Navigating the world of Salesforce credentialing can be overwhelming, especially with the vast number of certifications and Trailhead Superbadges available to showcase your expertise. Whether you’re looking to advance your career, validate your skills, or explore new opportunities within the Salesforce ecosystem, understanding the differences between Superbadges and certifications is essential.
In this article, we’ll delve into the distinctions between these two types of credentials, helping you determine which path is best suited to your goals and aspirations. Whether you prefer hands-on challenges or formal assessments, there’s a credentialing option tailored to your learning style and career objectives. Let’s explore the nuances of Superbadges and certifications to find the right fit for you.
What Are Certifications?
Salesforce certifications are like official stamps of approval and have been around since the company’s inception. They’re exams that test your knowledge of specific Salesforce products or roles, such as administrator, developer, or consultant. Getting certified is a great way to demonstrate your expertise to employers.
What Are Superbadges?
Superbadges are more hands-on. They’re like real-world challenges where you apply your Salesforce skills to solve problems. Superbadges are task-oriented and involve completing steps within a Salesforce environment. They’re designed to be more practical and show you can use your knowledge in a practical setting.
Along with Superbadges, there are also Superbadge Super Sets! These are a collection of Superbadges that cover a broader range of skills and knowledge within the Salesforce platform. It’s like a set of challenges that collectively showcase a more comprehensive mastery of Salesforce capabilities.
Each Superbadge within a Super Set focuses on specific aspects of Salesforce, and by completing the entire Super Set, you demonstrate a well-rounded proficiency in various areas. These Super Sets are often designed to align with specific roles or career paths within the Salesforce ecosystem. Examples of Super Sets include the Developer Super Set and Billing Specialist Super Set.
Think of it as a way to not only dive deep into specific skill areas but also to connect those skills across a broader spectrum. It’s a more extensive challenge that can be beneficial for those who want to showcase a diverse skill set and excel in different aspects of Salesforce development, administration, or other roles.
What Are the Similarities?
One important similarity between Trailhead Superbadges and Salesforce certifications is that they are both bound by the Program Terms for Learning and Credential Programs. Both certifications and Superbadges are official credentials provided by Salesforce, indicating a certain level of expertise in specific areas of Salesforce technology. They both contribute to the professional development and credibility of individuals within the Salesforce ecosystem.
Salesforce certifications and Trailhead Superbadges both serve as assessments of an individual’s proficiency and understanding of Salesforce products and solutions, designed to validate knowledge and skills in various aspects of Salesforce, such as administration, development, implementation, and customization. Both certifications and Superbadges also require candidates to demonstrate practical knowledge through hands-on exercises and real-world scenarios.
What Are the Differences?
The biggest difference between the two is probably how they are perceived. When you’re looking for a new role, a recruiter or potential employer will rarely ask you how many Superbadges you have. They will ask you how many certifications you have!
Certifications are more formal, having to be done under proctored exam conditions, and can be done either online or at a testing center. They are timed, you need to pay for the privilege of taking them, and preparation for them can be quite long.
Superbadges are less formal, and completed through Trailhead. They aren’t proctored or timed, so they can be completed over some time (although this isn’t recommended, with some Superbadges requiring specific playground orgs which may expire).
Superbadges can also be a prerequisite for a certification. Currently, this is only the case with the Salesforce Platform Developer II certification, where along with passing the certification exam, you must also pass the Apex Specialist, Data Integration Specialist, and Advanced Apex Specialist Superbadges to earn the credential.
Lastly, there is a cost to take a certification exam whereas Superbadges are free to take through Trailhead. An obvious difference, but one that is often overlooked.
Which Is Better?
Let’s take an example: the Salesforce CPQ Specialist certification and the Billing Specialist Super Set.
To pass the certification exam, there are no prerequisite exams to pass, and you need to get a minimum of 39 of 60 questions correct. You could take the Prepare for Your Salesforce CPQ Specialist Credential Trailmix on Trailhead or even the Configure and Administer a Salesforce CPQ Solution (CPQ301) Trailhead Academy course, but neither is mandatory.
To pass the Billing Specialist Super Set, you will first need the seven prerequisite Trailhead badges to unlock the Superbadges, and then take each of the three Superbadges in the Super Set. Each Superbadge gives you a use case and a set of requirements that you’ll need to complete.
To complete the Billing Specialist Super Set, you’ll need to address every aspect of the setup. This includes implementing a Usage Based Pricing model, dividing quotes, and automating provisioning flows. You’ll also need to automate invoice generation and posting, manually manage payments, and adjust balances when needed. Ensuring data integrity for billing and mastering the Quote to Payment process is crucial.
Additionally, you should be ready to manage revenue recognition for different product needs and automate the legal entity population. Understanding order changes and cancellations for recurring clients, generating Account Balances Snapshots, and creating custom billing reports are also essential skills. Finally, showcase your proficiency in rectifying invoices and executing contract amendments.
In short, this Super Set is no small feat to achieve, and if hiring for a CPQ Specialist, any candidate with this Super Set should be looked on more favorably even if they don’t possess the CPQ Specialist certification. By having this Super Set, they will know CPQ extremely well and have configured most features of it. This isn’t necessarily the case for those with the CPQ Specialist certification.
Summary
In a nutshell, certifications test your knowledge through exams, while Superbadges test your ability to apply that knowledge to solve practical problems. Both are valuable in different ways and can enhance your profile in the Salesforce ecosystem. They complement each other, and on certain topics, one will help you to achieve the other. This is evident with the CPQ example above, as someone passing the Billing Specialist Super Set will have a far better chance of passing the CPQ Specialist certification exam than someone who hasn’t.
