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Program manager vs scrum master

The differences between program managers and scrum masters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a program manager has an average salary of $96,084, which is higher than the $86,329 average annual salary of a scrum master.

The top three skills for a program manager include project management, program management and oversight. The most important skills for a scrum master are jira, software development, and agile scrum.

Program manager vs scrum master overview

Program ManagerScrum Master
Yearly salary$96,084$86,329
Hourly rate$46.19$41.50
Growth rate12%9%
Number of jobs197,55644,670
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4744
Years of experience-6

What does a program manager do?

A program manager is responsible for monitoring the project's progress, improving and developing new strategies, and coordinate various projects across the organization to ensure the success of the business objective. Program managers also manage the program's expenses, ensuring that the projects adhere to the budget goals without compromising the quality and accuracy of the result. A program manager should regularly connect with the different teams of every project under the program to keep track of the processes and procedures for the timely delivery of the product.

What does a scrum master do?

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.

Program manager vs scrum master salary

Program managers and scrum masters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Program ManagerScrum Master
Average salary$96,084$86,329
Salary rangeBetween $65,000 And $141,000Between $65,000 And $114,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaICE Mortgage Technology
Best paying industryTechnologyEnergy

Differences between program manager and scrum master education

There are a few differences between a program manager and a scrum master in terms of educational background:

Program ManagerScrum Master
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Program manager vs scrum master demographics

Here are the differences between program managers' and scrum masters' demographics:

Program ManagerScrum Master
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 52.9% Female, 47.1%Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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 Percentage10%11%

Differences between program manager and scrum master duties and responsibilities

Program manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead managed services provider engagement of onshore and offshore interactive development and QA for pharmaceutical marketing department.
  • Lead multiple team workshops and initiate RFP proposals.
  • Manage the work process across projects as per PMI standards.
  • Develop, manage, and oversee EMBA study abroad in-residencies to Asia.
  • Manage content updates for all salesforce marketing materials, print and digital.
  • Manage the service level expectations with client agencies by monitoring and assessment establish KPIs, agreements and contracts.
    • Show more

Scrum master example responsibilities.

  • Analyze SQL, SSIS and VBA to achieve better processing time.
  • Manage high-level budgeting and time tracking for the project and also demonstrate knowledge of TDD.
  • Lead UX and e-commerce optimization projects through product road-map ownership, cross-department negotiations, and product requirement creation.
  • Manage the release process and the end to end SDLC for MMIS to ensure that customer commitments are being keep.
  • Manage the release development and deployment of mission critical ERP and call center web-base java application in an Agile/SCRUM environment.
  • Implement agile methodologies by managing and prioritizing Kanban board.
    • Show more

Program manager vs scrum master skills

Common program manager skills
  • Project Management, 11%
  • Program Management, 11%
  • Oversight, 6%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Infrastructure, 3%
  • Excellent Organizational, 3%
Common scrum master skills
  • Jira, 7%
  • Software Development, 6%
  • Agile Scrum, 6%
  • Kanban, 5%
  • Continuous Improvement, 5%
  • User Stories, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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