to grow at a quick pace as an increasing number of organizations embrace Scrum and related methodologies for project management.

3. What is the average salary of a Scrum Master?

The average annual income of scrum masters is $99,492 in the United States. Their median hourly pay is approximately $46. A high demand for scrum masters has made the entry-level scrum master's salary reach $85,000 per year, while a senior scrum master earns up to $1,17,062 per year.

4. Is it worth becoming a Scrum Master?

The best benefit of Scrum Master certification is that it bears testimony to the skills the recruiter seeks in an ideal candidate. Every top organization seeks Scrum Masters as they require a dedicated person who can run Agile projects and mentor team members. 

5. What is the next level for a Scrum master?

A Scrum Master advances to a Product Owner position. Their profound knowledge and expertise enable them to supervise products, create backlogs, and boost the overall productivity of the organization. 

6. Can anyone become a scrum master?

Becoming a scrum master requires a certification. The prerequisite of a scrum master certification includes at least 14 hours of live virtual/online training or 16 hours of in-person training with a CST (Certified Scrum Trainer), or 25 hours of face-to-face interaction with a Certified Agile Coach.

7. How do I become a scrum master with no experience?

The pathway to becoming a scrum master requires you to get your education, learn about scrum theory, enroll and pursue a scrum certification, and develop your skills. You must then build your professional network and simultaneously work on gaining experience.

8. Is Scrum Master a good career path?

Majority of organizations around the world are implementing the Scrum Framework, hence there’s an increasing demand for Scrum Master professionals. Building a career as Scrum Master will open doors to a profession that is only growing in demand. Scrum Master is a great career path for professionals with experience in team management and it offers lucrative perks and excellent growth opportunities. 

9. What is the future of Scrum Master?

A certified Scrum Master is a future proof career that offers lucrative opportunities for a very long time. the Scrum Master job role often includes project management, identifying and implementing technical skills besides facilitation and teaching. Scrum masters will continue to be an in-demand role in future.

Scrum Masters who have started out on their careers can acquire advanced skills and make progress to expert job roles like Scrum coaches, product owners, project managers, etc.   

10. Is there a demand for Scrum Master?

The Scrum Masters job is high in demand and offers lucrative perks and excellent career growth opportunities. As more and more organizations are embracing the Agile methodology, it is predicted that employment for Scrum Master roles will increase at a rate of 24% every year through 2026.   

11. Which is better: PMP or CSM?

PMP is Project Management Professional certification that certifies a project manager’s experience depending on core competencies and skills. In contrast, a CSM is Certified Scrum Master certification awarded to candidates mastering the skills of team management, leading events and delivering targets by following the agile methodology. The two certifications are very different in nature and a candidate will have to decide which one to choose depending on their chosen career path.  

12. Is Scrum Master a difficult job?

Let’s face it — Scrum Master is not an easy job, and in fact, the role can be very challenging. A key responsibility of a Scrum Master is to guide and protect the Scrum Team, which is not easy when it comes to protecting from management and stakeholders. The variety of challenges and skills required in the role requires a Scrum Master to be always on their toes to remove impediments.

13. What do Scrum Masters do all day?

A Scrum Master guides the Scrum team, leading them in using Scrum practices for agile project management. The duties include ensuring that scrum framework is followed, skillfully removing obstacles and distractions that may cause impediment to the team in its aim to meeting goals. The Scrum Master is the connection between the Scrum team and people or teams outside the Scrum team.