Salesforce Certifications – Everything you need to know

Salesforce certifications are a great way to prove to yourself, your employer and potential clients that you are an expert in a given Salesforce technology. Even if Salesforce is not your primary focus, if you work with CRM technology or build enterprise applications that work with customer service, it is very likely that you will interact with Salesforce quite regularly during your career. Companies that rely on Salesforce require administrators, developers, internal consultants who are skilled in that companies technology, and may require their salesforce staff to be certified.

Salesforce jobs are growing in demand and so are the amount of salesforce professionals on the market. One way to stand out against the crowd and make yourself more marketable than the competition is to get yourself certified. On top of this, Salesforce roles tend to come with a lucrative salary when compared to similar roles in other technologies. More certifications generally = a bigger paycheck.

Salesforce currently offers over 30 different certifications but which one is right for you? Salesforce is constantly evolving and as such, so are the certifications that are available. Let’s find out which ones can help you to prove you have what it takes for the role of your dreams.

Trailhead (Salesforce’s free to use training platform) offers credentials synonymous with certifications in five categories: Salesforce Administrator, Developer, Consultant, Architect and Marketer. Let’s take a look at the certifications relevant to each category.

Salesforce Administrator Certifications

• Salesforce Administrator
• Salesforce Advanced Administrator
• Platform App Builder

Salesforce administrators are systems administrators who specialize in Salesforce’s suite of products. They are the point of contact for any users within the company who have questions or need to be trained on a certain Salesforce product.

Salesforce Developer Certifications

• Platform Developer I
• Platform Developer II
• Commerce Cloud Digital Developer

Salesforce developers analyze company processes, developing CRM workflows and custom solutions for specific business needs. Salesforce developers work collaboratively with others on the team to create custom, scalable processes for the company. Salesforce developers are creative, technically minded, and self-motivated.

Salesforce Consultant Certifications

• Community Cloud Consultant
• Field Service Lightning Consultant
• Marketing Cloud Consultant
• Pardot Consultant
• Sales Cloud Consultant
• Service Cloud Consultant

A Salesforce consultant helps companies implement or enhance their use of Salesforce. Consulting duties may also include training employees to use Salesforce.

Salesforce Architect Certifications

• Application Architect
• Data Architecture and Management Designer
• Development Lifecycle and Deployment Designer
• Identity and Access Management Designer
• Integration Architecture Designer
• Mobile Solutions and Architecture Designer
• Sharing and Visibility Designer
• System Architect
• Technical Architect

A Salesforce Architect is someone who has been certified for demonstrating the capabilities to build and design solutions across Salesforce platforms.

Specialist Certifications

• CPQ Specialist
• Marketing Cloud Email Specialist
• Marketing Cloud Social Specialist
• Pardot Specialist

The Specialist Certifications prove that the holder has specific knowledge in a particular aspect of Salesforce CPQ, Marketing Cloud or Pardot.

How much does it cost to take the certification examinations?

The majority of Salesforce certifications cost between €200-€400 and retakes are half the cost of the initial exam. The only exception is the Technical Architect Certification exam which can cost upwards of €6,000 and can take place over the course of a few days. Training can be provided by independent bodies for an additional cost, or for free on Salesforce’s Trailhead platform.

Which Certifications are in particular demand?

From my time spent recruiting salesforce professionals, it is clear that there is particular demand for professionals with Marketing Cloud, Pardot, and CPQ certifications. These are becoming increasingly popular examinations to take as they are exciting technologies to work with, and can increase your paycheck considerably due to the high demand.

Salesforce certifications are a great way to prove your knowledge and experience, and are generally quite accessible price-wise, compared to other technologies. Many companies will help their employees to become certified by covering the costs of examinations, providing time for revision, and even sending employees to conferences, organising user-groups and encouraging ups-killing in the workplace. While you can definitely have a fruitful career without being certified, finding new roles, marketing yourself and reaching your earning potential is much aided by gaining a few certs along the way.

Feel free to message our team with any questions you may want answered, or if you would like some advice about your next certification.