Salesforce Administrator Certification: A Comprehensive Guide In 5 Points

Introduction

Welcome to a comprehensive discussion regarding Salesforce administrator certifications and other Salesforce certifications in general. In traditional IT systems, for implementing business ideas, you need to establish your own hardware infrastructure and install much Software, and at the same time have to be careful about security mechanisms in your system. This whole process requires money, time, and effort. But what if there were a common infrastructure to address all the queries.

Salesforce is a cloud computing software (SaaS) company specialising in customer relationship management (CRM). Salesforce’s services allow businesses to use cloud technology to better connect with customers, partners, and potential customers. 

1. What is Salesforce used for?
2. Types of Salesforce Certifications
3. Questions That Will Help You Decide if a Salesforce Administrator Certification or Otherwise is Right for You! 
4. Understanding the Salesforce certification process
5. Post Examination Requirement

1. What is Salesforce used for?

Salesforce offers various cloud services, which have helped many organisations focus on their business areas without having to create their own platforms for various services.

• The demand of Salesforce Professionals

Salesforce is one of the fastest-growing, most in-demand skillsets today. There are a variety of certifications offered by Salesforce for a different skill set. Salesforce administrator certifications offer value addition, viz. They increase your marketability in a tight job market by allowing you to become a subject matter expert. And the more certifications you add, the higher salary or hourly rate you can command.

2. Types of Salesforce Certifications

Below are the different Salesforce Certifications for different job roles. 

1. Administrators
2. Consultants
3. Developers
4. Architects
5. Marketers 

These job role certification can be furthered elaborated as under:

• Certifications for Administrators

1. Salesforce Administrator Certification
2. Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator
3. Platform App Builder

• Certifications for Consultants

1. Sales Cloud Consultants
2. CPQ Specialists
3. Service Cloud Consultants
4. Field Service Lightning Consultants
5. Community Cloud Consultants
6. Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant
7. Certified Non-profit Cloud Consultant
8. Education Cloud Consultant

• Certifications for Developers

1. Platform Developer I
2. Platform Developer II
3. JavaScript Developer I

• Certifications for Architects

1. Salesforce Data Architecture and Management Designer
2. Salesforce Sharing and Visibility Designer
3. Development Lifecycle and Deployment Designer
4. Application Architect
5. System Architect
6. Certified Technical Architect

• Certifications for Marketers

1. Pardot Specialists
2. Pardot Consultant
3. Marketing Cloud Admin
4. Marketing Cloud Email Specialists
5. Marketing Cloud Consultants
6. Marketing Cloud Developer

3. Questions That Will Help You Decide if a Salesforce Administrator Certification or Otherwise is Right for You! 

1. How dedicated and willing are you?

Getting a Salesforce certification is not that easy as it seems; it takes a lot of patience, hard work, and determination to achieve that elusive certificate. Though being Salesforce certified is not easy, they are achievable if one puts the level of dedication needed.

2. Are you willing to invest in yourself?

Salesforce is a solid career, but for that, ample time, energy and money need to be invested. The kind of certification one will determine the time to complete the program. On average, a Salesforce exam costs $200, and there’s retake probation to retake the exam if you don’t pass in one sitting.

3. Are you prepared to maintain your knowledge?

A person needs to learn a lot for passing the entry-level exam, but that just the first hurdle; continuous learning needs to be done to keep abreast with the ever-changing and evolving Salesforce platform. Also, Salesforce conducts these maintenance exams three times a year to test knowledge on the upcoming feature and make sure that you can impart

4. Are you willing to undertake real-life situations?

Salesforce administrator certifications are majorly about learning the platform as much as possible. Along with theories, the entry-level exams are also based on simulations or case scenarios that capture the imaginations and actions taken in real business situations.

5. Are you prioritizing the right Salesforce Certification?

You need to be sure what kind of job roles are you searching for and choose certification accordingly. The two most popular foundation-level certifications are the Certified AdministratorExam and the Platform App Builder. 

4. Understanding the Salesforce certification process

Salesforce.com is the main accreditation body that mandates the structure of the Salesforce developer certifications. The company also allows Accredited Training Organization (ATOs) to inspect the training of eligible candidates, who then must take the exam from Salesforce.com.

• Exam Pattern & Retaking the Exam

The Certifications for Administrators exams cost $200, the exam pattern consists of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). The duration of the exam is 105 minutes, and the passing score is 65%. Retake of the exam is allowed. Candidates who wish to retake the test must resubmit their registration details together with a retake fee of $100.

The Certifications for Architects exams cost $400, the exam pattern consists of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). The duration of the exam is 105 minutes, and the passing score is 68%.

$200 is the JavaScript Developer I exam; 60 MCQs need to be completed within 110 minutes. The passing score is 66%.

The cost for the Platform Developer II exam is also $200, 60 MCQs need to be completed within 120 minutes, and the minimum passing score is 70%.

5. Post Examination Requirement

After completing the examination, professionalism to the fullest degree must be adhered to by the certificate holders; in addition, the professionals can upgrade themselves by reading books on the Salesforce platform and obtaining other advanced certifications.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our discussion on Salesforce administrator certifications. It is beyond doubt that Salesforce professionals are high in demand and the pay structure is quite lucrative. Even though the exam is a bit tough and requires spending a good amount of money, but it’s worth the investment considering the opportunities that would be available once attained the certification.

If you are interested in making it big in the world of data and evolve as a Future Leader, you may consider our Integrated Program in Business Analytics, a 10-month online program, in collaboration with IIM Indore!

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