Do scrum masters get paid well? How much does a scrum master make?
If you are considering a career as a scrum master, these questions may be something that you would want to probe further.
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Scrum masters are professionals who help implement and ensure compliance with the scrum framework and its methodologies in a team.
They work with each team member to coach and guide them through the set roles, procedures, and practices.
Although the scrum framework can be implemented in any type of industry, it is most widely followed in the IT industry.
Given that the average yearly income of scrum masters in the US is $99,492, while their median hourly pay ranges around $46, it is safe to say that these professionals get paid well.
Infact the job of a scrum master is one of the 25 highest paying jobs in America while the scrum master salary in India averages INR 14L per year.
This salary figure changse based on the candidate’s level of experience, location, company, skills, and the industry.
Read on to learn more about the following topics about scrum master salary:
- What is a scrum master?
- Scrum master salary based on experience level
- Top 8 companies hiring scrum masters
- Highest-paying US cities and states for scrum master jobs
- Top scrum master skills that can help you earn more
- In-demand scrum master certifications
- General responsibilities of a scrum master
- Scrum master career path
What is a scrum master?
A scrum master is responsible for helping team members who are working on a project to optimize their efficiency and productivity by facilitating agile methodologies.
They ensure smooth communication between team members and the team leaders to facilitate optimum results.
Although these professionals are not the decision-makers in the team, they identify and remove roadblocks in project development life cycles.
So, are scrum masters high in demand?
According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, 3 out of 9 in-demand roles in product development will be Scrum related by 2022.
Furthermore, it is estimated that the demand for scrum master professionals will increase by 37.9% over the next decade.
Needless to say, if you are considering a career in the IT industry, becoming a scrum master is a lucrative option.
Source: Asana
Scrum Master Salary Based on Experience Level
Irrespective of your job profile or any other factors, the basic criterion that influences your salary is your experience level.
If you are a newbie in the field, your starting salary will be lower than professionals with more experience under their belt.
Likewise, as a scrum master, your salary will increase with your years of experience.
Here are the average salary figures based on experience level in the US:
- Entry-level scrum master salary - $85,000 per year
- Senior scrum master salary - $1,17,062 per year
Source: TakeThisCourse
Also read: What does a scrum master do?
Top Companies Hiring Scrum Masters
Depending on the size, turnover, market value, and workload of an organization, companies offer different salary ranges to scrum masters.
While it may seem enticing to target the highest paying companies for scrum masters, you must also know that the competition among candidates to get hired by these giants is equally ferocious.
Having said that, take a look at US’s top hiring companies (also highest-paying) for scrum masters:
| COMPANY | YEARLY SALARY |
|---|---|
| Bank of America | $1,20,000 |
| Liberty Mutual Insurance | $1,18,941 |
| Wells Fargo | $1,17,780 |
| U.S. Bank | $1,12,680 |
| IBM | $1,02,669 |
| Capital One | $1,01,089 |
| Kitestring Technical Services | $1,00,175 |
| J.P. Morgan | $1,00,521 |
| PNC Financial Services Group | $97,180 |
| Accenture | $97,093 |
| Fidelity Investments | $95,622 |
| Atos-Syntel | $91,024 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions | $86,677 |
| Renee Systems | $86,050 |
| Wipro | $84,702 |
Top Companies Hiring Scrum Masters in India
| COMPANY | YEARLY SALARY |
|---|---|
| Tata Consultancy Services | INR 10,76,996 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions | INR 14,14,786 |
| Amdocs | INR 15,59,155 |
| Accenture | INR 11,78,752 |
| Wipro | INR 12,29,264 |
| IBM | INR 14,77,606 |
| Capgemini | INR 12,31,346 |
Also read: * How to write an agile resume?
Highest-paying US Cities and States for Scrum Masters
Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty and probe scrum master salaries in various US cities and states.
Scrum Master Salary in the US Cities
| Scrum master salary Dallas, TX | $100,588 |
| Scrum master salary Chicago, IL | $103,152 |
| Scrum master salary Atlanta, GA | $96,635 |
| Scrum master salary Charlotte, NC | $95,683 |
| Scrum master salary New York, NY | $103,986 |
| Scrum master salary Los Angeles, CA | $105,816 |
| Scrum master salary Boston, MA | $109,902 |
| Scrum master salary Tampa, FL | $92,578 |
| Scrum master salary Seattle, WA | $1,14,407 |
| Scrum master salary St Louis, MO | $96,572 |
| Scrum master salary Miami, FL | $96,647 |
Scrum Master Salary in the US States
| Scrum master salary Georgia | $115,835 |
| Scrum master salary Arizona | $116,623 |
| Scrum master salary Maryland | $94,334 |
| Scrum master salary New Jersey | $96,021 |
| Scrum master salary California | $112,478 |
| Scrum master salary Utah | $70,833 |
| Scrum master salary Texas | $92,974 |
| Scrum master salary Massachusetts | $93,362 |
| Scrum master salary Michigan | $76,076 |
| Scrum master salary Florida | $82,762 |
Top Skills for Scrum Masters
Although experience plays a vital role while determining your scrum master salary, there are few skills that can contribute to your income.
Here’s a list of scrum master skills that help you earn more:
- Team leadership
- Agile software development
- Scrum
- Project management
- JIRA
You can hone these skills by taking certification courses that will not only get you certified but will also give you an edge over the other candidates while applying for scrum master jobs.
Once you get certified, you can include these skills on your scrum master resume to help boost your chances of getting shortlisted.
Besides, Certified Scrum Masters (CSM) earn more than regular scrum masters.
Certified scrum master salary averages around $109k per year in the US.
Consider taking any one or a combination of the following in-demand scrum master certification courses to get certified and ask for a raise at work:
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
- Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
- Project Management Institute-Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
- Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
- SAFe Scrum Master (SSM)
- Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
Scrum Master Responsibilities
Irrespective of your experience level, starting your career as a scrum master can be highly lucrative, as justified by the stated salary figures.
But why are these professionals paid so well? What are their responsibilities on a day-to-day basis?
The role of a scrum master is such that their duties extend to every team member, including the product head.
And as opposed to their title, they are not the “masters” of a team, and making strategic product decisions does not fall under their responsibility.
They are however responsible for the following general tasks:
- Coordinating and working with the development team, product owner, and other members of the organization to implement scrum framework
- Devising techniques to facilitate product backlog management
- Assisting the product owner to get clarity on product backlog arrangements to achieve optimum value
- Eliminating project issues and hindrances that affect the team’s productivity and performance
- Rendering assistance to the development team to produce high-value products before deadlines
- Facilitating efficiency by conducting frequent reviews and creating transparency in procedures
- Imparting scrum and agile knowledge to the development team to help them adapt to these methodologies
- Liaising with different teams and stakeholders to implement scrum practices throughout the product lifecycle
- Ensuring that the efficiency and productivity of the team increases over time by driving a culture of agility
Also read: What are the top interview questions for a scrum master?
Career Path of a Scrum Master
The career path of a scrum master is incredibly versatile.
As these professionals advance in their careers and gain more experience, they have plenty of career options to choose from.
Generally, scrum masters begin their careers by serving a single team of a particular product.
And with experience, they begin working with several other teams of the same or even different products.
While many choose to follow the same progression and advance to higher-level roles such as senior scrum master and chief scrum master, others choose to explore other roles like product owners, managers, agile coaches, etc.
Take a look at the different roles that scrum masters can step into as they progress in their careers:
Product Owner
If you are interested in the business aspects of product development, you can step into the role of a product owner.
They are responsible for defining user stories, optimizing product backlogs, and liaising between the customers and the development team to effectively meet the user requirements.
The average salary of a product owner is $107,936 per annum in the US.
Agile Coach
Scrum masters who are passionate about motivating, guiding, and advocating the adoption of agile methodologies in an organization, can become agile coaches.
Agile coaches are agents of change who help increase the overall productivity of the workforce and improve the quality of a company's products.
The average salary of an agile coach in the US is $139,584 per year.
Agile Project Manager
An agile project manager is responsible for overseeing, managing, and motivating agile project teams to attain quality performance and productivity.
They help optimize agile projects and aim to add value to the company's products and services.
Agile product managers are different from regular projects managers in the sense that rather than managing the team members from an executive point of view, they follow the horizontal management approach.
The average agile product manager salary in the US is $117,000 per annum.
Key Takeaways
- Scrum masters are professionals who help implement and ensure compliance with the scrum framework and its methodologies in a team.
- The average yearly income of scrum masters in the US is $99,492, while their median hourly pay ranges around $46.
- The entry-level scrum master salary is $85,000 per year, and the senior scrum master salary averages up to $1,17,062 per year.
- Depending on the size, turnover, market value, and workload of an organization, companies offer different salary ranges to scrum masters.
- Although experience plays a vital role while determining your scrum master salary, leadership skills, project management, and agile software development are some skills that can boost your income.
- Certified scrum master salary averages around $109k per year in the US.
- As opposed to their title, scrum masters are not the “masters” of a team, and making strategic product decisions does not fall under their responsibility.
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