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Scrum Master Career Path

Scrum is a very unique framework that utilizes an agile mindset. It is used for developing, delivering, and sustaining a variety of complex products more effectively. Its initial emphasis is on software development but with that, it has been used in many other fields. It includes research, sales, marketing, and advanced technologies. Thus scrum is used by the majority of organizations for delivering complex products with ease. Professionals at any level can follow the Scrum Master Career Path to improve and validate their skills as Scrum Master. A comprehensive collection of Scrum Training Courses available here.

We have added the best training courses at different levels that can help in developing the required skills as per the industry requirements. The focus of this Scrum Master Career Path is to develop the required Scrum Master Skills at work instead of just passing the scrum master certification.

Note: All of the courses in this Scrum Master Career Path are either 100% free or available at a discounted prices through our platform.

Role of a Scrum Master

A scrum master can be considered as a servant leader who has more than one role to play. He has to make sure that his team is self-organized, self-managed, and delivering high-quality performance via effective Lean-Agile practices. With that, the scrum master supports Kanban, ScrumXP, and many other ways of working that the team has adopted.

Looking to test your knowledge? Access our Free CSM Practice Questions tailored to mimic the real exam.

Key Responsibilities of a Scrum Master

Below are the key responsibilities of a scrum master.

  • A scrum master has to exhibit lean-agile leadership.
  • It is a scrum master’s job to act as a team facilitator and monitor the team’s progress.
  • Similarly, a scrum master has to support the product owners in their efforts.
  • Then, it is the responsibility of a scrum master to promote SAFe quality practices.
  • A scrum master also has to make sure that his team has established a sound relationship with other teams.
  • With that, a scrum master has to work efficiently with other scrum masters and contribute towards improving the overall development value stream.
  • Then a scrum master has to facilitate preparation and readiness for ART events.
  • Similarly, it is a scrum master’s job to guide the team in establishing normalized estimates and make the team understand how to estimate different features and capabilities.

Importance of a Scrum Master in any Organization

To put it in simpler words, a scrum master carries a very good understanding of the organization as compared to others so that is why he has to act as a bridge to help his organization adapt to the team and vice versa. They are not only the guardians of the Scrum Framework but also help their companies and the team to make the most out of the scrum. Without a scrum master, no organization or team would be able to follow the principles (transparency, inspection, and adaption).

saveAgile Fundamentals: Including Scrum and Kanban

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saveApplied Scrum for Agile Project Management

      • The University of Maryland via edX
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Scrum Master Vs Project Manager

A scrum master is known to be an individual who has to act as a coach or facilitator. Whereas, a project manager is more like a leader and a decision-maker who is responsible for managing the entire project, resources, and scope of business requirements. A scrum master has to look after one project team and act as a mediator between the project and the customer. Whereas, the project manager has to make sure that the project is lined up with the necessary business requirements.

Scrum Master Vs Product Manager

Now comes the difference between scrum master and a product manager. To your knowledge, a product manager is the one who own the product vision. Whereas a scrum master is the one who helps the entire team use scrum practices for building up a best possible product. In order for the scrum methodology to work in the best possible manner, it is important that people must own their responsibilities and have healthy respect for one another. On the other hand, product managers are responsible for specifying the functional requirements of the owned business strategy behind a product. With that, he also has to manage the launch of the features.

Scrum Master Vs Product Owner

Product owner is an individual who has to manage the product backlog and with that, he also has to make sure that the company is gaining maximum value from that specific product. Whereas, scrum master has to lead the agile development team and support the product owner by relaying updates to the relevant employees. Scrum masters have to work with product owners and the development team as well and make sure that the team members are capable enough to move forward with development without any impediments. Whereas, the product owners have to manage and perform multiple roles for the development team. Product owners have to act as product designers, customer liaisons, and business strategists so as to gain a complete understanding of the product’s purpose.

Scrum Master Vs Agile Coach

To understand the difference between scrum master and agile coach, you must know that an agile coach has to work with ALL teams, AND executives and other teams or groups. Whereas the scrum maser makes sure that the team is following the scrum process and doing the ceremonies and behaving in the right way. The main difference between the two is the level that the two are operating, whether single team or enterprise. A scrum master typically works with the team “A” whereas agile coach has to work with all teams. Similarly, a scrum master is going to make syre that everything is according to the scrum process. Contrary, an agile coach helps to define what is to be done. How it is going to be done, who will do it, why, and how it will fit in with the organization.

Career Path to become a Scrum Master

Now we know what scrum is, who is a scrum master, and what are his roles and responsibilities. Now comes the main part of our discussion which is, the career path to becoming a scrum master. The scope of becoming a scrum master has increased a lot and we can say that becoming a scrum master would lead to a great career. In this regard, we provide all our readers with a complete guide to become a scrum master. So all those interested in becoming a scrum master should read this. To see more career paths, click here.

Develop a good understanding of Agile and Scrum Basics

Many people assume that agile and scrums are one and the same thing. But in reality, this is not the case. Scrum is not agile and agile is not scrum. Agile is referred to as a set of methods and different practices which are based on the core values and principles which are expressed in the Agile Manifesto. While scrum is known to be a framework that is used by teams to implement agile development.

The agile methodology aims to deliver the software on a regular basis for feedback. Whereas Scrum delivers the software after every sprint.

Choose a Scrum Certification path

When you decide to start your journey towards becoming a Scrum Master, you need to decide which scrum certification to choose. Now below are two highly recognized organizations which you can choose for this purpose. Before you confuse yourself as to which one is better or what happens if we choose the first one and not the second or vice versa. We’d like to say that both the organizations are equally competitive and worth choosing. So, there is no confusion in deciding which one to choose because you can choose any of the two.

  1. Scrum alliance.
  2. Scrum.org

Take a relevant Scrum Course

After you decide which scrum certification path to take, the next step is to take a relevant scrum course to develop a good understanding of Scrum. Now there are many courses that you can take as a beginner but we have selected the most relevant and worth taking courses for you. Below are the names and details of the most relevant scrum courses.

If you decide to take this course then you would get to learn the project management processes, roles, mechanics, philosophies, and many more important things which are behind the scrum. You will be taught the simplest and most pure approach to help you manage work at a team level. Similarly, the instructor will explain why agile is taking over and who uses agile. With that, you will be taught to run a successful scrum team for innovation, control, leadership, and speed. Moreover, the instructor will also explain what Scrum looks like at scale. Then he will talk about its alternative and how you can avoid pitfalls with time, and much more.

This course is going to help you master all the agile principles, values, approaches, and mindsets that will enable organizations to make changes faster. You will learn to get into an agile mindset and achieve success with less expense. Similarly, the instructor will explain how you can command a strong focus on delivering customer value and then exceeding expectations. With that, you will get a chance to master popular agile frameworks which are Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban. Upon completing the entire course, you will find bonus lectures in which the instructor has explained more topics that are too good to be missed. So get a chance to explore fun, interactive, and most engaging lessons from best-selling instructors with the help of this course. You might also be interested in to know about know about the Scrum of Scrums.

Register for the Scrum Master Certification Exam

As soon as you’re done with the training, the next step that you should be doing is registering for the certification and then appear for the Scrum Master Certification exam level 1. Now if you have chosen Scrum Alliance to get certified, then you need to visit Scrum Alliance for registration. Similarly, if you think Scrum.org is more suitable then you need to visit the official site of Scrum.org and register there. This exam is your gateway to becoming a Scrum Master. So it is very important that you are prepared well for it.

One thing that we would recommend here is if you really are determined enough to pass this exam then taking a practice exam would be of great help. Takethiscourse.net offers a variety of practice tests that you can take. If you have chosen scrum.org then takethiscourse.net has PSM practice tests available for you. And if you chose Scrum Alliance then takethiscouse.net has CSM practice tests to offer as well. This would not only sharpen your skills but also help to evaluate yourself. So visit the official website of takethiscourse.net and take these practice tests to improve your skills before appearing in the real exam.

Prepare for a Scrum Master Interview

Now that you have passed the exam what do you think comes next? Well, it is to start preparing for the Scrum Master interview. Many people tend to lose the game in the interview, why? It is because of lack of practice, anxiety, and not being able to predict what the interviewer will ask. So, to solve this problem as well, takethiscourse.net offers all the guidance you need to ace your interview. Therefore, if you need more details about how to ace the interview, then click here.

Get a junior Scrum Master role to sharpen your skills in the real Workplace:

To further sharpen your skills, you can apply at different platforms like LinkedIn where you join different groups. Talk about what you have done so far and that you are looking for a way to sharpen your skills in a real workplace. If you get a junior Scrum Master role in a company where you get a chance to further sharpen your skills, then this would help you a lot in finding a more suitable job in the future. Working in a junior role would help you learn more and sharpen your skills under the guidance of a more experienced scrum master. So it is highly recommended you first get a junior scrum master role in a company and sharpen your skills in a real workplace. You can checkout ASM certification here.

Take your Skills to a next level with these Courses:

If you are that person who likes to push yourself and test your limits then you’d definitely want to take your skills to a next level. For this purpose, we present to you some advanced-level courses that will serve the purpose. These courses have been handpicked by our team and you can entirely rely on these courses to receive the best training and guidance.

saveAgile Meets Design Thinking

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saveSprint Planning for Faster Agile Team Delivery

      • The University of Maryland via edX
      • 4 Weeks (2-3 hours weekly) of effort required
      • 12,002+ already enrolled!
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saveAgile Innovation and Problem Solving Skills

      • The University of Maryland via edX
      • 4 Weeks (2-3 hours weekly) of effort required
      • 14,481+ already enrolled!
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      • Atlassian via Coursera
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In this engaging and advanced-level course, you will be taught how to evaluate and explain the relevance of concepts and practices from the agile development methodologies. The instructor aims to help you understand how to create a strong shared perspective in a step-by-step guide. You will drive towards value using design methods like personas and problem scenarios. Similarly, you will also get a chance to understand how you can diagnose which software can turn out to be valuable to a user. With that, you will learn to test your ideas using agile user stories and prototypes. All the topics are divided into different weeks. Upon completing each week you will be asked to solve a quiz which we’d suggest not to miss as it can help evaluate yourself. Thus this and much more can be learned in this advanced course.

In this course, you will be taught how to deliver greater value through agile solution targeting and the theory of constraints. In this way, you will be able to unleash your team’s innovative potential. The instructor will explain how agile can manage solution risk and return more effectively. With that, the instructor will talk about the paradox of structure which is also known as “How constraints drive creativity and luck”. Going further, you will understand all about test-driven development that will lead to faster and better solutions. In addition, the instructor will help you understand how to target scope to meet performance objectives through the Theory of Constraints and much more.

Here you will get the opportunity to understand how to drive speed into any type of project by selecting and limiting work-in-progress. This will be done through agile planning and task management. You will understand all about the time boxing activities for eliminating delays and gain schedule advances. Similarly, the instructor will talk about how to ensure team capacity. Then the instructor will talk about the application and iteration of the Pareto Principle for product backlog refinement. Going further, you will learn all about rolling wave planning and more. Therefore, learn to run effective sprint planning meetings through this course.

Register for advanced Certification in chosen track to Validate your Skills

Once you have taken an advanced course and developed some more skills, now is the time to register for advanced certification in your chosen track. If you have chosen Scrum.org then PSM II and PSM III certifications are your next step and you need to prepare for these certifications. And if you have chosen Scrum Alliance then there are advanced level CSM certifications that can help you validate your skills.

Grow your Network and land to an Intermediate/Advanced Scrum Master Job

We believe you have come quite far and the time to land an intermediate/advanced scrum master job has come. So what should be done here? Well, first you need to grow your network and become a little active on different platforms. LinkedIn has to be the best platform for you to find a perfect if not then at least a suitable advanced level scrum master job. Join different groups, talk to people, and share with them your journey and how far you have come. Talk about your certification and the skills you have and more. In short, introduce yourself to the relevant people and show them who you are and what you’re capable of doing as a Scrum Master.

saveAgile Leader Training

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      • The University of Maryland via edX
      • 4 Weeks (2-3 hours weekly) of effort required
      • 34,772+ already enrolled!
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saveAgile Organization

      • University of Colorado via Coursera
      • 10 hours of effort required
      • 2,396+ already enrolled!
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saveAgile Process, Project, and Program Controls

      • The University of Maryland via edX
      • 4 Weeks (2-3 hours weekly) of effort required
      • 17,869+ already enrolled!
      • ★★★★★

Scrum Master Salary Stats 2021-22

In this section, we have mentioned some of the latest scrum master salary stats.

  • The average salary of a Scrum Master in the US is $87,000.
  • A scrum master having experience of less than a year makes between $60,000-67,000.
  • Those who have more than 5 years of experience tend to make $81,000-103,000.
  • Similarly, a scrum master who has more than 20 years of experience would easily make $116,000 per year.
  • Different companies in the US like Humana Inc, Fannie Mae Corporation, Accenture Technology solutions, etc tend to offer salary ranges between $73,000-91,000, 82,000-97,000, and 88,000-111,000 respectively.
  • A scrum master falls in the 40th percentile of software developer pay ranges.

So these were some of the very important Scrum master salary stats that everyone should know of. And if you still want more detail about the Scrum Master Salary stats, what are the popular companies in the US to pay high to scrum master, or any other relevant detail then click here.

Similarly, in this section, we shall talk about the scrum master jobs market trends 2021.

  • Did you know TCS, IBM, Amdocs, and JP Morgan are among the top companies to pay high salaries (More than a million) per year to the scrum masters?
  • The average salary of a scrum master in New York is $103,986.
  • Boston is the city to pay the highest to the scrum master in the United States of America which is $109,902 annually.
  • Similarly, if you want to know the average salary of a scrum master in China then it is ¥211,956 (US$ 30,209).
  • The average salary of a scrum master in Australia and the United Kingdom is A$109K (US$ 73,978) and £50,298 (US$ 64,000) respectively.
  • India pays ₹1,427K (US$ 19,966) to a scrum master annually whereas in Canada the average salary would be CA$84K (US$ 63,264).

These were only the small details about the scrum master jobs market trends. And if you want to know more about the scrum master jobs market trends 2021 then click here.

Validate your skills with Complete CSM or PSM Practice Tests before actual Certification Exam:

CSM Practice Tests
PSM Practice Tests

Final Thoughts

If you are reading this then it means you have made it to the end where we just want to say that this guide might seem a long journey but an effective one. So, if you are that person who really wants to become a Scrum Master and looking for a way out in this then this complete guide has to be an effective way to do that. Whether you want to know which certification is best or which organization to choose. What are the beginner-level courses that can be taken or which courses are the advanced ones? Which companies are among the top-paying companies in the world, or which country pays more America or Canada, or Australia? In short, whatever you need to know about how to become a scrum master is available in this guide. Therefore, read this guide at least two to three times and understand what we have shared in it and why and never stop learning.

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