David’s note: Puneet, I can tell that you have a bright future ahead of you. You have a rare combination of determination, curiosity, and humility that not only makes for a great student, but also a successful individual! I am sure our paths will somehow meet one day =)
Hi David,
Just wanted to send you a huge thank you from Toronto, Canada. Both your site and your story has been inspirational for me as it might have been for others around the world.
I graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree in 2012, and started working as an Inside Sales Engineer at a major multinational here in Toronto. I chose sales because I liked client-facing roles, and honestly, I did well in it too. My supervisor liked me a lot and increased my responsibilities to include international travel and large account management.
Still, I felt like something was missing. Because I came from an engineering background, I needed a little more exercise for my brain. I started spending my free time on websites like Udacity. That’s where I first learned your story about switching careers. I started believing that with SFDC, I could do it too.
I realized that if I needed people to take me seriously, I’ll need to get Salesforce-certified. I locked myself up, suspended my gym membership and used all available resources to study for the certification exams. By the end of August, I had two certifications under by belt.
Come September, I started applying for SFDC jobs. A lot of recruiters called me because of the certifications, but turned me away because I had no “hands-on”/”on-the-job” experience with Salesforce. I don’t blame them – it was the truth. It also meant that I needed to get another certification (the Advanced Developer one).
It was while searching for resources to study for the Advanced Developer Certification that I came across your website. It was refreshing, funny and offered loads of valuable advice. I was laughing reading Head First Java on my commute to/from work. I worked through your trigger examples, watched your Apex for Admins webinar series and honestly tried all the end of chapter quizzes.
I still don’t have that Advanced Developer Certification, but I did get hired last week as a Jr Salesforce Developer for a marketing agency here. Yesterday, my boss-to-be set me up with a Full Copy Sandbox of our org – it was probably my best Diwali gift ever! What can I say? I’m nervous and excited, and I know I have a long way to go as a Salesforce Developer. But hey, I’d rather make the mistake of failure than the mistake of sloth.
Thanks again for inspiring. You rock!
Cheers,
Puneet
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Electrical Engineer switching fields to Salesforce. Puneet you are a massive inspiration.
Best quote EVER “But hey, I’d rather make the mistake of failure than the mistake of sloth.”
You are the man!
Congrats on the new Job Puneet.
Thanks for sharing this David.
+1, that is a great way to look at things. Very well done Puneet, I know you are going to do well and your new employer has made a very smart decision that so many others did not :-)