A Release Manager oversees the planning, coordination, and execution aspects of software releases. It is a multi-tasking role where the expert focuses on quality assurance while ensuring smoother operations. Furthermore, they act as a bridge between different teams working on a project to facilitate seamless integration and continuous improvement in the release process. The role is significant enough for organizations irrespective of the domain, so the demand is certainly high. There is a huge demand for experts with ITSM certification courses or other specializations who can handle the tasks efficiently. If you have hands-on knowledge of the industry and have experience working on a few projects, you can expect to get an excellent release manager salary. In this article, I will discuss how promising your career as a release manager can be and the salary you can expect to draw in different industries and under various circumstances. Top of Form
Who is a Release Manager?
A Release Manager is a professional responsible for planning and executing software releases. During the software development process, different tasks get completed in multiple releases. The person who manages all the product releases and puts things together till project completion is a release manager. They collaborate with various teams, including developers and quality assurance experts, ensuring a smooth and sorted release process. These experts create release plans and communicate them effectively with stakeholders. Furthermore, their role involves version control, deployment automation, and continuous improvement of release processes. The job role is challenging, and you should put in effort to succeed, but the handsome release manager salary makes it all worth it. You can enroll in specialized courses, like the ITIL foundation course online, to develop the right skills and explore this role. Let me dive into the salary part.
Release Manager Salary in 2024
As mentioned earlier, the release manager's average salary is impressive, provided you are a hands-on professional and have what it takes to deliver the best work. The average release manager salary is $109,000 per year. At the start of your career, you may fetch around $81K per year. However, once you have completed programs like the Knowledgehut ITSM certification course to brush up on your skills, the salary can go up to $147K. (Source: Zippia)
The table below shows the release manager's salary per month, per hour, and per year.
Salary Per Hour | Salary Per Month | Salary Per Year |
$53.77 | $8666 | $91K |
Source: ZipRecruiter
Release Manager Salary: Based on Experience
From my personal experience, I can say that experience has a crucial role in determining the salary that you draw from your employer. Your job roles as a beginner and an advanced professional are different, and so are your salary packages. Let me share the average salary at varied experience levels in your career as a release manager.
Beginner
As a beginner, your expected average salary is $101K. It can start from around $79K and rise up to $131K based on your skills.
Intermediate
After you have gained experience of about 3-4 years, you are at an intermediate level, and your average salary would be around $115K. It can range between $92K and $146K.
Advanced
At the advanced level, you apply for senior-level positions. The average salary at this level is $123K. The salaries can range between $99K and $155K.
Release Manager Salary: Based on Location
Location is another crucial factor in deciding the release manager's average pay. If you work in a metro city with ample work opportunities and MNCs ready to hire deserving candidates, you will certainly fetch a higher salary than the tier-3 cities. Similarly, release manager salaries in the countries with promising job markets will be higher than in the others. Let me give you a glimpse of packages in the top cities of the top six countries offering the best salesforce release manager salary.
India
Cities | Salaries |
Bangalore | INR 14 LPA |
Hyderabad | INR 11 LPA |
Chennai | INR 11LPA |
Delhi NCR | INR 12LPA |
Pune | INR 10LPA |
Source: Indeed
GlassdoorUS
Cities | Salaries |
California | $134K |
New York | $119K |
Atlanta | $114K |
Massachusetts | $114K |
Dallas | $81K |
Source Link: Indeed
UK
Cities | Salaries |
Scotland | Є62K |
Wales | Є52K |
London | Є73K |
West Midlands | Є53K |
Yorkshire | Є61K |
Source Link: Checksalary.com
Australia
Cities | Salaries |
Macquarie Park | $143K |
Brisbane | $129K |
Perth | $127K |
Melbourne | $92K |
Sydney | $77K |
Source: Indeed
Canada
Cities | Salaries |
Calgary | $95K |
Toronto | $95K |
Montreal | $85K |
Vancouver | $57K |
London, ON | $37K |
Source: Indeed
Singapore
Cities | Salaries |
Outram | $9215 |
Singapore | $8353 |
Raffles | $8222 |
Shanton way | $6465 |
Changi | $5503 |
Source: Indeed
Release Manager Salary: Based on Job Roles
Another factor that impacts the release manager's salary is the job role for which you get appointed. The complexity of your job roles increases your salary scale; it also depends on the level you get in the hierarchy and the number of teams you will handle. For example, the senior release manager's salary is higher than that of a beginner in another domain. To give you better clarity, I have listed a few job roles in this domain and the average salary a candidate can expect to get in them.
Job Roles | Salaries |
IT Release Manager | $91K |
Release Services Case Manager | $65K |
Salesforce Release Manager | $153 |
Senior Release Manager | $144K |
Source: Indeed
Factors Affecting Release Manager Salary
For anyone exploring the industry as a release manager, it is crucial to know the factors that have a direct impact on the salary. The release manager's salary per month varies for different individuals. The factors affecting these numbers are:
- The location of your work
- The industry you work in
- The overall experience you carry
Furthermore, your skills and the certifications you have earned also affect the overall salary package. For example, the salary of a candidate who has learnt an ITSM certification course is more than those who haven’t. Let me give more details about each factor and explain how it affects your salary.
Location
The release manager positions in tier-1 cities are high-paying, and one of the primary reasons is the ample amount of projects and opportunities. The renowned organizations have their operations in the top cities, and they are certainly the ones to offer better salary packages. The table below shows how location can impact your salary package as a release manager.
Location | Salary |
Tier-1 Cities | $144K |
Tier-2 Cities | $108K |
Tier-3 Cities | $84K |
Source: ZipRecruiter
Industry / Employer / Company
Though the demand and opportunities for release managers are high in every industry, some domains offer higher salaries than others. The IT release managers get a higher salary package than the experts working in the automobile or marketing sector. Refer to the table below for details.
Industry | Salary |
IT/ Software | $163K |
Automobiles | $91K |
Sales | $141K |
Source: Glassdoor
Experience
While you are working as a release manager, your salary graph will change as you gain experience. As your familiarity with the domain is not much as a fresher, you might not get a higher salary package. However, as you gain experience, your salary graph gets impressive. The table gives a clear picture of the impact that the experience has on your salary package.
Experience Level | Average Salary |
Beginner | $101K |
Intermediate | $104K |
Advanced | $123K |
Source Link: Glassdoor
Demand and Supply
Another factor affecting the salary of a release manager is the market demand. If your inclination is towards a particular industry, know that your earnings depend on the market demand in that area. The higher the demand, the more chances there are of an excellent salary package.
Credentials / Certifications
I have mentioned that experience impacts the salary package. So, what about people with the same experience level? Who gets paid more out of the batch of all the candidates with the same experience? Well, in such cases, the decisions depend on expertise. The certifications you have earned and the projects you have handled can help you get a better salary package. Some of the certifications that can help give a boost to your career are:
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
- Master Project Manager (MPM)
- Advanced Certified ScrumMaster (A-CSM)
- ITIL Foundation
Skills
Skills are a vital aspect of a professional journey and directly impact your salary package. It includes your soft skills and technical excellence. To get the highest or the most promising salary package, you should work on the top 10 skills mentioned in the image below.
How to Improve Release Manager Salary?
If you have started your journey as a release manager but want to boost your salary, there are certain factors on which you would have to work. Let us discuss them in detail.
Skills
Work on your skills and make yourself proficient enough to handle all the challenges that might arise. Get technically skilled and learn all the latest tools that are fruitful in delivering the best results as a release manager. Additionally, improve your soft skills and gain proficiency in communicating and decision-making to present yourself as a dependable expert.
Certifications
Certifications always help professionals break career stagnations. So, to grow and improve your salary as a release manager, you can also opt for additional certification courses. I have listed a few above that can help.
Degrees
If you have started your journey after your bachelor's degree, a master's degree is your way to get a better salary. Add to your educational qualification and earn more relevant degrees to step up!
Experience
At first, you may not get the best job, but it definitely gets better after a few years of experience. So, find challenging jobs where you get more exposure, and as you gain experience, your salary will multiply.
Why are Release Managers paid so much?
The release managers get higher salary packages because their roles are crucial and significant for the organization. These professionals are responsible for keeping the entire product lifecycle moving and ensuring that the final results match the end-user requirements. They have to wear multiple hats and collaborate with different teams and stakeholders, which takes effort and advanced communication skills. Moreover, the answerability if the project gets delayed or the mismatched quality standards is on them! So, the risk and stress that this job role carries are high. It explains the higher salary packages. Any expert in this domain has to work hard to get the desired proficiency, and the price they get is for that effort and the complexity they handle.
Conclusion
Release managers are an integral part of any organization, and the demand for these professionals is high in the market. Companies hire experts who deliver the best work and handle projects efficiently, even under the most challenging situations. So, if you have an inclination towards this industry, the future is positive and promising. You will have plenty of opportunities with excellent monetary perks and job security. All you have to do is prepare well and prove your worth in this industry. Brush your skills, get relevant certifications, and learn the tools that can help fetch the best jobs. When you are ready to explore the market, keep factors like location, industry, and experience in mind, and you can certainly land your dream job. Keep working towards improving your skill set and gaining more and more experience, and you will indeed enjoy a fruitful career.
