Agile methodology using SCRUM is becoming very popular now-a-days due to its various benefits. As Traditional Project Management practices are getting failed to align up business goals whereas. Agile is getting more in demand. Agile with SCRUM provides many benefits such as
- Small releases in early phases of the projects
- Refinement in requirement quickly with respect to any business problems
- Rigours process helps team focusing on the work and building productive environment
- Easy customer collaboration
- Risks and issues known in early phases of the project itself
- Not much hierarchy and not many roles bringing openness in work environment many more..
There is an important and critical role of SCRUM Master in performing Agile using SCRUM.
SCRUM Master usually reports to the Director Software Engineering or development head of the organization.
Scrum Master is responsible for:
- Leading and coordinating SCRUM team(s) comprising of Development team, Product Owner
- Performing and facilitating all SCRUM ceremonies such as backlog grooming sessions, sprint planning, sprint retrospective, demo and daily stand up meetings
- Resolving any impediments arising during project execution quickly
- Keeping Product owners and other business stakeholders update about project progresses
- Working with business stakeholders for budget planning, resource planning and provide many project insights to help product owners to setup product roadmaps and priorities.
- Helping team as well as coach team on SCRUM/Agile execution throughout the project
- Motivating team to work in collaborative environment and be focussed
- Collaborating with multiple Product development teams, component SMEs / Owners, Project Managers etc
As India has now become one of global hub and destination in IT Software and companies adopted to Agile methodologies using SCRUM, SCRUM Master role has become a permanent position among IT companies. There are many institutions such as SCRUM Alliance, SCRUM etc providing certifications for SCRUM Master. SCRUM Alliance provided “Certified SCRUM Master” certification has been widely accepted in USA, CANADA, India, APAC and some of the European regions.
How much does a scrum master earns?
Scrum Master Experience ranges between 9 years to 16 years depends on organization practices and role structure. In India, a Certified SCRUM Master can earn up to INR 1200K on an average with ranges between INR 950K to INR 1550K depends upon experience level and qualification.
Scrum Master Salary ranges in India:
As per study conducted by Glassdoor and experts, the average salary ranges of various companies as follows:
| Sr No | Company Name | Salary Range | Average Base Salary |
| 1 | Amdocs | INR 1100K-1600K | INR 1400K |
| 2 | Accenture | INR 560K-1500K | INR 850K |
| 3 | IBM | INR 1200K-1600K | INR 1300K |
| 4 | Oracle | INR 1000K-1200K | INR 1100K |
| 5 | Wipro | INR 860K-1300K | INR 920K |
| 6 | Dell | INR 800K-1200K | INR 900K |
| 7 | TCS | INR 850K-1400K | INR 1100K |
| 8 | Cognizant | INR 960K-1400K | INR 1100K |
| 9 | SAP | INR 1200K-1600K | INR 1300K |
| 10 | CapGemini | INR 900K-1400K | INR 1300K |
| 11 | CGI | INR 900K-1400K | INR 1300K |
| 12 | TESCO | INR 1050K-1600K | INR 1300K |
*Source: Table is Manipulated from Glassdoor Salary Survey
Below are some statistics which gives comparisons among various IT job roles including SCRUM Master:
Source: Research study from Payscale.com
Figure 1 – Depicts the salary ranges among various roles in IT
Salary for scrum master with Certification:
Certification definitely helps SCRUM Masters to alleviate their career and salary. There are various benefits for achieving certifications such as CSM:
- Will help to verifies the knowledge as well as scope of SCRUM Master work with responsibilities
- Scrum Master gets a complete understanding of SCRUM framework which will help him to coach and provide mentorship to the team
- Fulfil his role better and gets ability to handle stressful situations during project execution
- Will help to provide community or forum to discuss and interact with other community members about project issues and best ways to handle the scenarios
- Will have better understanding on his/her roles and responsibilities which makes effective for him/her in order to carry out his role in SCRUM framework
Many organizations are now insisting its SCRUM Master to go for certification to better fulfil its job, scope of work and responsibilities.
Based on above benefits, SCRUM Master position is very important in an organization and valued. Hence salary prospects vary between INR 120K to 160K based on skills, experience level. As you grow in ladder of SCRUM Master, more opportunities come such as SCRUM Trainer / Coach.
Once you become SCRUM Trainer/Coach, you may get an affiliation with many SCRUM institutions and more earning potential will open up in earning extra income which would easily fetch between INR 50K – INR 200K per month in India.
Salary for scrum master without certification:
Every organization looks for talented candidates. Achieving CSM certification verifies knowledge and scope of SCRUM Master. Hence CSM gives value addition in SCRUM Master job portfolio in any organization especially in IT Services. In IT Services, SCRUM Master Certification has been mandated as its client base demands for Certified SCRUM Master rather than taking just learned from resource pool. Without achieving certification, salary ranges are lower as INR 700K to INR 1200K.
Summary
Agile with SCRUM is very popular and in demand among various organizations. Now most of the organizations have shifted and shifting towards Agile from their traditional Project management practices of Water fall methodology. SCRUM framework has been widely accepted among various organizations due to its various features such as Product backlog preparation and performing various ceremonies to ensure project execution and releases on time. This also helps in releasing the product in early phases of the project.
Scrum Master Role is very critical in the SCRUM framework. This is very active role and requires 100% of time from Scrum Master to be active throughout the project. He has to coach and mentor team about SCRUM framework. He needs to ensure that all processes are in place and behaving as per SCRUM frame work. SCRUM Master also needs to remove all impediments as and when occurs during project execution in Agile. In addition, he also needs to keep intact his business stakeholders and product owners.
With this variety in SCRUM Master role, there is an increasing demand of SCRUM Master among IT
Organization. Hence Certified SCRUM Master is becoming very demanding in IT. Certified SCRUM Master is a certification provided by SCRUM Alliance and widely accepted in USA, Canada, India and other APAC as well as some of the European regions.
However the salary packages are lower for SCRUM Master without certification averaged around INR 95K-100K. SCRUM Master Salary averaged with INR 1200K for certified professionals. In addition Certified SCRUM Master also has path to become trainer and coach which would fetch them additional income of INR 50K to INR 200K.
Hence it has been recommended that Scrum Master Certification gives better job prospects and demand in future with better remuneration.