Switching career path

Well before you invest money into a certification, I'd suggest learning about the role to make sure it is a fit for you and your goals and personality. With your experience in Business Development I think you'd have a better shot of getting into a Product Owner role; that fits your experience more than a Scrum Master. Read the Scrum Guide and do some more research on the roles and then check with local recruiters in your area to see how feasible it is for you to break into the role of your choice given your experience. Getting a certification may help getting you an interview but it doesn't in any way guarantee a job.

Are you sure you want to leave technology sales behind? That's where the big bucks are (with commission of course)! In fact, you could do a hybrid role if you're technically inclined. A Solutions Architect in a client-facing software consulting role gets the best of both worlds.

But if you want to move into software development and product management, you can be a Scrum Master or a Product Owner. You could also go into being a Delivery Manager and be responsible for acquiring and assigning resources to the Product organization. Many Project Managers go down the Scrum Master path and many Business Analysts and customer-centric technologists become Product Owners.

Could you expand on what YOU want to do?

Hi Curtis Slough, 

Thanks for your swift response. yes, you are correct, I was thinking about Product Owner however I have only basic knowledge of Agile and not a domain expert. I had a word with my friend he suggested to understand what is scrum and add on to certification will have high probability. I was a little confused about how to move towards the Product Owner. It would be great if you could suggest on this. 

Many Thanks!

Mithi 

Hi Mark Adams,

Thanks for your detailed response and it covered various options. 

Yes, due to uncertainty and I felt sometimes this is not my skills. So thought of moving from here though I had some commissions. 

I will put in this way so that you could suggest me in a better way, Let me tell you my skills, I have experience and passion for client interactions like requirement gathering but lack Agile delivery model and domain expert knowledge.

1. So I am having a dilemma either Product Owner or Scrum Master.

2. I understand both the role of Product Owner and Scrum master but now that how could I incorporate my experience and what to learn and how to land into Product Owner/Scrum master. 

3. any certification to pursue further from here. 

I hope you understand where I stand now. I would like to hear from you. 

Many Thanks,

Mithiran

I was thinking about Product Owner however I have only basic knowledge of Agile and not a domain expert.

That's fine for PO's, I've yet to come across a PO that is a domain expert. 

I will put in this way so that you could suggest me in a better way, Let me tell you my skills, I have experience and passion for client interactions like requirement gathering but lack Agile delivery model and domain expert knowledge.

1. So I am having a dilemma either Product Owner or Scrum Master.

2. I understand both the role of Product Owner and Scrum master but now that how could I incorporate my experience and what to learn and how to land into Product Owner/Scrum master. 

3. any certification to pursue further from here. 

If you don't have much in the way of knowledge of scrum and agile, that makes it challenging to be a scrum master; considering the expectation is that you would be the master of scrum. One of the responsibilities that is too often overlooked is the fact that the scrum master is supposed to coached the team and organization through the adoption of scrum and agile. You need a solid understanding of those principles in order to do that, experience is definitely more important but at least having a strong understanding of the book knowledge is necessary to be a scrum master.

Regarding your passions for client interactions and requirement gathering, that is right on par with Product Ownership. Scrum Masters may deal with stakeholders/clients here and there but it is incredibly rare that we would build a relationship with them in the same level as a Product Owner. 

As I stated previously, a certificate does not guarantee a job. That said, they would help getting you some understanding of the basics and potentially get you an interview. Based off what you are saying here, I'd say you're more in tune with product ownership so I suggest going towards the PSPO1. This provides a lot of the basics of scrum that you need to know but also how to actually prioritize the backlog and working with the stakeholders and teams. 

Product Owner and Scrum Master jobs are not normally entry-level or for those without experience in a product development (developer, business analyst, etc.). Certifications will definitely help get you noticed but you would need to make a significant investment in yourself as there are four major Agile certification bodies (including Scrum.org). I recommend in-person certification classes since you will have the opportunity to learn from your instructors and your peers and to network. I once sat in a certification class next to the VP of Agile Transformation at a major enterprise. 

With certifications, and highlighting your relevant skills on your resume, you could market yourself to companies as a Business Analyst or an associate Product Owner. 

Hi Curtis Slough, 

Thanks for your insight and for driving into the conclusion. It matters a lot!

Many Thanks,

Mithi

Hi Mark Adams, 

Yeah, perfectly said these jobs are not for entry-level. That's why I opt to incorporate my previous experience with add on to certification. As you mentioned for Business Analyst, but here in India BA would require Domain experience. 

Could you please help any certification for Agile methodology. 

Thanks,

Mithi

Product Owner and Scrum Master jobs are not normally entry-level or for those without experience in a product development (developer, business analyst, etc.).

——I agree

I have been transforming from a development member to a project manager for many years. After learning the domain knowledge of the scrum master, I gradually transformed the scrum master.

After gaining relevant experience, I transitioned to PO and tried to challenge myself, and I have achieved no small achievements. Now I become agile coach in China