Article

How to Become a Scrum Master & 3 Career Alternatives

October 18, 2024

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Emily May

The scrum master career path can be rewarding – and limiting in today’s job market. 

We believe following personal passion is the spice of life, so we won’t tell you not to become a scrum master. However, we recommend you consider other roles with a similar skill set when making this big career decision.

This article provides tips on how to become a scrum master and three career alternatives to consider.

What Is a Certified Scrum Master?

What is a scrum master? A scrum master is responsible for overseeing and implementing the scrum process, a form of agile project management within a team. A certified scrum master holds a credential from a recognized certification body.

The workflow of a scrum team includes prioritizing the backlog, daily scrum meetings, and engaging in sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives. This framework aims to deliver value to customers iteratively and efficiently. 

A scrum master follows the principles of the scrum framework. The six principles of scrum are:

  • Empirical process control
  • Self-organization
  • Collaboration
  • Value-based prioritization
  • Time-boxing
  • Iterative development

According to Glassdoor, the average scrum master salary in the United States is $112,643 yearly (subject to change). However, scrum master salaries can vary widely.

Ways to Break Into The Scrum Master Role

cartoon person looking at a large clipboard of information

Are you curious about how to begin your career as a scrum master? These three tips can help get you started.

Seek Mentorship

Maintaining a network of knowledgeable professionals can help you find a job and receive career guidance. Find mentors who have ample experience in the industry, as well as the scrum master role. They can help you avoid common pitfalls on your journey and take the path of least resistance. 

Invest in Education

To become a certified scrum master, you must take an applicable course. Scrum courses are offered online and in person. Before walking away with the credential, participants may need to take an exam to prove what they have learned. Be aware that some certifications require renewal. 


In addition to in-person and online scrum courses, there are many other ways to grow your knowledge. Attending agile workshops and events is an excellent opportunity to learn from fellow professionals in the field. Further, several free learning resources, like blog articles and YouTube videos, are available online.

Start From the Bottom

Lastly, another strategy is to secure an entry-level position within a scrum team and work your way up. For example, working as a project management assistant will help develop your skills to facilitate and manage a team’s workflow. It’s also an opportunity to learn about the values behind the scrum framework so you can apply them confidently in your next role. 

Read more about our five favorite job boards to find agile jobs online. 

3 Career Path Alternatives to Becoming a Scrum Master

cartoon person at a crossroads considering his direction

Before jumping into a scrum role, we also recommend considering career options that provide more broad application in the job market. 

Professionals who are seasoned in the scrum framework are limited to opportunities within scrum teams. However, developing a broad skill set outside of scrum, such as facilitation and leadership skills, can be a fruitful option for career growth. 

This section provides three career path alternatives you may want to consider. 

Delivery Manager

The primary goal of a delivery manager is to deliver value as efficiently and as often as possible. This role manages value delivery on project, product, or operations teams, often with an iterative approach. A successful delivery manager ensures high-value results that meet agreed-upon criteria such as time, budget, and scope. 

They also coordinate between internal teams and stakeholders to ensure the achievement of business outcomes. While scrum masters are limited to organizations using the scrum framework, delivery managers can fit into the dynamic of most agile teams and organizations. 

Recommended certifications:

Course: Agile Project and Delivery Management

Full track: Delivery management

Project Manager

people standing on a bar graph doing different work

You might be wondering–what’s the difference between a project manager and a delivery manager? Project managers have a hand in delivering value but also manage more logistics. As a project manager, you’ll plan, execute, and manage projects while balancing budgets and resources. In addition, as the name suggests, project managers only focus on delivering within a “project” construct, which are generally temporary initiatives with finite starting and ending points.

Project managers have a broad application in the job market. You can find open roles across every industry in agile and non-agile organizations.

Recommended certifications:

Course: Agile Project and Delivery Management

Full track: Delivery management

Agile Coach

As an agile coach, you’ll guide teams in adopting the agile mindset and complementary ways of working. Agile coaches are the go-to for providing leadership, mentorship, and motivation to team members. You’ll need to enjoy supporting and teaching others to thrive in this role. 

Agile coaches are not limited to a specific framework and are employed across many agile organizations. Further, the skills obtained in this role are highly transferable to various leadership positions in the workforce.

Recommended certifications:

Course: Agile Coaching

Full track: Agile Team Coaching

Conclusion

person looking at a document with cogs

Deciding on your next career goal is exciting and challenging. Gather extensive information about each career option to feel confident in your decision. Network, invest in continuing education, and experiment with entry-level roles or volunteer opportunities to learn more about a field. 

Want to explore more certification options? Take our three-question quiz to get personalized course recommendations based on your role and goals. 

We hope to meet you in a class soon!

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TAGGED AS:
Agile Team Facilitation, Agile Coaching, Agile Project and Delivery Management

About the author

Emily May | ICAgile, Marketing Specialist
Emily May is a Marketing Specialist at ICAgile, where she helps educate learners on their agile journey through content. With an eclectic background in communications supporting small business marketing efforts, she hopes to inspire readers to initiate more empathy, productivity, and creativity in the workplace for improved internal and external outcomes.

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