How long does it take to become a Scrum Master?
How long you need to become a certified Scrum Master, a working Scrum Master, and a good Scrum Master. These are three very different timelines.
There are three different questions hiding in this one, and they have very different answers.
How long to get a certification
You can go from zero to a PSM I certificate in about a week of focused study: a few passes of the Scrum Guide, the free Scrum Open until you're scoring 100 percent, one attempt at the paid exam. A CSM takes two days of live training plus the exam.
How long to hold the role
Getting hired as a Scrum Master with no experience is possible but harder than it looks. Most first Scrum Master roles come from being promoted internally: a Developer or PM on an existing Scrum team who takes on the accountability. Plan on six to twelve months of visible practice inside your current company before you get the title elsewhere.
How long to be good at it
Real Scrum Mastery is measured in the outcomes of the teams you serve. Did they get faster, more focused, more autonomous? That takes at least a year with a single team, and probably three or four before you have the range to serve any team.
What to do in the meantime
Read the Scrum Guide once a quarter. Watch a real Scrum team work if you can. Practice the applied decisions, coaching over commanding, protecting the Sprint, spotting impediments, in a simulator like Scrumling before you need to make those calls with your reputation on the line.