If you want to learn about entry level scrum master salary just keep reading this post. We'll provide a few salary ranges you can expect and compare Scrum Master salaries at Amazon and John Deere.
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Scrum Master Salaries for Scrum Master I, II, and III
According to https://www.salary.com
Scum Master I can expect $81,957 as of May 27, 2022.
Scrum Master II can earn $98,196
Scrum Master III can earn an impressive $118,539
I'm skeptical about both the sallaries and the titles though. Here's why. I'm a Registered Scrum Trainer and I have no idea what a Scrum Master I, II, or III is.
The title and the job seems made up to me. So, let's move on to look at Amazon listings for Scrum Master salaries.
Amazon Scrum Master Salaries
I found a job listing for a Software Development Manager III which requires,
"Deep understanding of professional software development practices such as Agile/Scrum etc
People Management Experience"
OK, well that's pretty broad. Amazon is a smart hiring company so I'm sure there's a good reason to make such broad position descriptions.
Perhaps they want to leave the door open for the right candidate so they don't want to be overly prescriptive.
So, what is the salary for Scrum Master who would want to have that job?
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't say. However, Glassdoor does tell us what that position earns.
Here's what we learn from Glassdoor:
"The typical Amazon Software Development Manager III salary is $174,595 per year. Software Development Manager III salaries at Amazon can range from $139,731 - $206,588 per year. This estimate is based upon 773 Amazon Software Development Manager III salary report(s) provided by employees or estimated based upon statistical methods. When factoring in bonuses and additional compensation, a Software Development Manager III at Amazon can expect to make an average total pay of $174,762 per year."
That's great if you want to work in technology, but what if you don't want the awful quality of life at Amazon?
Perhaps a job in manufacturing would be better.
John Deere Scrum Master Salaries
Let's head over to John Deere to see what their Scrum Masters are making.
Right off the bat I'm appreciating how they have a clear qualification requirement for their Scrum Masters.
Unfortunately, John Deere doesn't let us know what their Scrum Masters are paid. We'll need to dig a bit deeper to find that out.
Let's go back to Glassdoor. Here's what we find at Glassdoor.
"The typical John Deere Scrum Master salary is $102,000. Scrum Master salaries at John Deere can range from $97,886 - $113,495"
You need to understand that unlike the Amazon (and other) tech jobs you're going to have a much higher quality of living with the John Deere job.
Why?
Glad you asked.
John Deere Vs Amazon Scrum Master Compensation
First, you're getting paid $102,000 but living in Iowa, Johnston, IA to be specific.
Let's compare the cost of living in Iowa and Seattle. Thanks for making it so easy to compare cost of living WolframAlpha.
Unfortunately, Johnston doesn't have enough data so we need to be creative.
Well, what city should we use to compare the cost of living?
A quick trip to Wikipedia will teach us, "Johnston is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,064 in the 2020 census, an increase of 178% from the 8,649 population in 2000. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area."
OK, so let's try our luck comparing Des Moines to Seattle (note - Des Moines is pronounced Da Moin").
OK, back to cost of living comparisons.
What we learn is that Des Moines (and the John Deere Scrum Master Job) is 42% cheaper than Seattle.
That means your $102,000 salary at John Deer has the same spending power as $144,000 at Amazon.
Of course, there's more to this decision than spending power like resume building.
Amazon on your resume will open doors.
But then there's that nagging quality of life issue. Amazon is a grind.
I've heard first hand stories of people getting, "12 hours/day... but don't worry, it's only 4 days/week".
That story quickly changes to, "6 days a week might not be enough for all of your responsibilities".
So, accept any job with your eyes wide open.
Conclusion
Job descriptions and published salary data all need to be taken with a big grain of salt, but, a Scrum Master can expect to make $80,000 - $170,000 year depending on what company you work for and what location you are assigned. Expect to be paid more the more your job requires you to sacrifice.