Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%Finally, Apex tutorials for point-and-click admins! Written by a self-taught Google engineer.
Salesforce coding lessons for the 99%
Love it or hate it, certifications are an inevitable part of your Salesforce career.
And for 2021, here’s my analysis of how many certs you need these days to stand out.
I’ll cover this topic for each experience category – entry, mid, and senior level professionals. I’ll also cover what order to take your certifications in for admin, developer, and architect job paths.
Enjoy!
Sponsored by Focus on Force, helping you prepare successfully for your certification exams for the cost of a lunch. For a limited time, get 25% off using code sfdc2021 when you purchase 2 or more exams or study guides.
David’s note: At a total loss for words. This is an incredible achievement. In just a single year you cemented your career legacy and essentially guaranteed success for the rest of your very long career. Brilliant, simply brilliant! Bravo!
Hello David!
I want to thank you for your site and all of the materials you have put out. I have a success story to share with you and want you to know that reading your site helped me to realize something like this was even possible. I enjoy your blog and YouTube channel, keep up the good work!
I went from 0 to 20 certs in 2020.
I started working in Salesforce in 2016 and quickly found your site. It amazed me reading the success stories and seeing the number of people getting so many certs. I would debate whether or not I should go for them, I like to learn and always want to get better at my job but wondered if getting certs was really the best use of my time. So I’d hit up Trailhead, do some studying for maybe a day or two and then not do it for a while and not really feel like I was making any progress. I wasn’t committed to it and sort of winged it, which got me nowhere. I knew that if I was going to do it I’d need to commit to it and that a good goal would probably be something like 12 in 12 months.
In February this year I changed jobs to work for a Salesforce consulting partner, who as you know loves for their employees to get certs. I soon realized that basically all of my coworkers had certs (I had none), many with 10+. I instantly felt like I needed to get at least a couple so I wouldn’t be the only one without any certs. I figured that I should at least get Administrator and Platform Developer I since after all I am a developer. I started studying like crazy and at the end of February I finally got my Administrator cert. It was a huge sigh of relief and I also realized that it wasn’t so bad. I scheduled Platform Developer I for the following week and passed that as well. My success was motivating me to keep going and by the end of March I had picked up four certs, adding Platform App Builder and Community Cloud Consultant.
It felt like it would be difficult to keep up that sort of pace so I decided that I at least needed to get 12 in 12 months and set that as my goal. By the end of August I had hit my goal and had 12 certs including Application Architect. Even though I had hit my goal I still wanted to go for Platform Developer II and System Architect, which I could probably get by the 12 month mark if I kept it up. I kept studying daily and ended up with System Architect by the end of November. At that point I was pretty much done but getting 20 in 2020 sounded nice, and even if it really doesn’t mean anything I wanted to try and hit it.
I had a voucher for Marketing Cloud Administrator so I decided to try for that one next. I failed it twice and wouldn’t be able to sign up again until the very end of December. Even if I was able to pass it then I didn’t know if there would be an open slot to schedule it. (Side note, Salesforce makes it really hard to get a demo org for Marketing Cloud which seems un-Salesforce like compared to all of their other offerings.) I was a little deflated despite everything I had done since I really wanted to hit 20. So I turned to the only cert I had a realistic chance of getting before the year was up, JavaScript Developer I. I spent all of my available free time (including some PTO) studying and doing the super badge and managed to get it just in time.
In case you post this here would be advice I have for others:
Thank you!
-Edwin Zacharski
Inspired by this story?
Read more success stories from other SFDC99 students!
Want to tell the world your story too?
Email it to sfdc99.mailbag@gmail.com and your story could be heard around the world!
Join this live webinar if you’re curious to hear about what I think of the Salesforce job industry!
I’m partnering with Computer Futures, a Salesforce recruiting company, to discuss the latest trends in this job market and how you can best prepare yourself.
When: 10AM PT on Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Register for the webinar
I’ll be joined by two panelist I personally look up to, Angela Mahoney (RADWomen founder) and Sheldon Simmons (Dreamforce keynote speaker), so you won’t be flooded with my biased opinions.
Webinar: Salesforce Job Outlook 2021
What are the most in-demand Salesforce job opportunities? Salesforce saw a 38% rise in its jobs listings from 2020-2021 and 4.2M jobs will be created in the Salesforce ecosystem by 2024. Join our panel of experts as we discuss the current state of the Salesforce job market and the best opportunities to pursue right now.
See you there!
I say it all the time, you can’t go far in Salesforce without participating in the community.
That said, I realize how scary “networking” can be, especially for really introverted people.
Don’t fret. I’m a massive introvert too. And if you ever met me in person you’d see that I’m actually a really quiet and shy guy. And so are so many other very influential people in the Salesforce industry!
I’ve learned that being an introvert is NOT a weakness when it comes to networking – it’s actually a great strength. You just have to learn how to channel your “weaknesses” into community areas where they are actually super effective. Don’t ever change!
Here are some online Salesforce communities to get involved in:
Good luck!
Free stuff is the best =)
Conquer your fear of coding this weekend, or fail miserably. There is no shame in trying. At best, you change your life forever. At worst, you learn that coding is not the right career path for you.
Free access starts on Friday February 5, 2021 at 8AM PT. Here’s how to join:
STEP 1: Register here (no credit card required). You’ll get an email when free access begins.
STEP 2: Watch the Apex Academy:
Enjoy the class!
I spent a bunch of money on gear to make myself look nicer on a webcam.
I’m not sure if it was worth it (you be the judge – IMO NO!), however, I do think it’s worth investing at least a little bit into your virtual meeting setup for the sake of your personal brand.
This is especially true if you’re interviewing for jobs, trying to get that next promotion, you’re a higher level employee, or you just want to look professional among your peers.
A small investment could go a long way, specially if remote work is indeed the future of work.
While we’re on the topic of personal branding, check out some of my previous talks here:
Thanks for checking out the video!
David
P.S. yes I’m back after a holiday break with family + video games + snowboarding!
David’s note: This one’s for all the certification skeptics out there, you know who you are! Very proud of you Mamatha for being open minded and investing in yourself! Can’t wait to send you a free t-shirt LOL!
Hi David,
Hope you had a wonderful holiday! :)
First of all, I wanted to THANK YOU for creating the SFDC99 community, you are amazing David!
Here’s my story on how I got 5 certs in 3 weeks! Due of COVID, I couldn’t visit my family for holidays this year so I decided that I would use this time to challenge myself and get 4 certs in 2 weeks.
I have been working in Salesforce industry since 5 years but never took any certifications because I honestly didn’t believe in them. For me, hands-on experience added more value than getting certifications. I know there are a lot of people out there who value hands on experience more! Believe me, I totally understand you!
So what changed?
I asked one question to every Salesforce professional I ever met and that was – Do you believe in hands-on experience or Salesforce certifications? Most of them said they valued experience but certs was the only way they could gauge if an individual has required knowledge. After watching your videos on YouTube recently about certifications, I decided that – I never want to miss an opportunity just because I didn’t have certifications!
In Nov 2020, I challenged myself to get 4 certs in 2 weeks and started my journey on Nov 23. I am working full time so I did pull a few night outer’s on this journey. Honestly, It was a lot of fun and it felt like I was playing a game and before I knew it, I was 4x certified so I wanted to keep the momentum going and got the 5th cert the next week.
I am happy to say that after 3 weeks I am 5X certified and definitely more confident than I was before! Here are some tips for anyone who is starting their journey:
Happy New Year! Here’s to getting more certs in 2021! :)
-Thanks
Mamatha Chitukula
UPDATE!
I wanted to get Application Architect in 30 days by completing Platform Dev 1 cert but I failed. That was the first cert I failed so far so decided to take more time to prepare. I reached for the moon, missed and landed among the stars with 5 certs! :)
I was very hard on myself for failing but I am still proud of my journey!
Inspired by this story?
Read more success stories from other SFDC99 students!
Want to tell the world your story too?
Email it to sfdc99.mailbag@gmail.com and your story could be heard around the world!
UPDATE: Watch the recording here!!
I’m back from Christmas break and it’s time to be a productive member of society again!
On Thursday January 14th, join this LIVE Salesforce Women in Tech virtual meeting to ask me whatever your heart desires and I’ll give you my honest answer. More information here.
Not a woman? That’s fine, it’s virtual. Turn off your camera and no one will know. I’m pretty sure I’m not a woman myself either. And I know they appreciate allies too!
And if you’re shy like me, you can submit your question online. The organizers really did a great job!
RSVP here and I’ll see you next week!
Special thanks to the Salesforce Women in Tech Developers Group for inviting me! @WITDEVS is a virtual community of women Salesforce developers who empower, educate, and support each other.
I’ve known the founders, Jessica Murphy and Rachel Watson since 2015 when they attended one of my coding classes in Phoenix. They’ve since become great developers, mentors, and community leaders and are giving it back 100 fold through this user group. If you’re a woman and you have any interest at all in coding in Salesforce, you gotta join WITDEVS.
Make sure to also check out their 100 Days of Trailhead website and YouTube channel which include resources and discounts to support you on your learning journey!
David
My Apex Academy is free this weekend!
When: Friday November 20, 2020 @ 8AM Pacific Time – Sunday November 22, 2020 @ 11PM
STEP 1: Register here (no credit card required)
STEP 2: Watch all my courses for free! (You’ll get an email with login instructions)
If I haven’t scared you away by the end of the free weekend, consider subscribing and following my 15 week development curriculum. By the end of that you’ll be able to write strong production ready code and begin preparing for the Platform Developer I certification.
Enjoy free happy times!
David
I’ve been telling people to learn to code since 2013.
Learning to code in Salesforce changed my life. It unlocked so much opportunity for me and it’s the best thing to ever happen in my career. I’m grateful to all my mentors who helped me in this journey.
But choosing the coding path is not for everyone. As much as I’d love EVERYONE to learn to code and start making $150,000+ a year, the reality is most people won’t finish the journey.
To help you understand what you’re getting yourself into if you’re considering this path, here are all the negatives of learning to code in Salesforce, including:
And well, if you still want to learn to code after hearing all this… maybe you do have what it takes to see this journey through. I hope learning to code changes your life like it has changed mine.
David
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