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%
You can pass 15+ Salesforce certifications no matter what your background is!
I’m grateful to have earned 18 certifications, and I sincerely believe that you can too. Work hard, follow these strategies, and you can have 15+ certifications in the next year.
Study Guide: How to Earn 15 Salesforce Certifications
Need inspiration?
You might be thinking: Really, can I really do this? But I’m just a normal human being!
Well these people thought the same thing too before they achieved great certification success!
…and many more on the full success stories page!
Looking for the former guide?
Guide to passing all Salesforce certifications
Happy Studying!
Dear David
I am Romanian., I graduated Law and economics in 2004. i am 46 now.
I worked as manager in several multinational companies in europe
i want to change my life and switch to salesforce.
never used salesforce but i designed ERP’s for the factories where i worked.
i really need your help with the first baby steps.
Thank you. my e mail is elysee@gmail.com
I talk a lot about this in my YouTube channel, check it out!
David,
thanl you for all you do here and on youtube.com, you’re truly an inspiration.
I’m a complete noob in programming, started to learn Java a month ago as I want to become a SF dev and as I understand APEX is alot like JAVA.
The problem is I’m not sure where to stop with JAVA and switch already to SF and APEX, could you give an advice here?
Best regards,
Denis
These days you can skip Java entirely. You’re good to go!
Hi David,
I am a normal guy from India and I have chosen you to be my mentor in my salesforce career I have seen many people talking about SF but none of them could give me the inspiration I needed but you are different,
and finally I wanted to ask you that should I exactly follow trailheads path It takes on an average 60hrs to complete the trail do we have to go that deep or there is another way what will you recommend?
Thank you Nikhil!!! The more hands on you can get the better. I’ve got a video “how to fake experience” that goes into more detail here!
Hi David
Do you really recommend focusonforce for Platform Developer Certification. If yes, I will go and start preparing from it. please tell me your view.
Never tried it to be honest, I just did exactly what this guide says for all my 18 certs. I didn’t need any extra materials.
I see on your page people mentioning 10 certs in 10 days which is impossible without using dumbs 100%.
I have seen a lot of your videos but none actually tells what should one study to make sure we have knowledge + able to pass the certifications. As , if you try to complete Trailheads those are so so time consuming and not sure how many months wu you actually take to pass the exam.
Do, you think Udemy is better than Trailheads? David, instead, why dont you take online classes to pass every certs..as you know better what to teach, you can give us real projects to work on (the one u did in d past for someone).
Everyone studies and learns their own way. IMO the most efficient way to pass certs is through my methodology in this guide. Real projects are actually one of the worst ways to study (but great otherwise)
I go into depth on his to study in this guide, gotta click through all the links. Personally I don’t use training videos / trailhead for certification study that much
Hello David,
Do i need to learn coding if i want to study for SF Admin?
Please respond
Thank you
Nope! Coding is optional
I did my Admin cert with zero coding knowledge.
Its just logic & understanding.
All the best.
Hi David, Thanks for everything you are doing for the Salesforce community. These days it’s really hard to find time for cert preparation with a full-time job and young family; any guidance?
Everything in life is about priorities!
True Perfect
I just wanted to say thank you for creating all of this. It’s an amazing resource!
Hi David, I want to learn Sales Force Development . I am in testing for last 10 years. However I have knowledge of Asp.Net C# and created many web portals. Suggest from where I should learn Sales Force. Is Edureka worth to join?
Never heard of Edureka sorry!
Hi Nikhil, I suggest you get some good understanding of the Salesforce platform. The best to start is the Udacity training by David himself. Edureka may help but there are better options. You should understand the overall Salesforce and eco-system than focusing any specific training that is more certification oriented.
Nikhil, I do not have much IT experience like you, but I become the Salesforce Developer in just 6 months by learning myself, believing in myself and going through the Trailhead Tutorials. Would suggest you, rather than joining any institute, you should start learning yourself. I believe, If I can learn the Salesforce through I am not from the IT background then you can easily learn it. Apart from that you can also follow each n every videos of David Sir’s Youtube channel , SFDC Panther, Apex Hours and Deepika Khanna’s Youtube channel.
Thanks for sharing and well done Mayank!!!!
Hi Mayank,
Is there a way that I can contact you to get some details about your Salesforce job change. If you don’t mind.
Hi Mayank,
Could I contact you in anyway to know more details about the move to Salesforce development ?
I talk about it a lot in my youtube channel youtube.com/dvdkliu
Hello David,
I’m clicking on the study guides however it redirect me to an error page. Could you kindly help me? Thank you
Which ones are you referring to? Thanks!!
The one for the administrator exam study guide
David, thank you for continuing to make this valuable information resource available year after year.
I think Rebecca might be referring to links in the third article of the study guide, “How to study understanding, not memorization” (https://www.sfdc99.com/2017/04/19/study-certification-part-1/). The fourth paragraph says:
“Start with the official exam guide for your certification. For this post, we’ll use the Salesforce Advanced Administrator Certification as an example. Here’s its exam guide:”
The “Salesforce Advanced Administrator Certification” and “exam guide” links in that paragraph points to the old certifications.salesforce.com site, which is no longer active.
Please consider updating certifications.salesforce.com links on your site to refer to the current URLs at https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials.
In the meantime, Rebecca, the correct URLs for those two links are:
* Salesforce Advanced Administrator Certification: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/advancedadministrator
* Exam guide: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/help?article=Salesforce-Certified-Advanced-Administrator-Exam-Guide
Thank you Lang!
Updated both links, then double checked every other link in the post. Found one more broken one and fixed it too. Cheers!
Hey David,
I read all the stories you posted including yours, they are so much inspiring and literally gave me some hopes in my life.
I’ve been graduated on Dec. 2017. I was on Java before and decided to get on Salesforce by the end of last year.
My goal is to get 5 certifications by the end of this February.
I’ll gain the practical knowledge later but I need certifications to get started now.
Could you please suggest me how to get started with Admin certification and the Dumps.
Could you please suggest me the path for my success to get 5 certifications by the end of this Feb.
I hope you respond me.
Thank you.
Good luck Surya! Everything you need is in this guide!
Hi David,
I want to write ADM 201 certification in feb 2019. Please help me how to prepare for the exam and id there is any study material if you can help me with clearing the exam.
Thanks
Hello David,
What certifications will the Apex Academy help me obtain?
Hi David Liu,
I am planning to take ADM 201 exam but i dont know from where to start my preparation. I am very confused stage really I need some guidence how to prepare for ADM 201 because I have good knowledge on Admin topics but i dont have proper guidence to give the exam.
Regards,
Indraja
A Big Thanks to you David, for this Blog. I manage to finish my 5 Salesforce Certifications Journey :) . Money and Time well spent, And I have already started to get interview calls…
David, I have finished around 25 badges and 20,000+ points. I will be taking the exam soon. Thanks for all the great information on your blog.
Thanks & Regards!
Well done Rizwan =)
Hi David,
I wanted to share that I got my Service Cloud Consultant Certification yesterday and i am thankful to all the resources here and aspiring to complete the Advance Admin by end of this year!!
Thank you for all you do and congratulations on the Golden Sweatshirt!! Truly deserving!!
Hi Shwetha,
Could you please share the latest Service Cloud Consultant dumps!
Thanks in advance!
Hi David,
Thanks for the detailed insights into the 15 Certifications. However, I was looking specifically into information for Marketing Cloud Certification. There is loads of material available on Email Specialist. But very limited documentation for marketing cloud. Would you have some links for the Marketing Cloud certification ?
Rgds,
I don’t have anything specific but check out quizlet.com!
Hello Trailblazers, I am in the middle of preparing SFDC Admin Certification course and I am also thinking of studying for the Sales Cloud Certification exam right after the admin certification. I am struggling to find good resources for this exam preparations. Here are resources I am using and I need your expert opinion on what additional resources I should use
a. Resources
i. Sales Cloud Online course – http://mikewheelermedia.com/sales-cloud-consultant-certification-course/
ii. SFDC Trailhead Admin resources and SFDC documentation
iii. SFDC Virtual Class – https://help.salesforce.com/HTTrainingCourseDetail?id=a2330000000PfQP . This class in late May but I would like to complete all my studies sooner
b. Questions
i. Any other virtual courses or tips or other resources you suggest?
ii. I am thinking of spending 2-3 weeks of study time for this certification. Do you think that’s enough or I need more study time?
iii. Any other online exam, blogs or other resources …
Hi Vijay ,
I recently completed by ADM 201 certification and by my experience , I would suggest to follow David’s tips on how to clear the certification blog part and in particular , the flash cards .
The resources you have mentioned for admin is quite sufficient.
I’m yet to get into Sales cloud certification though.
I did Trail head too but it gives more of an understanding for real time application .
All the Best
Shilpa
Hi David,
your posts are really motivating. I am a Salesforce Certifid Admin and I aspire to earn more and more SFDC certifications asap.
For Admin, i enrolled for a online classroom training and with some self revision, i completed and passed admin exam in around 1.5 months.
Now, next, i intend to go for Sales CLoud, Service CLoud, CPQ certifications. But i am not able to find any proper training programs. I also looked into Cert GUides from Salesforce but could not identify all topics where are need to concentrate for, lets say Sales CLoud certifications.
I need to earn more and more certifications asap but not getting a proper direcction and material to prepare for exam.
May i request for your guidance in this regard.
THanks
If speed is your first priority, this guide is all you need =)
If you’re looking to save $$$, then study study study!
Hello David,
I got my admin 201. I am now planning to take developer PD1. I have zero coding experience and it feels good to know that one does not need developer experience. Any tips on the material to use to prepare for the same and which of the next certification, i can take?
Hi Smitha,
I am planning to take ADM 201 exam, but i am not getting proper training. I am very confused how to prepare for ADM 201. Can you please suggest what is the best way to prepare ADM 201 and i have good knowledge on salesforce admin.
Regards,
indraja
Hi David,
I just signed up for pluralsight and have begun the learning path regarding becoming a certified salesforce developer. Is the certification something that you offer as part of that subscription or is it separate?
Awesome!
All the cert stuff is right on this page! =)
Hello,
My name is Karthick and i am a marketing professional with some years of experience. I am interested in pursuing the following certifications: Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant, Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist, Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Social Specialist.
My question is kind of silly. How do i get these certifications without an access to the marketing cloud tool? I only have the access to the developer edition & the trailhead community.
Let me know your inputs.
Thank you.
Are there any recent changes in admin or developer certification exams, is lightning included in these exams.
Hello Friends,
Anyone who attended App Builder exam recently, could you share some tips and study materials.
Appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Bikram.
The Platform Developer 1 Certification wasn’t so bad. I’ll admit I have three years experience working with SFDC as an Admin, but have started dipping my toes into the Dev side with some complex projects that required apex, as well as a community cloud build out I’m working. Also, because at times I wonder why Salesforce is being Salesforce (aka Governor Limits, encountering errors and fixing them). I decided on a whim, to take a gamble and see if I could pass the Dev 1 cert. So I fired up SFDC99, Pluralsight, Apex Academy, Dan Appelman and Trailhead, plus attending Forcelandia…took it and wham! In just one shot, aced it! Six Certs now!
Thanks A Million for all you do!
WOW!
I remember when you started your dev journey Medhanie. SUPER IMPRESSIVE how far you’ve come!
Congrats on PD1 that is a MONSTER achievement!
This is an amazing resource (in addition to your entire site) and I am so grateful to have it! I don’t have any certs yet but I’ve been working in Salesforce for three years and I think I might attempt my first one at Dreamforce this year. I’ll have to pass because failing would really put a damper on my week, ha. I’m an Apex Academy junkie but I think I am going to take it back to basics and get an Admin cert or two before diving back in to the developer world (read: apex got super hard and I got discouraged!) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
hahaha thank you Olivia! Keep up the faith!
Hi where it will find step 1 to start sales force admin self learning information. I need to learn from ground zero. please help
Chapter 0 here!
https://www.sfdc99.com/beginner-tutorials/
So much information on your site. Thank you again for making this so clear.
Thanks!!
AP – email me at sschaffer@oprecruiting.com and I’d be happy to discuss with you. My team and I specialize in Salesforce hiring and would be happy to bounce some ideas around and connect you with folks looking to hire.
Hey David, any suggestions for someone with six certifications on getting a job? I have the golden five and Platform Developer I.
Yes! Find a good recruiter they will hook you up in NO TIME!!
Hello David, I did civil engineering, chose different path then Civil Engineering and recently joined a job of Project Manager in an IT firm and have 1 tear of experience in IT. I want to go for the certification for the System Architect as i already helped government to make a software solving oxygen monitoring issues.
Please guide me if I am elugible for salesforce or not