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Agile organizations are buzzing around in the market, with many companies choosing to adopt the Agile Methodology. Agile has been pacing well in the software development sector, along with many other domains such as banking and finance, construction, aerospace, and the government sectors. Also, a recent survey from among the Agile organizations has revealed that the Scrum Framework is the most adopted framework among others. Most organizations have chosen Scrum as it is lightweight and easy to understand. With more companies adopting Scrum, it becomes inevitable that they need more professionals who understand Scrum clearly. The demand for Scrum experts is high in the market, and hence the salary offered to the Scrum professionals is also equally high. 

Let us see how much a Scrum Master is paid in various countries. Scrum Master has several roles and responsibilities that have to be accomplished so that the company achieves the goal that it has set concerning developing the product with the use of the Scrum Framework. We should also get to know about the key characteristics that a person should possess so that they can perform their best and get the best salary offered to them. Knowing the factors that the salary of the Scrum Master depends on is also an important point for professionals that are considering becoming a Scrum Master. 

Salary of a Scrum Master

The salary of a Scrum Master depends on various factors such as the level of certification (CSM, A-CSM, CSP-SM), years of experience, the company hiring the professional, number of projects worked on, the skills of the professional such as communication, listening, problem-solving, critical thinking, team building, etc. Like any profession, the initial years of the Scrum Master's salary would be modest and would increase as the number of years of working as Scrum Master increases. Here are some figures from the survey conducted by a company called 'Age of Product' (Researchers: Stephen Wolpers and Sumit Mehta) in the year 2017. It lists the salary of a Scrum Master from several countries. 

The Scrum Master role is offered in various countries, However, these are the three important countries where the certified Scrum Master salary is the highest.

The following figures are in USD.

United States of America: 100,001-125,000

United Kingdom: 60,001-70,000

India: 20,000-30,000

Average Salary of a Certified Scrum Master in various countries

Here are some figures of the average salary of a Scrum Master as per payscale.com

Average Salary based on years of experience in the United States

As the number of years of experience increases, the salary of CSM also increases.

Why are Scrum Masters paid highly?

According to Glassdoor, Scrum Master is one of the 25 highest paying jobs in the United States. In a world where everyone is heavily dependent on products, it becomes crucial for top business companies to hire professionals who are well-versed in their field. Communications, banking, government projects, constructions, etc. are all dependent on the software methodologies that are used to process them. As all these industries are slowly transitioning to Agile, the need for experts to successfully adopt Agile is significant. Scrum Masters are professionals who are essential in this process and also are required for the smooth functioning of the product development process after Agile transformation. The Scrum Master makes the team self-organized, productive and makes sure that everyone follows the practices and rules of Scrum diligently. Scrum Masters make sure that the process of development goes smoothly and also helps the Developers with any impediments they face. A Great Scrum Master brings

Job Description of a Certified Scrum Master

• These are a few of the duties and tasks that an individual should possess to become a productive and effective Scrum Master.
• Educating the Scrum Team and the organization about the use of Scrum/Agile practices and values that would help them to satisfy the customers.
• Guiding the Scrum Developers to become a self-organizing team by teaching them to take responsibility and ownership of their work.
• Helping the team to discover the intentional gaps left in the Scrum/Agile framework so that they can fill them in.
• Measuring and assessing the Scrum Maturity of a particular team and organization helps in coaching the team into a higher level of maturity. This helps the team to determine the pace at which they are sustainable and comfortable to carry on the process and is productive for the team and the organization.
• Guiding the team by removing the impediments and helping them to smoothly run the process. The Scrum Master has to find the right personnel to remove the impediment.
• Creating an environment that promotes trust and safety such that the team members can raise their problems without the fear of being blamed, retribution, or being judged. This environment should have an emphasis on healing and problem-solving so that the employees are satisfied with their job and have a hassle-free experience.
• Making sure that the work is done without dictating the work, assigning the work, by coercion. 
• Promoting the habits of decision making, discussion, and conflict resolution.
• Having proper communication with the external and internal members of the process such that it improves transparency, information is radiated without any barriers.
• Educating and supporting the Product Owner in the matters of refining and maintaining the Product Backlog.
• Using the servant leadership style, the Scrum Master has to support the team whenever possible. This also includes that the Scrum Master themselves have to lead by example for the team members.

Skills required by a Scrum Master for top companies

• The salary of the Scrum Master may vary based on the companies. However, the candidate has to have an experience of at least one year as a Scrum Master for a software Developers, where the team diligently applied the Scrum principles, practices, and theory in practice.
• Good knowledge about the servant leadership style, situational awareness, facilitation, conflict resolution, continuous improvement, increasing transparency, and empowerment. 
• Should possess excellent knowledge about various well-documented patterns, and techniques that would fill the intentional gaps left in the Scrum approach. (this includes- handling bugs, several burndown technologies, retrospective formats, etc)

Possessing these skills would be a plus point

• Having experience of at least 2 years of working as a Scrum Master in a Scrum Team that diligently applied Scrum principles and practices.
• Knowledge of other approaches such as Crystal, FDD, XP, Kanban, etc.
• Experience and awareness with widely useful and successful Agile techniques such as ATDD, User Stories, TDD, Continuous Testing, Continuous Integration, Automated Testing, Agile Games, Pairing, etc.
• Applicable knowledge about the tools and technologies used by the team.
• Excellent communication and mentoring skills.

Top Companies that hire a Certified Scrum Master

Scrum is adopted by a vast amount of software development companies around the world. It has been used in various industries such as marketing, operation, manufacturing, education, and other fields. A Scrum Master should be able to deal with conflicts and should be an experienced facilitator. These are the top companies that hire skilled Scrum Masters, according to Glassdoor.

• Pegasystems
• Zensar Technologies Limited
• Answer Financial Inc.
• Barclays
• JP Morgan Chase
• Wipro Limited
• IntraEdge
• Donnelley Financial Solutions
• Fiserv 
• Orange and many more

Conclusion

Scrum Master is one of the emerging jobs in the software market. It has immense potential to grow more than it has grown now. It is not as surprising that the Scrum Master salary has evolved drastically over just a few years. As many companies are dependent on efficient and easy to use the software, most of them choose Scrum. With many users depending on software technologies in their everyday life, the need for efficient software has grown more than ever. Hiring excellent Scrum Masters would give an upper hand for companies to make their product development process smooth. Being a Scrum Master is a challenging role as it needs more servant leader skills. A Scrum Master would aim to complete the project within the given time without compromising the quality of the work. Likewise, the salary of the Scrum Master equates to their effort and work. As the salary depends on the company, country, years of experience, certification levels, personal skills, etc., one has to consider all the factors while choosing to work as a Scrum Master and not judge merely based on the salary. By thoroughly understanding the duties, tasks, and skills required one can become an asset in a top company and work as a Scrum Master and continue to pursue higher certification and enhance their growth in their career.

References

1. https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Certified_ScrumMaster_(CSM)/Salary
2. https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/scrum-master-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm

Useful Links:

CSM Certification Course Bangladesh, CSM Certification Training Ghent, SAFe Agilist Course Training Bangalore, Product Owner Online Course Amman, CSM Certification Training Orlando, CSM Course Melbourne, Scrum Values Respect What It Means To The Scrum Roles, Advanced Certified Scrum Master Online Course Odense, A-CSPO Online Course Washington, Advanced Certified Scrum Master Online Course Albuquerque