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%
There’s an odd trend that has been going on the past few years.
There are fewer and fewer Salesforce administrator jobs in the market. While demand for Salesforce is at all-time high, Lightning has changed how companies use Salesforce. Instead of hiring admins, companies are hiring other Salesforce professionals instead.
If I look at companies around me, they’re hiring 10 – 20 Salesforce developers for each admin position. This just wasn’t the case five years ago.
In this video:
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Interesting insight and I think most of what he is saying is true from my own personal experience. I have seen these Admin / dev hybrid roles on various job boards as well.
I’ve seen companies where they are integrating other systems with Salesforce, so having experience with other systems or having a computer science degree would be helpful. Also having other systems that integrate with Salesforce would require a dev to create code and processes that help Salesforce sync better with other systems.
The one trend I would be interested to see play out is what impact Salesforce Industries will have on the demand for both devs and admins. Salesforce industries is introducing a more modular approach to creating customized solutions that could potentially reduce the need for heavy custom coding as the modules can be custom coded to a degree but are meant to be reusable and more scalable.
The goal of SF industries is for companies to reduce the duration of development and to have the ability to scale and rollout applications faster and more efficiently.
Curious to see how industries turns out. One very surprising thing in my 10+ years here is that the scope of code customization has only grown, despite significant efforts by Salesforce otherwise.
I’m a little late to the game here, but I thought this was really timely and topical and wanted to weigh in. I agree wholeheartedly that the platform’s increased complexity is changing the nature of the resources needed to support the system. As Salesforce becomes more of an enterprise platform, I think we’ll see an increase in roles that align with traditional software development that will significantly benefit from having an Admin background. Specifically, I’m referring to Business Analyst, which is now promoted on Trailhead as a core Salesforce role, and Product Manager, which I do not yet see as a discipline in the Salesforce ecosystem. (Or, perhaps the role is prevalent but always called something else in tribute to Salesforce being the antithesis of all things in the software industry.) This role sits between stakeholders and developers to determine what problems should be solved on the platfrom and prioritize the right next project. It is a great career path for folks who want to stay on the client-side instead of jumping into consulting. PS) That said, learning a little dev never hurts regardless.
Hey David,
I have been learning how to use SF and am planning to take my Admin cert pretty soon and all is going well so far. However, i am seeing more and more that people say Admin jobs are fading. This is a tough pill to swallow and gives me a lot of anxiety as i am desperate for a new career path and hoped being an Admin was in the cards. I don’t know anything about coding but if being a Developer is the only option to make this a career i am willing to learn, but am scared for how much longer that will take.
Do you have any suggestions for someone in my situation? Should i keep pursuing an Admin career? Or is that a pipe dream in todays world? I want to believe that this wasn’t a waste of time. I can’t take another year of my life to learn how to code so i can land a job in SF. Any advice would be great!
Thanks
I have a few suggestions at the end of the video that I recommend – coding is just one path! At the end of the day it’s a competition against other newbies – if you can outsmart and outwork them you will succeed!
Hi,
What did you end up doing? Did you apply to Sales Force Administrative Jobs?
Hi,
I don’t know if my first reply was sent. Sorry if it is a duplicate. Did you end up applying to Sales Force Admin Jobs?
Lost my job a few years back. Have been a consultant and admin with a combined 4 years of experience in the Salesforce ecosystem. With that said, I have applied almost straight for 2 years, and still nothing. My resume is great, I am a good generalist, and I always get through rounds of interviews. So my communication skills are up to par. With that said, almost every employer has said at the end, ‘We just need someone who can hit the ground running’. Referring to they need more than just admin skills. And that was a wrap. Like the industry changed overnight. Im over SF careers. No one wants to train, or give the opportunity to ‘ramp up’, and the competition has gotten out of hand. ahh…. such is life… on to other pastures I guess….
That’s rough man I’m sorry to hear. I’d recommend getting some technically coding skills (to at least show you’re not afraid to learn), but I understand if you’re ready to move on to other things. Your story is pretty unique since you have strong experience. The competition is getting out of hand it seems.
David, I have followed you for years. And I thoroughly respect everything that you do. However, not everyone is meant to be a developer. I am very Functional and Technical. However, it has never been in my cards to really see the internal ‘fire’ to be a developer. I am naturally a consultant. A consultant in the sense of performative and verbally informative. I like understanding, tinkering, informing, building things. But, never just one thing. I have tried a handful of times to really sit down and learn to code. Just once again, not in my nature. Hence why I stated I am a great generalist. There was a weird shift a few years ago with the resume ATS updates and a gold rush of recruiters flooding the market. I tried for 2 years. Interview after interview after interview. ALL false promises and lost hopes. I really wanted to keep going in the SF/CRM space. But I have to eat. So, you pivot. And now, in this crazy market, careful to cough, move or pivot. You will loose your place in line.
Make sure to watch the conclusion of this video plus my two latest videos! I think we are in agreement!
During a recession, a “cold” job market, organizations will slash salaries and benefits, cut costs to the bone. Fire any “deadwood.” So it is no surprise that during the pandemic, they will attempt to hire a developer but at an administrator’s salary. Good, experienced developers are always in short supply, even during recessions. I would be suspect of the quality of any who would accept a “low-ball” offer, And if they’re worth their salt, when the market heats up, expect them to leave, taking with them any savings.
HR will love to hire a developer that will also do double-duty as an administrator, business analyst, trainer, solution architect, integration expert, etc. Very different skill sets and experiences.
Is the salesforce admins cert still and important starting cert would you say???
Yup! Still the same as my “which certifications” video
Appreciative of you responding back means a lot my man thank you heaps, I still throughly enjoy your videos there thought provoking and informative. Also I’m beyond happy and stocked for virtual dream force you as excited as I am???
Thx man ya happy to get anything for DF lol wasn’t expecting much!
Why do you still suggest that Salesforce Developers have lesser people skills than Salesforce Admins. 20 years in the development community, and I simply do not subscribe to this stereotype that developers of any particular type have low people skills. You say “I don’t really believe it”, but then still push the stereotype.
What I’m seeing is the emergence of a role between the two – within the consultancy space there’s maybe a shrinking of developer positions, but the more demand for what we call ‘Implementation Consultants’ (think admins with no day-to-day admin responsibilities, and more technical skills)
For example – flows are very powerful, but they essentially require the ability to organise thoughts in the same way a developer would – they are basically point-and-click code in a much truer sense than workflows or process builders ever were.
But you middle point is the most valid to pick up on – a developer can generally do all the things an admin can, plus write code. The assumption would also be that a *good* developer is more likely to be able to understand the implications of a change, or even a better way of thinking about a change.
For years I’ve been making the point – just because it’s easy to add a new field doesn’t mean it’s easy to decide if that’s the right thing to do.
My advice – whatever your role, get as good a grounding in the theory of software design – from database fundamentals to UX design and every layer between. Understand how algorithms and data flow works. Review design patterns and good coding practices from another language. basically look at sources from outside of Salesforce and become better at understanding software design in general. Then it doesn’t matter what tools you end up using, you’ll be more valuable than the average Admin OR Developer.
Thanks Rob, great take! You def know what you’re talking about.
It’s an interesting subject that I can probably make a whole video on.
The short answer is I believe admins have better people skills because of natural selection.
An admin has to have or develop people skills to thrive in their role. A developer needs to develop different traits to thrive. People skills are certainly important for devs, just at a lesser extent.
The science naturally incentivizes people to learn these skills. Nothing necessarily to do with what someone is born with, which is a much more complicated topic!