5 Things you need to know about a Scrum Master role

So you’ve read our “How to become a business analyst” article last week, but still not sure that is the role you want? 

You know you’re great at coaching people and super organised. You know you want to get into tech but what role works best for someone with these skills? I’ve got the answer for you. 

Scrum Master. 

Lucrative, fulfilling and an important role for any agile working team. 

If it isn’t already obvious enough, we will be covering 5  things you need to know about a Scrum Master role in this article; what Scrum is, what a Scrum Master is, what they do, how much they make and qualifications they can get, and as always in true Verve style, we’ll be giving you plenty of practical tips you can take away to make your dream job a reality! 

First let’s understand what “Scrum” is.

According to Coursera, “Scrum is an Agile framework for developing complex projects, most often software. The Agile project management methodology uses short development cycles, called sprints, that result in the continuous improvement of a product or service. The methodology is highly collaborative and requires efficient processes, and the results of the process depend upon the expertise of the Scrum Master.” 

To give you some context, the current project I am working on is using Scrum methodologies to deliver a product as we expect change in priorities based on business needs so need to be ready to pivot our attention. We have bi-weekly sprints, which means we complete sprint planning every 2 weeks (plan the user stories that will be taken into development in that development cycle), develop the stories, test and release into production in the following sprint. None of this can be done efficiently, without a Scrum Master. 

Tip: Understand the Scrum methodology and what agile ways of working are if you want to get into tech, many companies work in an agile environment now and this methodology is one of the most widely used ones! You might even be able to wow your interviewer when you turn up with some knowledge on this 😉

Sounds fancy, but what even is a Scrum Master?

A scrum master is someone who ensures the team are following scrum methodologies by helping them understand the scrum theory, coaching them and removing the impediments to the teams success. 

I know, sounds similar to a project manager right? Although a Scrum Master can also be a Project Manager, or vice versa, there are some key differences between the two:

• Scrum Masters are exclusive to Scrum projects. Whereas project managers can work on any type of project, including Agile or Waterfall.

• Scrum Masters are responsible for making sure the team is successful, whereas Project Managers responsibilities lie in the logistics of making a project successful; timelines, budgeting, risk management. 

• There’s also completely different qualifications needed for the two career paths.

What exactly does a Scrum Master do? 🤔

Scrum Masters have several different responsibilities to support their organisation and project team, so we’ll split this into two to make it easier, (1) their responsibilities to the project team, and (2) their responsibilities to the organisation. 

Responsibilities to the project team

A Scrum Master’s main responsibility to the team is coaching the team on working cross-functionally and self-management. They would be the go to person to help them understand how to work within the Scrum framework. If you have some coaching experience, or any type of leadership experience, then this is definitely a role to consider AND make sure you add this experience to your CV! 

Responsibilities to the organisation

A Scrum Master’s main responsibility to the organisation is leading, training and coaching the organisation in its Scrum adoption, so they can understand the importance and benefits of working in this way. They will also remove barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams. 

This is REALLY important because sometimes the Scrum Team does not have direct access to key stakeholders and this can delay projects, or even worse, completely ruin them so having the Scrum Master in your team makes sure this risk is mitigated. Do you have previous experience working with C-suite executives? Or were you responsible for risk management in your previous role? If so, make sure you include these experiences in your CV! 

Or, are you a fresh uni graduate worrying because you don’t have any professional experience fulfilling these responsibilities? Don’t worry, I've got you covered too ;) 

You do not necessarily need professional experience to apply for a junior Scrum Master role, but what you do need to do is apply any experience you may have from university or college where you’ve coached someone or led a project (this can even be a group assignment project!) to the role. Maybe you’ve worked closely on an assignment with the dean of the University or had a part-time job at University dealing with key individuals? Add that into your CV! 

Ok, sounds all good, but how much do they make?

You’ll be excited to know that Scrum Masters get paid very well ;) According to Glassdoor, the average base salary of a Scrum Master is £59,065 and this is usually on the lower end. 

Like a lot of roles in tech, with some experience in the role, your salary can jump very quickly, depending on the company you work for. But don’t forget, just getting the job isn’t going to be enough, you need to show how valuable you are to your employer to be considered for that promotion. 

Beneficial qualifications for a Scrum Master role 

You’ve read all these great things about a Scrum Master role,  now let’s talk about qualifications. 

You DON’T need an IT degree to become a Scrum Master. As someone without a tech background, having a qualification to prove you have the foundation knowledge needed to become a Scrum Master will put you in a much better position to get accepted into your first role.  

The globally recognized Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) is a great qualification to aim for. You’ll be able to gain a strong understanding of the Agile framework and Scrum methodology. There are further details about a course Scrum.org is offering on their website to gain this qualification that you can take a look at. 

Are you ready to find your dream job?

If you want to become a Scrum Master, ensure you develop your soft skills and hard skills by taking a qualification or self learning the methods a Scrum Master should be implementing to be successful. I’ve mentioned practical tips throughout the article that you can go through and make sure you implement on your CV to get that first interview and take the leap to becoming a Scrum Master in tech 😉.

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