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Agile Salary Trends

Finding accurate salary data can be a somewhat daunting task, especially when dealing with anything Agile related. Recruiters sprinkle Agile terminology throughout online job postings with reckless abandon, however you can still sort through the noise to find useful Agile salary data. You only need to know where to begin.

Luckily for us, Indeed.com has opened up it’s salary data to the public.

Indeed Salary Search is based on an index of salary information extracted from over 50 million job postings from thousands of unique sources over the last 12 months. Many job descriptions don’t contain salary information, but there are enough that do to produce statistically significant median salaries for millions of keyword, job title and location combinations – in fact, most job searches you are likely to think of. As new jobs are added each day, the Indeed Salary Search index is automatically updated with fresh salary data, so the salary results are as up-to-date as they could possibly be.

Agile Project Manager & Scrum Master Salaries
Agile Project Manager & Scrum Master Salaries
At a glance there is an $11,000.00 gap between an Agile Project Manager and a Scrum Master, however I believe there is a good deal of overlap between these roles. Many employers have been pairing up the Scrum Master duties with Project Manager responsibilities even though they tend to be at odds with one another. From my experience playing Scrum Master & Project Manager in the past, these salary numbers are fairly close. I also find it interesting that Scrum Master data has remained quite steady in a fluctuating economy since Feb 09.

Agile Developer & Agile Tester Salaries
Agile Developer & Agile Tester Salaries
The 11% gap between Agile Project Manager & Scrum Master seems meager compared to this 47% gap between Agile Developers & Agile Testers. It seems that employers still undervalue testing regardless of the SDLC framework. For some reason the Agile Tester data cuts off around June 09, but you’ll notice correlations between the two roles. Agile Developer & Tester salaries seem to have taken more of an immediate hit than Agile Project Managers & Scrum Masters when the economy tanked in Fall of 08.

So what can we take away from all of this data?

I recommend using it to supplement other Agile Salary Surveys from companies like VersionOne & ASPE. Don’t let the job market get you down, and just because Agile is a relatively new framework, it doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily make less money pursuing it.

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The Taskboard Interview

So here you are, face to face with a potential employer to discuss an agile job posting. You’ve arrived armed with your 10 Scrum Master Interview Questions and copies of your freshly printed resume, but how do you set yourself apart from the other Scrum Master candidates?

I propose the Taskboard Interview.

The Taskboard Interview

Step 1 – Bring a pen and a stack of post-its.

Step 2 – Request the interview be conducted in a room with a white board (chances are it’s a tech company, and you’re already in one).

Step 3 - Ask the interviewer to write out his or her questions on the post-its.

Step 4 - Draw three columns on the white board, and label them from left to right “to answer”, “answering” and “answered”

Step 5 – Stick the post-its on the “to answer” column, and as you address each one move them into “answering” and finally “answered”

This may seem a bit far fetched and unconventional for a job interview, but I’d love to have a candidate pitch their skills to me in this fashion. It would set them apart from the others by vividly illustrating their passion and knowledge of agile.

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Support Welfare CSM

The folks over at WelfareCSM are doing their best to help job seekers obtain Scrum Master Certifications. They are offering discounted training classes that normally run anywhere from $1200 – $1400. It is a noble cause in these economic times, and also lines up well with current Agile job opportunities.

Your chances of finding employment may increase with a CSM certification and a bit of Scrum Master interview guidance! We should all do our part to help those in need, so please spread the word and donate to the cause.

Donate to WelfareCSM

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