Speaker 1: A job search for a project manager role will bring out various roles, including job openings with a scrum master job title. Some even have project manager or scrum master as the job title. And sometimes maybe you're wondering, okay, so can I apply for a scrum master or a project manager role? Or how do I position myself to be able to apply for any of those rules? Especially the scrum master role, whenever it pops up as a job opening, when I search for project manager roles. Well, in this video, I'll be sharing and answering three main questions. What's the difference between a project manager role and a scrum master role, or are they the same? Number two, I will also be sharing the pros and cons of both roles. And finally, I will share on how to position yourself to qualify and apply for both roles. Hey there, welcome back to my channel. If you're a subscriber, hey, high five. Thank you so much for supporting me and joining me on this learning journey. And if you're new here, welcome. My name is Zogaga Johnson, and I help aspiring and established project management professionals to start and grow successful careers in project management. And on this channel, I share everything about a career in project management, including life lessons from my project management career and business. So if you're interested in project management in starting or advancing a career in project management, then click on the subscribe button. Let's learn together. All right. So scrum master roles are in high demand, especially in product development or in the tech industry. So when you are searching for project manager job roles, you will also see openings for scrum master roles or scrum master and project manager job roles. Now, like I said, I'll be sharing, you know, what's the difference between a scrum master and a project manager, or are they the same? To start off with, it's best to start from the basics. So what is project management? Let's start from there. Now I can simplify the definition of project management by saying that project management is the application or the use of project management methodologies to deliver something of value, whether it's a result is service or product to someone, individuals, or an organization. Now, application of project management methodologies. What are project management methodologies? That's the next question. And the next thing to answer, there are three main project management methodologies. You have the adaptive, which is also known as agile methodology. You have the predictive, which is also known as waterfall. And you have the hybrid methodology, which is literally a combination of, you know, using both the adaptive and predictive methodology at the same time on a project. Now I'm not going into so much details on this methodologies in this video, but if you like to know more about, you know, these methodologies and the various, you know, projects, management terms and methods, then I have a video just for you, click on it, um, you to pop up, click on it and watch and learn and know how to speak like a project manager and to use PM terms. All right. So back here, back here, back here. Now, when it comes to a project manager and the role of a project manager, it means that you should be able to know how to use the various projects, management methodologies to deliver a project, whether it is the adaptive methodology, the predictive methodology, or the hybrid methodology. So that's like what a project manager role should encompass or, you know, consist of now, you know, in the scrum master role, where does it fall into? Then let me tell you in agile methodology, there are various frameworks within the agile methodology. Cause agile is a blanket term for any framework that actually uses the agile mindset or frequent deliveries and constant customer feedback. So within the agile methodology, there's something called the scrum framework. You know, there are also other types of agile methodology, including, you know, the extreme programming, Kanban, safe, you know, these are all frameworks on that agile methodology and scrum is just one framework amongst several other frameworks on that agile methodology. And that is where the scrum master role comes from. A scrum master is someone who is an expert in using the scrum framework to deliver projects. So based on that, technically the scrum master framework is a type of agile methodology, which is an adaptive methodology on that project management. Right? So it means that the scrum master role is a subset of the project manager role, because as a project manager, you should be able to use, you know, any of the agile frameworks. You should be able to use any of the predictive frameworks. You should be able to use any of the hybrid. So you should be able to use all, you should be a generalist, right? So that is the project manager role. And then the scrum master role is, okay, I am an expert and a master in using the scrum framework. So that's the difference between both of them. So technically they're kind of like the same. So if you want to pose as a project management professional, I always tell my students that you should be an expert and be able to position yourself as a scrum master, as well as position yourself as a project manager who can use any of them. So the pros and cons. Now the pros and cons are actually really related to the organization type, the type of projects that deliver and the type of frameworks or methods they use to deliver the project. Now for organizations that are very product development focused, you know, tech industries, most times you'll see that, you know, they, most times you use scrum methodology to deliver their products because they want to deliver value quickly and they want to get, you know, that customer feedback as you're delivering the product. So they use the scrum framework to deliver their projects. Now, because of this, they are more likely to tend towards someone, a professional who says, Hey, I'm a scrum master and you most likely see them bring out roles that say, I am looking for a scrum master as a job title, rather than a project manager as a job title. When you see that, don't say, Oh, I'm not a scrum master. Oh, I don't qualify for a scrum master role. You do because you're meant to know how to use the scrum framework. And if you don't know how to use it, then learn how to use it. Okay. Don't discount yourself from that role. And so they're more likely to bring out scrum master job title roles as job openings. Now the reasons why first they want someone who knows how to use the scrum framework is an expert at it and can actually get the ground running. Once they start someone, they don't need to like really train too much or coach too much that can come in and start delivering values. That's the first thing. Number two, because they know that the person, if they say that a scrum master will be able to, you know, use the various scrum methodology, use the various scrum techniques and be able to perform all the various scrum ceremony or events effectively. And also the third thing, be able to perform the role of a scrum master because the role of a scrum master is quite different from just, you know, any other, like a general projects manager, because in the role of a scrum master, you're actually a servant leader. You don't necessarily manage the team because the team is very self-organizing. You know, that's the idea. What you do is you coach the team to even become more good at being self-organizing so they don't need you. And also another thing that you're doing is you're helping them facilitate the various events and ensure that they are constantly, you know, following the scrum process in order to deliver results. So that's what you're doing. And that's why, you know, someone or an organization that uses the scrum framework a lot will literally look for a scrum master job role rather than just a general project manager job role. Then for a project manager, does that mean there's nothing for them? No, there is something for them. Organizations that use any of the methods, they are not stuck on one method or, you know, they, they, they love using waterfall. They love using agile, love using hybrid. They can use any method that's, you know, fits the objectives or will help them deliver on the objective of the project. Such organizations will look for a project manager job title as a job opening. The reason is because number one, they don't want someone who is only a scrum master expert and can't use any other methodologies because their projects require someone who has expertise to use any of the project management methodologies. So they're looking for a project manager. In general, you still can use anything because they want someone who is able to look at the project, look at the objectives, you know, look at the requirements of the project and decide, Oh yes, Oh yes, I'm going to use agile for this, or I'm going to use hybrid for this, or I'm going to use waterfall for this, they need someone with that knowledge to be able to, you know, say, I will use A, B or C methodology to deliver the project. They also want someone who has experience in delivering projects using both agile and waterfall methodologies, so they don't have that, you know, learning curve where they have to train you on how to use. So they want someone more generalist who can perform an all rounder project management role. So, you know, when you look at both the project manager role and the scrum master role, they, it depends on the organization in terms of which one is used, which one is preferred and what kind of job openings you'll see from this organization. So here is the final thing. How do you position yourself to be able to apply for any of those job roles that show up when you search for a project management role on these job sites? Number one thing you can do is learn what is the role of a scrum master? What are the various methods to deliver a project? The project manager methodologies, what are the various frameworks on that each method and then know at least, for example, you know, for, um, predictive is just waterfall, how do I deliver a project using waterfall? Learn it for adaptive or agile methods. Okay. What are the various frameworks and how do I deliver projects? At least master three frameworks, you know, so you can use any of them. And then hybrid. What does it look like to deliver a project using the hybrid methodology you need to learn? And how do you learn? You can learn by taking certifications. Well, one thing I will say, and another video I've done, which you can watch is literally, um, when it comes to certifications, what to do to know the right certification for you. So what to do before taking a certification, what to do during the process of taking a certification, what to do after taking a certification. You need to know these things so that the money, the resources you invest in taking the certifications do not go to waste and you actually see a return on investment with these certifications, because they help you to advance your career and land jobs. Okay. Cause I hear a lot of people saying I've done this certification. I've done safe. I've done CSM. I've done PMP. I've done CAPM and yet I'm not landing any job. Why? The reason is very simple. When you go for your interviews or in your CV, you do not demonstrate that you can apply the knowledge you've learned from these certifications. And if as a hiring manager, I cannot determine that, you know, this person is not just telling me theory in their, you know, resume, they're actually telling me that they can do the work. They can perform the work using the knowledge I've gained from certifications. I will not call you for an interview. And if in the interview, I'm not telling you to do something like a backlog, you can't develop a backlog or use a PPM tool to show me how to start a sprint or develop a project budget or a project schedule, I can't do those things. Then it means that the knowledge you have learned from the certifications, you're not able to apply to perform the job role. So obviously you wouldn't get the job offer. So to position yourself to be able to apply for whether it's Chrome master or project manager role, one thing to do is yes, do certifications, but ensure that while you're doing it, you're, you know, applying those knowledge, you know, to either a previous project work and ongoing project work or a new project work, because it gives you the confidence to be able to defend those certifications. Okay. So learn, go to a bootcamp, do a training, get textbooks, different ways of learning, join communities to be able to learn how to use the Scrum methodology to deliver a project, how to use the, you know, various methods in project management to deliver projects once you have learned how to use it, then start applying this right to various projects, work, whether it is your personal project work or an organizational project work, start applying the knowledge you have learned to deliver this project. And then now, once you have done that, take your resume, edit your resume, using those terms, those PM terms you have learned, you know, showing them the results and achievements that you have gotten by using and applying, you know, the lessons, the knowledge learned from getting the certifications from, you know, showing them that you have the ability and capability to perform the role of either a Scrum Master or a Project Manager. So you need to demonstrate that you can do the work. So I hope you have enjoyed this video. I hope it has told you the difference between a Project Manager and a Scrum Master and how to position yourself to leverage, you know, different job openings and how to position yourself to apply for, whether it is a Project Manager role or a Scrum Master role that you see as job openings. If you have any questions, do let me know in the comments section, I'll be there to respond. And also check out my other videos as I share more knowledge on how to position yourself to land a Project Management role with or without experience. Check it out and I'll see you in a few seconds. Bye.