When first deciding to pursue Scrum training, it’s common to wonder: should I take the Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner course? The answer depends on your knowledge and experience level with Scrum, as well as your career goals.

We generally recommend that those who are new to Scrum start with the Certified ScrumMaster course. Long before the Product Owner certification existed, the CSM was designed as the essential “starter kit” for Scrum. Successfully completing the CSM course prepares you to immediately begin doing Scrum in any of the three Scrum roles: ScrumMaster, Development Team Member, or Product Owner.

Alternatively, those who lack experience in Scrum but have already determined their ideal Scrum career path (the Scrum role they are best suited for and will ultimately prefer) may find it useful to take the corresponding class. However, we do not recommend choosing a course based simply on your current non-Scrum job title. You may be surprised to learn that you could potentially fill any of the Scrum roles successfully regardless of whether you are a software developer, QA professional, project manager, business analyst, etc.

About 20% of our attendees ultimately take both courses. This is a great choice if you’re still trying to decide which Scrum role is right for you, or if you intend to pursue a senior agile role or become an agile coach. We recommend starting with the Certified ScrumMaster training to master the basic concepts, then practice Scrum for a few months (if employed) and follow up later with the more advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner training. Following this path will ensure that you build a knowledge base in Scrum that is both deep and wide, making you an attractive package to agile employers.

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