Trailhead is Salesforce’s online learning platform where professionals can do self-guided training, for free. Trailhead was born from Salesforce’s motivation to build a skilled workforce to meet looming technical skill gaps.
A large part of Trailhead’s overwhelming success is its gamification. Users achieve badges (etc.) in order to level up through the ranks, with ‘Ranger’ being the highest. Becoming a Trailhead Ranger requires 100 badges and 50,000 points which takes time and dedication (that’s if you don’t just take the easy modules!)
Many Trailblazers have reached far beyond ‘Ranger’; I’ve seen an increasing number of Trailblazers proudly write 3, 4, or 5x Ranger alongside their job titles on LinkedIn, or on their Twitter bios. However, there is one person who continues to impress – Evaldas Zaranka – a 12x Trailhead Ranger who monitors Trailhead closely for new badges weekly.
With thousands of badges available on Trailhead, it’s easy to explain why people are gaining a ton of Trailhead badges. Enticing modules published every week, a consistent stream of new Salesforce features and products to learn, and a more time on our hands during the Covid pandemic lockdowns – these all could explain why there are many Rangers and super Rangers.
Which led me to think: What is the average number of Trailhead badges? Did changing lifestyles impact Trailhead activity? And what could the spread across Trailhead ranks look like?
Luckily, we have access to data from the Mason Frank Career Survey that collects rich data from 2,500+ Salesforce professionals, spanning a range of job titles, industries, and geographic locations. 93% of the respondents have used Trailhead – so I will be using their insights in this guide.
What’s the Average Number of Trailhead Badges?
The average number of Trailhead badges is around 200. That number has bumped up from 120 badges, reported in the 2020-21 report. 65% of the respondents gained more Trailhead badges during the covid pandemic.
What’s most interesting, is the spread across Trailhead ranks. 35% claimed to be Ranger (50% in the 2020-21 report) – still the highest proportion of respondents:
A rank higher than Ranger? There’s been talk among the Salesforce community who would love a rank above Ranger to be introduced, for both a motivation boost and for recognition. These results make a solid case for the super Ranger.
What’s Your Trailhead Rank?
Find your Trailblazer.me profile by logging in to Trailhead, clicking on your picture (top right-hand corner), then ‘Profile’. Your Trailblazer.me profile is the central place that displays all of your Salesforce certifications, so keep the URL to your page handy!
Top Trailblazers
Top Trailblazers is a public leaderboard that tracks who’s on top in the Trailhead badge rankings and certifications.
Trail Tracker
If you are looking to track the average number of badges achieved and other Trailhead metrics among your users and teammates, you can check out the free Trail Tracker, which syncs data into Salesforce reports and dashboards.
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