November 14, 2017
Salesforce is a Customer Relationship Management platform that offers cloud-based applications for sales, service, marketing, and more, and Salesforce skills are quickly becoming some of the most sought-after skills to have on your resume. In fact, according to Medium, the demand for Salesforce Developers has tripled since 2012 and Salesforce is now the 7th most in-demand software skill. Needless to say, it seems like a pretty good time to consider a career as a Salesforce Developer!
What does a Salesforce Developer do?
As stated in an article from creative agency Marketing Hog, Salesforce Developers are responsible for handling and customizing the Salesforce software suite to fit the needs of the organization. Given that the software contains many different applications, a Salesforce Developer can help organizations take advantage of the flexibility those applications offer and customize them as needed.
Some of these applications include:
- Sales Cloud
- Service Cloud
- Marketing Cloud
- Salesforce Platform
- Chatter
- Work.com
Essentially, the Salesforce Developer is responsible for making the CRM as efficient as possible through coding APEX and custom applications, building Visualforce pages and controllers, etc. This customization allows an organization to more effectively develop and maintain relationships with its customers which, in turn, helps to maximize business potential.
How do I become a Salesforce Developer?
According to Salesforce’s training site, Trailhead, an average of 2-5 years of experience is required to become a Salesforce Developer. Trailhead is designed to be a resource to those looking to pursue a Salesforce-related career. It is a free, online, training platform that offers interactive lessons for beginning to advanced learners. You’ll be able to find lessons such as Developer Beginner, Apply .NET Skills to Salesforce, Apply Visualforce Skills to Lightning, and more.
| Technical Skills Needed | Business Skills Needed |
| Salesforce | Communication |
| Apex | Writing |
| Java/C#/OOP | Problem-solving |
| Lightning | Organization |
| JavaScript | Project management |
| jQuery/Angular/Bootstrap | Customer service |
| SQL/SOQL | Teamwork |
| Web Services | Creativity |
| *From Trailhead |
Aside from diving into the Trailhead lessons, you can sign up for your own, free Salesforce Developer Edition of Force.com which will allow you to explore the platform. And, as suggested by Missy Longshore of Longshore Consulting, make sure to stay up to date with new ideas and concepts by signing up for the Salesforce Developer newsletter and follow Salesforce Developers on social media. She also suggests checking out online workshops and even attending a hackathon to further your learning.
Does Salesforce offer any certifications for developers?
Yes! Certifications are also an excellent way to further your education and expertise as a Salesforce Developer. As listed on the Salesforce Certifications website, there are currently 3 certifications options available for Salesforce Developers:
- Commerce Cloud Digital Developer – This credential is designed for individuals with experience as a full stack developer for Salesforce Commerce Cloud Digital. Concepts mastered include setting up a development environment, working with site content, using scripts to extend business logic, interacting with external applications, and more.
- Platform Developer I – This credential is designed for those who have knowledge, skills, and experience building custom declarative and programmatic applications on the Force.com platform. This entails developing custom applications using Apex and Visualforce, familiarity the development lifecycle from development to testing, and more.
- Platform Developer II – This credential is designed for Salesforce Developers who can demonstrate advance programmatic capabilities of the Force.com platform and data modeling to build complex business logic and interfaces. Concepts mastered include designing, developing, testing and deploying programmatic solutions that are maintainable and reusable, as well as following Apex design patterns and object-oriented programming best practices. This certification consists of 2 parts which include a proctored, multiple-choice exam and 4 Trailhead Superbadges. The Superbadges show that a developer can take what they’ve learned and apply it to advanced, real-world business requirements.
What’s the forecast for Salesforce Developers?
Ultimately, the use of Salesforce is on track to grow as businesses embrace the future of mobile, Big Data, IoT, and AI with IDC reporting that nearly 2 million Salesforce-related jobs will be created over the next 5 years. According to research report from Burning Glass Technologies, many companies are not only looking for Salesforce as a complementary skillset, but developing positions like the Salesforce Developer specifically to build and maintain their Salesforce applications. The use of Salesforce is prevalent in many industries such as banking, consumer goods, retail, insurance, healthcare, and wealth management, to name a few, which means there are plenty of jobs out there; 7,975 jobs listed in the last 12 months, according to Salesforce. And, Indeed ranked Salesforce Developer #6 on its list of the Best Jobs of 2017 with an average salary of $108,089 and an average of 83% growth in the number of job postings year over year from 2013 through 2016.
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Posted By: Briana Perrino-Barrett