The CSM certification is one of the most sought-after credentials among professionals and recruiters. Companies adopting an Agile mindset wish to hire more Scrum masters to help their organizations thrive. Consequently, they considered the CSM certification a satisfactory justification for a candidate’s Scrum proficiency. They offer higher salaries and additional perks to certified Scrum masters.
Considering the CSM’s popularity, it’s an excellent plan to prepare for the CSM certification exam and get certified in 2022. However, you might get numerous queries if you are new to CSM accreditation and wish to prepare for the exam. One of the most significant queries is, how long does it take to get the CSM credential? If it sounds relatable, this article is all you need!
We will dive deeper and know the time required to become a certified Scrum master. This post will analyze the skills you need to consider and the factors to keep in mind to decide the time it takes to pass the CSM certification exam and earn the credential.
Let’s dive in!
Skills you’ll have to develop.
The more skills, the more time is required to earn the CSM certification. It’s a clear rule. Isn’t it? So, it’s better to know the abilities before estimating the time to pass the CSM exam and achieve the prestigious certification.
Let’s know the skills the CSM exam will expect you to develop!
- Systems Thinking
It is the capacity to observe how diverse elements interact and the resulting overall system. It helps prevent local optimization and enables the scrum master to adopt a systemic perspective of the entire organization.
- Adaptability
The fundamental ability needed to be a successful scrum master is adaptability. The Scrum Master can motivate the team to behave in the same way if they quickly adjust to the needs of the team and the changing organizational structure.
- Interpersonal Skills
For a Scrum Master to be able to cope with the various personalities and expectations of the team members, the PO, and the stakeholders, interpersonal skills are crucial.
- Complex Problem Solving
Product development involves several dynamically changing components that add complexity. One instance is dealing with obstacles brought on by other teams that the Scrum team does not know directly. The ability to manage complex situations and solve issues in the complex domain is required of the scrum master.
- Lean Thinking
Most organizations have wasteful procedures and regulations. The scrum master must learn to observe, work with the team to find and eliminate process waste, and establish a lean framework for developing and delivering customer value.
- Agile and growth mindset
When experimenting and trying new things, setbacks and mistakes are inevitable. The team must learn to tolerate setbacks, and the scrum master must motivate them to continue learning from the trials. The Scrum Master can better assist the Scrum team by adopting an Agile mindset.
- Empathy
A Scrum master should have the capacity to empathize with others and demonstrate concern for their circumstances.
- Asking Questions
The scrum master can hone the ability to ask insightful questions through practice. A good Scrum Master can encourage the team to think creatively and solve problems. They can nurture such an attribute by practicing a culture of asking questions and promoting groups to do the same.
Factors on which the time to get the CSM certification depends
The CSM certification process is simple. However, internal factors might delay you from becoming a certified Scrum master. Without knowing these factors, we cannot determine the expected time required to get the CSM certificate. So, let’s investigate these points in somewhat detail right below!
- CSM training duration
Do you know? The CSM certification exam doesn’t have many requirements. However, the candidates must undergo a two-day (14-16 hours) CSM training session before taking the test. It’s a significant factor on which the time required to get the certification depends.
- Training and attempts duration
It’s better to know that you get nearly 90 days after training completion to take the CSM certification test. You can either immediately schedule an exam or take the test if you are prepared. Or, you can’t wait to schedule and appear for the exam if you need more time. Depending on your decision, the time required to become CSM-certified varies.
- Prior experiences
It becomes much simpler if you have working experience in Agile and Scrum. Consequently, it will take less time to take the test, pass the exam, and become a certified Scrum Master.
However, if you are new to Scrum, it might take some time to understand the principles, methodologies, and techniques before taking the test and passing it. Accordingly, your certification date will get delayed.
- Number of attempts
Furthermore, your date of getting CSM certified will vary according to the number of attempts. It will take more days if you take more than one attempt to pass the test. Along with time, scheduling the test for the third time after completing the CSM training from an accredited Scrum trainer will cost you money.
How long does it take to get CSM certified?
You can determine the expected time to get CSM certified by considering the above factors. The minimum time required to pass the exam will be equivalent to the sum of the training hours and the earliest date of your first exam attempt.
However, it might take more time to pass the exam and become certified if you take longer than 90 days to pass the exam. So, you can calculate the estimated time according to the training hours and the date you passed the exam.
Conclusion:
As you saw, the time duration for preparation and passing the exam varies from one person to the other. However, the training session is mandatory to pass the exam. So, you can consider the training duration as fixed. Top learning platforms like Simplilearn online bootcamp offers a 16-hour CSM training session. Similarly, you can view other courses and know their period to better estimate the time required to pass the CSM certification exam.
