The profession of a Salesforce Admin was relatively unheard of 20 years ago. However, with the meteoric rise of Salesforce’s cloud computing products, it has become a popular career choice.
You may have arrived at this page as your company has recently purchased Salesforce, or maybe you’ve heard about how great a profession as a Salesforce Admin really is. Well, I hope to answer all the questions you have, while explaining how to pursue the role.
1. What Is Salesforce?
Salesforce is a company that sells cloud Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Founded in 1999, Salesforce pioneered the cloud computing space and now holds the #1 spot for market share in CRM. If you are new to Salesforce, check out our full explanation below:
Read More: What is Salesforce & Why is it so Popular?
2. Who Uses Salesforce?
Salesforce’s main offering is their CRM software, which allows companies to store details about their customers, what products they have bought, and their interactions with them. Salesforce sells a variety of products that support different business processes, such as sales, customer support, marketing, and many more. Companies will often use many Salesforce products to tie different departments together.
3. What Is a Salesforce Admin?
Salesforce Admins are hired by companies that purchase and use Salesforce to maintain and improve the software to match ever-evolving business requirements.
4. What Does a Salesforce Admin Do?
A Salesforce Admin has a wide range of responsibilities that include maintaining and customizing the platform, fixing any bugs, training users, creating reports, and listening to users’ requirements to develop Salesforce further. A Salesforce Admin role will differ from one company to another, depending on the company size, among other factors – but the core responsibilities above will be similar from role to role.
5. Why Do Companies Need a Salesforce Admin?
As Salesforce is a business-critical tool, it is important that a skilled individual can support the company with bugs, changes, issues, training, and required improvements. If a company does not hire a Salesforce Admin, the tool may become unused due to adoption issues (as users become frustrated with the system).
6. Is a Salesforce Admin a Good Career Option?
Becoming a Salesforce Admin is a fantastic career option. Salesforce is growing by around 30% yearly, which means there is an ever-growing demand for Salesforce Admins to support the companies that purchase it. In addition, the role is well paid, provides great career opportunities, and allows individuals to problem solve and create solutions to complex business challenges. The Salesforce ecosystem also has a fantastic culture – you can read more about the community here.
7. How Much Money Does a Salesforce Admin Make?
A Salesforce Admin’s salary largely depends on location and seniority. For a full breakdown, don’t forget to check out our Salesforce Admin Average Salary Guide where you will find averages for a mid-level Salesforce Admin in various countries.
8. How Do I Become a Salesforce Admin?
There are a few ways to become a Salesforce Admin. The path ahead will depend on your current role and your background. You may be lucky enough to be working for a company that is using Salesforce already or just about to implement Salesforce – in this case, you may get the chance to move to the team implementing it. This is often referred to as becoming an “Accidental Admin”, as Salesforce has come to you! This is obviously a unique situation, and many people aren’t lucky enough to be in this position.
If you are looking to switch jobs and become a Salesforce Admin, you will need to learn in your own time in order to obtain the relevant skills. You may be able to find yourself a junior position after obtaining the Salesforce Admin Certification, or you may need to work for free in order to obtain experience before you can apply for jobs.
9. How Do I Learn Salesforce?
Anyone asking this question will be provided with the same answer: Trailhead! Due to the demand for Salesforce professionals, Salesforce have created this free learning platform. Here, you can become truly proficient in the Salesforce platform and all its products, in order to revise and pass the Salesforce Admin Certification. There is also a huge amount of resources available on the web, such as blogs and videos.
10. What Is the Salesforce Admin Certification?
The Salesforce Admin Certification is a professional qualification that shows employers you have obtained a certain amount of knowledge about the platform. It can be taken online through proctored test conditions or at a test center. The Salesforce Admin Certification is a 60-question multiple-choice exam that takes you through all aspects of the core platform.
Most employers hiring for an admin position will require this certification as proof that you know what you are talking about. The good news is that all of the resources to pass this test are available online and through Trailhead. It’s not easy, but anyone can pass this exam with some hard work.
11. Is the Salesforce Admin Certification Easy?
The Salesforce Admin Certification is a professional qualification, and you will not be able to pass it unless you spend a significant amount of time learning all about the Salesforce platform. However, the exam is multiple-choice, so if you put in the work required to understand the platform and how it works, the exam is very achievable for anyone who puts in the hard work.
12. How Much Does the Salesforce Admin Exam Cost?
The Salesforce Admin Exam costs $200 to take. If you fail and need to retry the exam and the cost is lowered to $100.
13. Where Can I Book the Salesforce Admin Exam?
The Salesforce Admin Exam can be booked through Salesforce’s online portal, WebAssessor. Once signed up, you can choose the exam, and whether you would like to take it online or at a test center.
14. How Do I Get a Job As a Salesforce Admin?
Employers will usually want you to have a minimum number of years of experience working with Salesforce before hiring you. They will also want to see that you have the Certified Administrator Exam. This can be tricky as it’s the classic ‘chicken-and-egg’ situation – you can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without a job.
Employers will hire junior Salesforce Admins to join their team, so if you have an impressive CV, this will be something to look out for. In addition, if you are interested in going down the Salesforce Consultant route, it’s quite common for consultancies to hire junior or graduate positions to train them quickly.
Depending on your professional background, you may be able to supplement your Salesforce Admin role to make your CV more attractive. For example, if you have a background in project management, this will have given you very valuable skills for a Salesforce consultancy, and possibly for a Salesforce Admin position if you will be running projects.
15. How Do I Get Salesforce Admin Experience?
The million-dollar question is how to get Salesforce Admin experience if you can’t get a job? Well, the good news is that the demand for Salesforce Admins is high; therefore, if you can demonstrate to employers that you know what you are talking about, you will be in a good position. There are a few main ways to look at getting experience. Check out our full article below:
Summary
This post is intended for those interested in becoming a Salesforce Admin, as it aims to explain the process involved in pursuing this role. We hope that all your questions have been answered, and as always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
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