Keep customers successful after the sale so they renew and buy more.
High demand. Large, steady volume of postings across industries. A realistic target for an active job search.
Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.
| Level | Typical titles |
|---|---|
| Entry | Junior / Associate Customer Success Manager · Customer Success Manager I |
| Mid | Customer Success Manager · Customer Success Manager II |
| Senior | Senior Customer Success Manager · Lead Customer Success Manager |
| Expert (IC track) | Staff / Principal Customer Success Manager |
| Management track | Manager, Customer Success & Account Management → Director of Customer Success & Account Management → VP |
Set your current role on the home page to see how to get here from where you are.
Searching for: Customer Success Manager · anywhere in the US · change
Opens the job board's own search; results and counts are theirs.
Sources:
Figures are base salary. CSM pay is mostly base with a 10-25% variable tied to retention/expansion, not a sales quota (RepVue median base $95K / median OTE $125K at tech companies; Payscale all-industry base ~$79K). Range high is Payscale's 90th-percentile base. Senior figure is the top of a Sigma Computing commercial CSM base band ($110K-$135K).
BA/BS or equivalent is the norm (Gainsight: 'BA/BS or equivalent; MBA a plus'); some postings list no degree. Certifications are rarely required; renewal/expansion track record and executive-facing communication dominate.
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | $250 (Level 1, 18 courses + exam); $450 for Levels 1 and 2; $900/yr full subscription |
| Renewal | subscription-based |
| Typical total | $250-450 |
Gainsight's own CSM postings ask candidates to list Pulse+ or Gainsight University courses; the most recognized CS-specific credential.
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | $300 (13 courses, templates, exam) |
| Renewal | subscription-based |
| Typical total | $300 |
The analytics-friendly option: health-score design and Gainsight admin, the route from CSM into CS Ops.
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | roughly $99-$529 depending on level/bundle |
| Renewal | none stated |
| Typical total | $99-529 |
The CSM credential most often seen on practitioner LinkedIn profiles; occasionally named in postings.
| Exam fee | $0 |
| Training | free, ~1h45m |
| Renewal | free |
| Typical total | $0 |
HubSpot CRM fluency is listed in SMB CSM postings; free and fast.
BLS has no CSM occupation; 41-3091 is used as the nearest and its median sits below tech CSM base. RepVue CSM data is dated Apr 2024. Gainsight Pulse+ prices are bundled course+exam, so exam_fee is null. Of the two Gainsight postings cited, only Gainsight's own asked about Pulse+; the other named no certification, so Pulse+ is rated 'sometimes'.
Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.
Open Customer Success & Account Management in the interactive chart →