Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between lead developers and scrum masters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a lead developer, becoming a scrum master takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $86,329 average annual salary of a scrum master.
The top three skills for a lead developer include java, javascript and architecture. The most important skills for a scrum master are jira, software development, and agile scrum.
| Lead Developer | Scrum Master | |
| Yearly salary | $116,340 | $86,329 |
| Hourly rate | $55.93 | $41.50 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 274,208 | 44,670 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
A scrum master is a job that's rooted in leadership. It is the scrum master's responsibility to ensure a scrum process over the development of a project. They are not directly involved in the decision-making but guide the team in completing the scrum process with their experience and expertise. Also, a scrum master must be adept at being agile in approaching a project and also be able to schedule meetings during the process. In addition, the scrum master acts as a coach as well, helping the scrum teamwork cross-functionally.
Lead developers and scrum masters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Developer | Scrum Master | |
| Average salary | $116,340 | $86,329 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $161,000 | Between $65,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | ICE Mortgage Technology |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Energy |
There are a few differences between a lead developer and a scrum master in terms of educational background:
| Lead Developer | Scrum Master | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead developers' and scrum masters' demographics:
| Lead Developer | Scrum Master | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |