What is the Average Scrum Manager Salary?
Looking to know the average Scrum manager salary? Keep reading to find out.
The Scrum manager’s average salary depends on numerous factors. In a nutshell, these factors include:
- Numbers of years of experience Scrum manager has
- Company Scrum manager works for
- Location of the company
- Skills and qualifications of a Scrum master
The objective and agile role of the Scrum master is to become a facilitator for agile-driven software projects.
This article provides an overview of how much a Scrum master earns according to well-researched reports, the factors mentioned above that affect it, and what the future holds for the earning potential of a Scrum master.
So, first, let’s start with how much a Scrum manager earns.
What is the Earning Potential of a Scrum Master?
Glassdoor reported a yearly salary of $109,978 with an average Scrum master salary figure of $95,331 per year for US Scrum masters. The annual salary of $109,978 includes additional pay of $14,647 for incentives and benefits comprising tips, bonuses, commissions, and profit sharing.
Comparably, on the other hand, reports a Scrum master’s salary ranges from $75,000 to $105,000 per year.
While the common Scrum master salary sits in the range mentioned above, there are also reports of remote Scrum master salaries. So, the stats below are vital for anyone seeking employment as a remote Scrum master, as remote working is the new norm among many companies.
The Builtin website reports an average base salary of $109,333 per annum based on the data gathered from anonymous Scrum master employees in remote settings. According to the report, they also received an average additional cash compensation of $8,250, with an average total compensation adding up to $117,583.
As per the recent Scrum Master salaries above, you know by now that the job title scrum master is a rewarding career.
These salary figures look even more inspiring when you drill the Scrum master salaries based on the industry they work for, number of years of experience, company, and numerous other factors.
Let’s look into these factors.
What Factors Affect Scrum Master Salaries?
The factors mentioned here serve as a guideline. The salary of a Scrum master doesn’t depend only on these factors. However, they are the major reasons behind the differences in various salaries.
Experience
Experience is critical in determining a Scrum master’s average salary like any other career. According to another prominent salary website, ZipRecruiter, a junior Scrum master earns an annual pay of $79,188. The same website reports that a junior Scrum master’s salary ranges from a minimum amount of $64,500 to the highest amount of $94,500.
These figures indicate that there are various startup scrum master jobs for junior Scrum managers out there. So if you’re just starting your career as a junior Scrum manager, find startup jobs on ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, and Indeed websites.
As you move higher up the career ladder, your potential earnings increase. For instance, a senior Scrum manager earns in the range of$64,00 to $145,000.
The various scrum master salary ranges also depend on the type of industry that the Scrum Master works in. Let’s find out the average Scrum master salary in various Industries.
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Industry
Since many industries and business technologies have started using the agile framework, there are many opportunities for Scrum masters. Their salaries vary based on the size of the company and the industry, turnover, workload, and the organization’s market value.
So, let’s discover leading industries that employ Scrum masters.
Tech Industry
It’s the tech or the computer industry in which the agile and Scrum concepts were born. So no doubt that based on research by GreyCampus, the IT industry hits the top of the list with an overwhelming 44.6%. Also, according to a survey conducted by Apple, a project manager earns a handsome salary of $137,282 per year.
Financial Industry
The world’s leading digital banking institutions, investment companies, and retirement planning institutions use agile principles for financial apps that are accessible from the comfort of your home. Such financial institutions use agile practices to develop these apps because agile practices make it easier to rectify any shortcomings of these apps in the earlier phases.
According to the Comparably website, the average Scrum master salary for Bank of America in Atlanta is $117,146. This figure is $7,469 more than the average US salary for Bank of America. Also, as per the data of GreyCampus mentioned in the above paragraph, the finance sector hits the 2nd in the list with 11.9%.
Insurance Industry
According to the Grey campus survey, the insurance industry covers 5.9% of all companies that use Scrum. Most insurance companies plan large-scale digital transformation initiatives, so they prefer agile methodology with Scrum. This is because a working product is visible to the stakeholders after the first iteration.
Liberty Mutual Insurance, a leading US insurance provider, pays its Scrum managers an attractive figure of $122,547 per annum.
Now you know the pay scale of Scrum managers in various industries. Let’s dive into how a Scrum manager’s salary depends on the company’s location in the US.
Geographical Location
Based on your geographical location, your Scrum master earnings vary. For instance, a scrum master in Chicago earns an average salary of $129,342, whereas a Scrum master in New York earns $136,566.
According to the Randstad website, Boston has the highest earnings for a Scrum manager, with a salary of $193,332.
ZipRecruiter reports the lowest salary of $83,642 from North Carolina.
What are the Skills that Affect Scrum Master Salary?
Three core behaviors in Scrum are Scrum master, product owner, and team members. Hence, most skills you need are soft skills, knowledge, and practical experience in the Agile frameworks. It also helps if you possess technical skills as your team consists of developers and tech-minded professionals.
So some of the mandatory agile skills that you need when moving up the career ladder for lucrative pay are:
1. Coaching abilities
A major role of a Scrum leader is to ensure that everyone is on the same page with an Agile mindset. Thus you need extraordinary coaching skills, particularly those who lack technical skills and hands-on experience in Agile methodology. Furthermore, you need to know each individual’s strengths and weaknesses to help them.
2. Servant leader
Rather than telling the team what to do Scrum master always shares the workload among the team members. In other words, servant leadership is all about working with the team and helping to reach goals rather than being concerned with the self. This kind of leadership produces happy and motivated team members with lower turnover rates over time.
3. Conflict facilitation
As a Scrum team has members with various opinions and ideas, it’s not surprising that conflicts occur among them. If it’s apparent that specific conflicts don’t seem to be solved, Scrum Master steps in and resolves them. They adopt agile principles and use sustained coaching models to become future world builders. So a Scrum master needs expert negotiation and facilitation skills to help.
4. Scrum Master Certification
Research has shown that earning a Scrum master certification has an earning potential of over $100,00. The same report shows that only 18% make over $100,000 without a Scrum master certification.
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What is the Career Path for a Scrum Master?
Your career path doesn’t stop at the Scrum manager level. To reach higher salary figures, climbing the career ladder in Scrum management is important. Here is a brief overview of two of the most popular career options after Scrum managers.
Project Manager
People often confuse a project management role with a Scrum manager.
The Scrum manager ensures that the project team implements Scrum principles by facilitating clear communication through meetings, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives. In contrast, the project management role of an Agile project manager ensures that the entire team completes the project within time and budget by setting goals, managing risks, and defining budgets.
In these organizations, a Scrum master also performs the role of a project manager, possibly due to a lack of resources. In others, you have the option of career advancement as a project manager. In either case, it’s worth knowing the average project mgmt salaries. Here are some figures according to the Glassdoor website:
- Project manager: $93,075 per anum
- Senior project manager: $124,028 per anum
Agile Coach
An agile coach role is an advanced version of Scrum master where they coach the agile teams on various challenges that an entire organization confronts. They also ensure that the company achieves maximum ROI through enterprise coaching and agile transformation. On the other hand, the Scrum master drives agile teams and collaborates with team members to deliver a quality product.
Due to the greater work that agile coaches undertake, their pay scales are higher, with a staggering figure of $175,000, according to Comparably reports.
Conclusion
You know by now that a Scrum master’s salary depends on various factors discussed in this article. So first, your objective is to improve the skills mentioned above and build an outstanding portfolio.
Even if you’re an experienced Scrum master, the learning curve never ends, and you have to keep enhancing your skills and experience to stay ahead in your career.
FAQs
Here are answers to the questions regarding a scrum manager and a scrum master:
What is the salary of a 7-year Scrum Master?
A Scrum Master with seven years of experience can expect to earn a substantial salary, reflecting their expertise and experience. In the United States, the average annual salary for a Scrum Master with this level of experience typically ranges from $100,000 to $130,000. This figure can vary based on factors like industry, location, and company size, with top companies offering higher compensation packages.
Are Scrum Masters highly paid?
Scrum Masters are generally well-compensated, especially in the tech and software development industries. Their salaries often reflect the demand for their skills in agile project management and their role in facilitating effective team processes. While not the highest-paid role in tech, their compensation is competitive, particularly for those with significant experience or in high-demand markets.
Who gets paid more – Scrum Master or Project manager?
Project Managers generally tend to earn slightly more than Scrum Masters, although the gap can vary depending on industry and location. Project Managers often have broader responsibilities, managing entire projects from start to finish, which can justify higher salaries. However, in agile-centric environments, experienced Scrum Masters can sometimes match or exceed the earnings of Project Managers.
Is the Scrum Master job stressful?
The role of a Scrum Master can be stressful due to the responsibility of ensuring team cohesion and project timelines. They must constantly address impediments, facilitate communication, and manage stakeholder expectations global team itself, often under tight deadlines. However, effective Scrum Masters thrive on these challenges, using their skills to create a productive and positive team environment.
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