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%
Dear David,
I am semi-retired now, doing consulting work and I see a lot of opportunities for SFDC Admin work. I’ve landed a few small gigs and clients have been very happy but most folks want certs, which I understand.
I’ve done the Udacity SFDC App Dev course and I am building an app to service a niche NGO market and a separate customization for a niche retail market space. I’m working my way through the certifiedondemand.com SFDC course for the 2nd time, I took the Admin exam about a month ago and failed. I’d like to keep going but I’m wondering what the window of opportunity is the SFDC Admin and Developers. There is a huge demand right now but that bubble could burst.
Can you recommend a specific course of action/timeline to get the Admin and Developer certs or is it worth it. BTW I’m also doing some Java dev courses on Udemy.
Sincerely,
On the Hill, Not Over the Hill
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Dear On the Hill Not Over the Hill,
I’m really glad you asked this question!
I work with a shockingly large number of admins and devs who are old enough to be my parent. I’d go as far to say that I believe the average age of a Salesforce professional is older than the average employee at a company like Google.
Long story short, Salesforce is one of the few industries where overall business knowledge (gained over the years) is critical whether you’re an admin or a developer. We work in a special niche. The average Java developer, for example, doesn’t need to know a lick about these things. So don’t let yourself discount yourself age, your experience is your most valuable asset!
As for the window of opportunity in this industry, it’s as big as it has ever been and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. I personally think you have to be crazy not to take advantage of it, especially at this current point in time.
Don’t feel bad about failing ADM 201 – I often say it’s the most difficult of the 5 core certifications. To be frank, no course or tutorial will help you pass this one. ADM 201 is purely about memorization.
Here’s what I recommend for you to get 5 certifications in 3 months:
SFDC99 Guide to Passing All Certifications
Inspiration: How Mayank got 5 certifications in 6 weeks!
I’ll end with a quote I think about a lot when deciding to learn new things:
“If I had known I’d live to be 80, I would’ve started playing violin at age 60. With 20 years of practice I would become a grandmaster!”
Hope this helps!
David
Join the discussion in the comments section below! Got a question? Send it to the mailbag: sfdc99.mailbag@gmail.com
Hi David,
i have started working on SFDC from last 2 years. (total work exp is more than 9years, worked on dotnet/sql as production support) currently i work as a sfdc admin kind of role; there it includes managing code migration from sandboxes to production using changeset and ANT and other sfdc config/admin related activities. i have not done any certification so far. I would like to learn more in sfdc so that can work more widely in this area. i do not get time to learn more due to my current job profile. so need tips from you how i can move more deeper in SFDC world. i see there much more things to learn in sfdc area. can you suggest me some guidelines for me. and what is the future growth for sfdc for next 10years?
When I was in a similar position, what always helped me was to go to Salesforce events. Either user group events nearby, webinars, etc. If you want to learn to code, join my live event in less than 24 hours!
Hi David,
I am Oracle Siebel CRM developer since 8 years now and I have done my SFDC 401 Certification. I am trying to get into the Salesforce industry but to my surprise people do not consider/rather give low attention to my previous CRM domain expertise , what they ask is “How many years of Salesforce Exp do you have?”.
I just don’t get it, how do I convince anyone that if I get a chance I can prove to be one of the best SFDC developer. Am I missing something? Is 401 Certification not enough to get a developer job? Do you think I should be doing anything in addition to make my profile stronger and stand out in the crowd?
There is still lots you need to do to ensure you land that dream job!
Info here:
https://www.sfdc99.com/how-to-get-a-salesforce-developer-job/
401 doesn’t cover code, so people generally don’t hire developers based on that.
On the Hill,
I too am an “older” person. I sure hope “older” folks are still wanted. I am certainly old enough to be David’s dad, at least that is what I guess from the photos I have seen of him.
David – you are a real inspiration to me. This comment from you was perfect timing. I was wondering if maybe I had missed the boat, and it was too late for me to transition into a new technology. Thanks for the “boost”. Right now, I am working as a PM. I lead software deployment and adoption engagements for our enterprise software developer tools. (Nothing to do with SFDC). I am looking to get back into a technical role, as a SFDC admin/developer. I had a technical job previously and I have recognized that to be really happy in my career, I need to get back to that side of the technology business.
I have been doing some part time consulting SFDC work, real basic admin type stuff, and I am studying for the ADM201 exam. So as I head down this path, I certainly hope that my hill does not end in a cliff.
Steve
I’ll be cheering for you Steve =) The time is NOW!!!
I would like to add in my two cents here as well.
I think that there is definitely a market for this, and it will only grow and more and more small businesses get onto Salesforce. I see a real market for the notion of a part-time admin. There are a lot of companies that don’t need a full-time admin and the cost benefit just isn’t there. If you can do some basic code on top of that, you are set.
To get some experience, you can try volunteering with the Salesforce Foundation as well
http://www.salesforcefoundation.org/volunteers/probono/
Age makes no difference, especially if you can draw on business experience to transform their business requirements into a proper solution.
The Admin course isn’t that bad, and I would disagree with David on the memorization side of it. If you want to memorize for an exam do the Service Cloud. The Admin course has a heavy focus on understanding the framework, working with standard objects, and sharing. The key to writing that exam in my opinion is to really understand the sharing and security side of things because that is how they trick you into the wrong answer. Success.salesforce.com is great if you have specific areas that you aren’t sure of – lots of people there happy to help out.
Sounds like a great way to spend semi-retirement once you get going!