Are you considering a career in Salesforce and not sure which path to take for career growth? Then it’s time for you to consider Salesforce certifications. In my previous blog, we have seen what Salesforce is, why organizations should choose Salesforce, and where Salesforce technology has been successfully applied. Now, you may be wondering how Salesforce can benefit your career.
In this blog, I will give you a detailed explanation on why you should learn Salesforce and introduce you to numerous Salesforce credentials. Then, we’ll look at the frequently taken Salesforce certifications and their significance in today’s technology market. Finally, I will provide you with details about the career opportunities available in Salesforce.
Related Learning: Salesforce Tutorial
Why Should You Learn Salesforce?
In the past, you may have learned different technologies and later found out that you can’t do much using them yourself or in the industry. Salesforce isn’t like other technologies, which are difficult to learn and even more difficult to get experienced in. Salesforce is a skill that you can learn whenever you want, wherever you want, and get recognized across the world. It is a skill that thousands of companies use to make their businesses successful.
As seen in the above image, learning Salesforce is advantageous and can provide a boost to your career. If you are a professional looking for a technology or career change, then you should definitely consider Salesforce for the following reasons:
- Salesforce has a customer base of over 150,000 companies comprising of large scale, medium scale and small scale enterprises which require Salesforce professionals. Source: www.expandedramblings.com
- Big companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, General Electric, HCL and others use Salesforce. Learning Salesforce can help you get recognized and land a job in such top companies. Source: www.Salesforce.com
- Learning Salesforce can help you increase your salary.
- Salesforce technology is being used by organizations across the world, so you can easily find opportunities everywhere.
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Why Salesforce Certifications?
As we have seen, Salesforce is one of the hottest technologies out there. Mentioning Salesforce on your resume is definitely a plus point and makes you stand out from the rest. You might be wondering what is the point of getting certified and what is that you gain by getting certified. Well, here are the reasons as to why you should get Salesforce certified:
- Salesforce certifications give credibility to your Salesforce knowledge and expertise. As the standard of Salesforce certifications is high, you can take it for granted that a person who has been certified is an expert in that field.
- Currently, there is a high demand for people with Salesforce certifications. If you are a Salesforce-certified professional, you’ll be able to attract employers easily.
- Organizations need certified people to attract clients. Clients generally prefer companies whose employees are certified, as it gives them assurance regarding quality.
- If you are looking for a change in role or to advance your career, getting certified will provide you with that opportunity.
The graph below from www.jobgraphs.com provides you with information on the average yearly salary a Salesforce professional receives in different countries. As you can see Salesforce is a good technology to bet your future on.
Salesforce Certifications
You’ll be surprised to know that millions of people across the world apply for Salesforce certifications every year. Owing to this high number, Salesforce has a separate entity called Salesforce University that handles certifications and release exams.
Now that you know why learning Salesforce would be useful and the significance of Salesforce certification training, let’s examine all the certifications that Salesforce offers and the ones that are relevant to you.
The above image shows all the Salesforce credentials. Yes, that’s a lot of credentials that you can go for. But, depending on what you want to pursue, we can divide the frequently taken certifications into two tracks:
- Administrator/ Implementation Track
- Developer Track
The image below gives you a better idea of what each of these tracks comprises. I will discuss each one of these tracks in detail.
In organizations that use Salesforce products, a Salesforce administrator plays an important role. It is not like your regular administrative roles like network administrator or database administrator whose job is to maintain users and change passwords. A Salesforce administrator has immense responsibilities and needs to have a complete understanding of the business and its functionalities. If you are a Salesforce administrator or an implementation expert, you would be a functional consultant working alongside your organization’s customers and solving their problems.
Once you are certified, practice these Salesforce Interview Questions before going for the job interview. Let us take a look at the certifications that people frequently take up in the Administration/ Implementation track:
1. Salesforce Certified Administrator – If you are a fresher or someone who wants to start as an administrator or consultant, then you should be looking at being a Salesforce Certified Administrator. To be a Salesforce administrator, you need to have a general knowledge of Salesforce features. Having a Salesforce Admin 201 certification proves that:
- You have a broad knowledge of Salesforce applications.
- You know how to configure and manage Sales and Service cloud applications.
- You know how to manage Salesforce CRM and have good presentation skills.
- You are good with basic functionalities like managing users, development and customizations.
The image above provides details about the Salesforce Administrator Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
2. Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator – To be a Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator, you first need to be a Salesforce Certified Administrator. Along with this, you need 2-5 years of experience as a Salesforce administrator and be capable of using the full set of Salesforce features. Having a Salesforce Advanced Administrator certificate proves that:
- You are comfortable with designing robust and scalable applications for clients.
- You have handled a fair share of Salesforce Orgs.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Advanced Administrator Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
3. Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant – To be a Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant, you first need to be a Salesforce Certified Administrator. Along with this, you need to have experience in designing solutions that optimize the Sales cloud functionality and experience working with sales and marketing organizations. Generally, people who go for Sales cloud consultant certification have 2-5 years of experience as a senior business analyst. Having a Salesforce Sales Cloud certificate proves that:
- You are proficient in understanding customer needs.
- You can design and maintain a Sales cloud application as per customer business requirements.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Sales Cloud Consultant Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
4. Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant – To be a Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant, you first need to be a Salesforce Certified Administrator. Along with this, you need to have experience in designing solutions using the Service Cloud. Generally, people who go for Salesforce consultant certification have 2-5 years of experience as a senior business analyst and industry experts in Salesforce applications. Having a Salesforce Service Cloud certificate proves that:
- You are an implementation expert in service cloud solutions for customer needs.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
Typically, people choose first to become a Salesforce Certified Administrator, which would suit you if you are looking for an entry-level role. Then, they move on to either an Advanced Administrator or an Implementation Expert certification.
Developer Track
Generally, professionals who choose the developer track have some experience in developing applications in languages like JAVA, PHP, C++, C#, AngularJS, or other programming languages. If you fall in this category, then Salesforce provides you with a wide range of opportunities to build and advance your career.
Let us take a look at the certifications that people take up frequently in the developer track:
1. Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder – This certification is for someone who has experience in developing custom applications on the Force.com Platform. Having a Salesforce Platform App Builder certificate proves that:
- You are comfortable with the declarative part of Salesforce.
- You are comfortable with the lightning experience and the lightning app builder.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Platform App Builder Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
2. Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I – If you are a developer with 6 months to 1 year of experience developing applications on any platform, then you should be looking at becoming a Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I. You should have at least 6 months of experience on the Force.com platform. Having Salesforce Platform Developer1 certification proves that:
- You are proficient in building custom applications on the Force.com platform.
- You have basic knowledge of Apex and Visualforce.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Platform Developer I Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
3. Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II – To become Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II, you first need to be Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I. Generally, people who go for this certification have 2-4 years of experience as a developer and at least 1 year of experience on the Force.com platform. Having a Salesforce Platform Developer II certificate proves that:
- You have mastered Apex and Visualforce.
- You have a good idea about SOAP, REST APIs, Heroku, and building Lightning components.
The above image provides details about the Salesforce Platform Developer II Exam. Below is the weightage distribution of topics on which questions will be asked in the certification examination.
Typically, Salesforce App Builder or Salesforce Platform Developer I would be the right starting points for people looking to start their careers in a development role. If you get certified as a Salesforce App Builder, you have the option of furthering your career by getting certified in the Architect role. If you choose Salesforce Platform Developer I, you can advance your career by becoming a Salesforce Platform Developer II. These are the options that are available for you in the developer track.
Careers In Salesforce
Salesforce being the number one CRM company in the world, professionals who work on it are in high demand. Salesforce has been growing at a rapid pace over the last decade. Over the next five years, the field is expected to grow by 25% or more. According to Glassdoor, Salesforce is one of the top 10 skills in the market and over 4,000 jobs are available for Salesforce professionals. If you are a person looking for a technical role, then you would be interested in jobs like administrator, engineer, developer, analyst, cloud professional, technical support and more. The below image from www.salesforce.com will give you a sense of the different roles available for a Salesforce professional and their average yearly salary.
Are you confused about which Salesforce certification to take?
Salesforce.com offers various certificates, and among them are two prominent tracks: Administrator and Developer. In the administrator track, you can crack at the foundation level as an Administrator (201) and then move on to Advanced Administrator (211). Alternatively, you can take a shot at becoming a Functional Consultant, which allows you to take Sales Cloud certification and Service Cloud certification.
Previously, the developer track consisted of two certifications: Developer (DEV 401) and Advanced Developer (DEV 501). Recently, Salesforce updated the curriculum and split the certifications into three parts: App Builder, Developer-1, and Developer-2.
The Technical Architect certification is the highest level of certification one can ever earn with Salesforce. There are only around 125 Technical Architects in the world to date, and it is one of the most highly paid jobs in the world.
Salesforce Administrator Certification
Salesforce-certified administrators manage the Salesforce.com app; more specifically, they can manage Salesforce implementations for any organization or department. This certification has no prerequisites, but the Salesforce Administrator certification is a prerequisite for the Advanced Administrator exam.
How To Become A Salesforce Administrator | Salesforce Administrator Training | Edureka
Prerequisites: No perquisites are required to take up the certification. However, the Salesforce Administrator Certification Training is recommended.
Who should take this?
- MBA graduates
- Freshers interested in getting started as administrators with an option to move to Functional or Developer tracks in the future.
- Functional consultants with experience in Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP CRM or any other domain
- Laterals who have been engaged in functional testing and looking for a career change
Salesforce Developer Certification
Salesforce certified Developers have the knowledge, skills and experience to master the management of software development by using declarative features of the Salesforce platform to build and maintain applications. Administrator concepts would form the base for the Developer track. However, they are expected to understand concepts like building data models, choosing relationships and ensuring security of custom applications.
How To Become A Salesforce Developer | Salesforce For Beginners | Salesforce Training | Edureka
Prerequisites: No perquisites are required to take up this certification. However, the Salesforce Developer Training is recommended.
Who should take this?
- Freshers holding a B.Tech, BE or MCA.
- Professionals with more than 6 months of experience in Java, C# or web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
- Professionals with experience in technologies like Mainframes and AS400 or coming from a testing background.
Exam Structure
The exam can be taken onsite at testing centers worldwide. Alternatively, you can attempt it online as a proctored exam. Here are a few pointers to the exam:
- 60 multiple choice questions
- 90 minutes allotted to complete the exam
- 65% is the passing score
- Registration fee is USD 200
- Retake fee is USD 100
- No hard copy or online materials may be referenced during the exam
At the face of it, the exam might look easy since you need to get just 39 out of 60 questions right, and there is no negative marking. But it really gets tricky when there are questions with multiple select options. For example, you might encounter questions where you would be expected to select three correct answers for one question. In such cases, there is no partial marking so one wrong answer option will spoil the other two options that might be correct. Check out our Masters in Salesforce program here!
How do I register for the exam?
The first step is to create a test taker account at Webassessor. Do not forget to register with your personal ID because after completing the exam, you are the owner of the certification and not your company.
Once the account is created, you can log in and register for the exam. It is recommended that you register 3 months in advance so that you get your preferred timings and enough time to prepare.
If you are looking to take the exam in any of the test centers, you can visit http://www.kryteriononline.com/Locate-Test-Center and select a center closest to you.
How do I get my results?
You will get your results the moment you finish your exam. You will immediately know if you have passed or failed. No additional details regarding the score would be revealed. You will also get a printable certificate to your registered email id. Additionally, you will receive an invitation to join the Salesforce.com Certified Professional Group in the Salesforce success community.
What are the Job Prospects?
Salesforce is considered one of the top 10 skills required in the market today. New Study Finds Salesforce Economy Will Create 9.3 Million Jobs and $1.6 Trillion in New Business Revenues by 2026. If you want to become a professional skilled in Salesforce, then check out our online Salesforce training, which comes with instructor-led live training and real-life project experience.
I hope this blog has given you a good idea of the different Salesforce certifications available in the market and which certifications/ tracks are suitable and relevant for you. Feel free to leave any questions you have in the comment box below. You can also check out the video below for a more detailed explanation of Salesforce certifications and career tracks.
Salesforce Certification | Salesforce Training Videos | Edureka
This Salesforce Certification training video guides you through why Salesforce is good for your career, different Salesforce certifications available, certification roadmap, details on each certification exam.