‘Scrum Master’ is a fairly new term in the IT industry compared to other popular roles such as Project Manager, Software Developer, etc. However, now, they are in great demand, and a Certified Scrum Master can easily get a high-paying job in big companies. According to PayScale, the average Scrum Master salary in India is ₹1,250,086 per year, which greatly depends on the years of experience and the level of expertise you bring to the table.
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What is a Scrum Master?
Scrum Master is a part of the Scrum team who is accountable for establishing the Scrum framework and coaching the team to follow the Agile development methodology. Scrum Master does this by helping the team understand the Scrum theory and framework that works best for the organization.
The Scrum framework is based on Agile methodologies used for software development in an iterative manner. Scrum is a flexible, fast, and adaptive framework, and the Scrum Master is accountable for designing the daily Scrum guide for the Scrum team. This helps the team bring out maximum value at the end of each sprint.
A Sprint is the time period required by developers or the Scrum team to complete the given task. A Scrum Master must have an unwavering mindset toward the Scrum foundation and values but, at the same time, should be flexible to new opportunities that make the professional productive and improve the workflow.
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What does a Scrum Master do?
A Scrum Master has the following responsibilities toward the Scrum team and the organization:
- Standups: Standups are the daily meetings where the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and developers collaborate to build the daily Scrum guide. In standups, the Scrum Master checks the progress of the team and finds the solution to any obstacle faced by the developers.
- Preparing the Scrum guide: The Scrum Master prepares the Scrum guide so that the organization can get maximum value out of each sprint. The Scrum Master organizes meetings between stakeholders, clients, and the product owner to collect all the details required to create a perfect Scrum guide.
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- One-on-one sessions: To iron out the disagreements between the stakeholders, team members, and the Product Owner, the Scrum Master has to do one-on-one meetings and drive the conversation toward effective conclusions.
- Customer feedback: To ensure that the project is going on the right path, it becomes the responsibility of the Scrum Master to take the customer feedback regularly. The feedback should be integrated with every sprint to make the Scrum team understand the goals of the particular tasks they are going to perform.
- Sprint review: After every sprint, the team members gather for a meeting where they describe the work done in that iteration. It helps the Scrum Master find the loopholes where the team is lagging and fill them up for the next sprint.
- Retrospections: The Scrum Master is also responsible to make sure that the mistakes or problems accrued in the previous sprint are not repeated. After every sprint is over, the Scrum Master identifies possible ways to improve the process and generates a plan for the next sprint.
Check out these Scrum Master Interview Questions if you are preparing for jobs.
Now, let’s discuss the average salary of a Scrum Master in India and how much the professionals earn based on their location, experience, and other factors.
Scrum Master Salary in India
According to PayScale, the average Scrum Master salary in India is ₹1,250,086 a year.
However, the certified Scrum professional salary in India depends on various factors such as expertise, experience, certifications, job location, employer, and more.
So, let’s discuss each of these factors affecting Scrum Master salary in India and get a more generalized idea about it.
Scrum Master Salary in India: Based on the Employer
Employers across the country hire CRMs and pay a good Scrum Master salary compared to other IT professions. Based on the employer, your salary could be anywhere from ₹967,000 to ₹1,500,000 per annum.
Below is the list of employers with the amount they offer as the Certified Scrum Master salary in India. For landing these jobs, you should have experience of at least 4 to 6 years:
- Capgemini – ₹1,500,000 per annum
- Infosys – ₹1,000,000 per annum
- Tata Consultancy Services – ₹967,000 per annum
- Cognizant – ₹1,128,949 per annum
- Accenture – ₹1,220,000 per annum
- HCL Technologies – ₹1,100,000 per annum
Scrum Master Salary in India: Based on Location
Job location is another big factor that affects your salary as a Certified Scrum Master in India. The following are some of the major cities in India where you can get a higher salary as compared to other parts of the country:
- Bangalore, Karnataka – ₹1,443,153/year
- Delhi – ₹1,300,000/year
- Noida, Uttar Pradesh – ₹1,175,000/year
- Gurgaon, Haryana – ₹1,198,309/year
- Mumbai, Maharashtra – ₹1,040,589/year
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 1,077,774/year
- Pune, Maharashtra – ₹1,249,533/year
- Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh – ₹1,200,000/year
Scrum Master Salary in India: Based on Experience
Experience is important when you are either trying for a new job or changing your current organization. An experienced professional Scrum Master will surely earn more than a fresher or a mid-experienced person. Below is the Scrum Master salary in India based on the experience you bring to the table:
- Entry-level (less than 1 year) – ₹727,000 per year
- Early-career (1–4 years) – ₹798,000 per year
- Mid-career (5–9 years) – ₹1,000,000 per year
- Late-career (10–19 years) – ₹1,600,000 per year
- Experienced (20+ years) – ₹2,000,000 per year
Scrum Master Salary in India: Based on Skill Sets
Skills also play a vital role in your career. As a Scrum Master, you have to be good at both hard and soft skills, including Scrum and Agile training, organizational skills, technical skills, coaching abilities, conflict management, leadership skills, and more. Your skillset will make you stand out from other candidates in a job interview.
A skilled Scrum Master can easily understand the development process of different projects and their requirements and the time every project takes to be completed by the team members.
Below is the estimated Scrum Master salary in India based on the skill sets the candidates have in their portfolio:
- Business analysis – ₹840,000 per annum
- JIRA skills – ₹1,300,000 per annum
- Leadership skills – ₹1,388,200 per annum
- Facilitator skills – ₹1,202,444 per annum
- Scrum skills – ₹1,220,368 per annum
- Project Management skills – ₹1,240,058 per annum
- Agile software development skills – ₹1,276,635 per annum
- Scrum Master skills – ₹1,219,369 per annum
Check out this video to find out the difference between Scrum and Agile:
So far, we have discussed the Agile Scrum Master salary in India based on various factors. Now, let’s compare the Scrum Master salary with other professions.
Scrum Master Salary in India Compared to Similar Job Roles
‘Scrum Master’ is often mixed with the term Project Manager, but they are two completely different professions. A Scrum Master coaches the Scrum team on the Scrum framework. He/she also set up meetings take feedback, arranges standups, and does sprint reviews to make sure that the team follows the Scrum guide and brings out the maximum value on the table. Whereas, a Project Manager defines goals, makes plans, allocates resources, and arranges meetings to make sure that all the customer requirements are fulfilled.
There are other jobs in software development having a similar job role to that of a Scrum Master. Below are the salaries of such professions in comparison to the Scrum Master salary in India:
- Agile Coach: After gaining a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification, you will be able to implement the Scrum framework in complex tasks and handle multiple teams as a mentor. The average salary of an Agile Coach is ₹2,221,146 provided he/she has some experience in the industry. Compared to Agile Coach, the average salary of Scrum Master in India is fairly low. But, you have to gain more experience as a Scrum Master to get into such a job role.
- Product Owner: The Product Owner is a part of the Scrum team, the other members being a Scrum Master and developers. The goal of the Product Owner is to maximize the profit of the organization by implementing the best practices in the Scrum team. A Product Owner with enough experience in the industry gets an average salary of ₹1,554,437 in India. The Product Owner salary is equivalent to a mid-career salary for Scrum Master in India.
- Project Manager: As described earlier, a Project Manager has to manage multiple teams and makes sure that the project is completed in the given time frame. An experienced professional can easily understand the problems in the process and make better decisions that favor the organization and the customers. The average salary of a Project Manager is ₹1,527,515 as compared to the Scrum Master salary in India, which is ₹1,250,086 per annum.
Learn about Project Manager salary in our blog on Project Manager Salary in India!
Scrum Master Salary in Other Countries
As a ProfessionalScrum Master, you can get the following amounts as the Scrum Master salary in other countries:
- Canada – C$81,594/annum
- The United States – US$92,298/annum
- The United Kingdom – £45,231/annum
- China – ¥217,815/annum
Scrum Master Certifications
There are three levels of Scrum Master certifications with each representing the extent of experience and knowledge you have in the Scrum framework.
The following are the three levels of Scrum Master certifications that cover from the basics to advanced-level concepts of the Scrum framework. Let’s briefly discuss each certification with its requirements:
- Professional Scrum Master – I (PSM I): The level one certification exam requires you to be familiar with the Scrum framework. Scrum provides a 2-day training course that covers the empirical theories and principles of the Scrum framework. After completing the training part, you can apply for the Professional Scrum Master I certification. You have to score at least 85% to earn the level one certification in Scrum.
- Professional Scrum Master – II (PSM II): The level two certification is for anyone who wants to show his/her ability to solve complex real-world problems with the Scrum framework. Anyone attempting for the PSM II certification should have earned the PSM I certification and have in-depth experience in Scrum.
- Professional Scrum Master – III (PSM III): To earn the level three certification, you have to clear the level one and level two certifications. The PSM III certification is for you if you have a deep understanding of the Scrum practices and values and can demonstrate a distinguished level of Scrum mastery. The level three certification ensures that you are an expert in the Scrum framework and can apply Scrum principles in any kind of team and organizational situation.
Conclusion
‘Scrum Master’ is a term given to the person who knows the Scrum framework and can apply Scrum principles in complex organizational situations. In this blog, we have discussed the responsibilities a Scrum Master has to fulfill and the average Scrum Master salary in India.
The Scrum Master salary range in India varies based on different factors such as the job location, employer, and the experience you have in the industry.
A fresher with little or no experience can earn a Scrum Master Consultant salary of ₹727,000 per year. While the Freelance Scrum Master salary can easily go up to ₹1,000,000/annum. With the rising demand for Certified Scrum Masters, the Scrum Master salary in India is also getting better and attracting more enthusiasts to try out this challenging career.
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