How to become a Salesforce developer?
As a Salesforce mentor, I regularly guide junior profiles to get their first Salesforce job.
Even if each person has their own career goals, I see more and more people wishing to become a Salesforce developer.
Being a project manager with a technical background for a decade, I have created a summary of my advice to start your journey on that track.
What is Salesforce
This is a short intro in case you are not familiar with the world's #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform and its Cloud Computing service.
The Salesforce software is crafted to make businesses grow by assisting them in understanding the customers better using cloud-based apps built for sales, marketing, and service.
What is a Salesforce developer?
Now, what is a Salesforce developer, and what are its responsibilities?
A Salesforce developer is a programmer who builds Salesforce applications.
The developer is responsible for developing applications with the components needed, unit testing, integrating with other applications, and deploying.
A customer/client hires the developer to customize Salesforce to the hiring party's specifications.
Alternatively, it could be an in-house programmer skilled at working with Salesforce. These developers use tools such as Apex and Visualforce and frameworks like Lightning Component to develop apps.
Role and responsabilities
No two companies are the same; consequently, their Salesforce needs will differ.
It's wise to have a handy Salesforce developer who can customize the software and offer tailor-made business solutions.
Working as a Salesforce Developer is a varied position, and each day will look different. However, the principal roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer include:
- Communicating with users to understand their requirements
- Designing, building, and implementing custom Salesforce applications
- Testing application functionality to identify potential issues
- Fixing bugs and improving app functionality
- Integrating Salesforce with other 3rd party applications
Traditionally, we tend to agree that a developer doesn't need to discuss with the business and let the project manager do the communication with the client.
However, I believe that a Salesforce developer must establish a good relationship with the users and ascertain the latter's expectations for Salesforce implementation and operation. It needs to understand how the users intend to use the solution and identify the required core functionality.
It means paying particular attention to user requirements and topics like system performance and security.
A Salesforce developer has a lot to do. Hopefully, the rewards are worth it.
Remuneration
A position with many expectations will compensate you. It seems to be the case here; according to Mason Frank (a principal Salesforce recruitment agency), a Salesforce developer in the United States earns an average of $130,000 yearly.
In France, where I am based, we are more around €55,000 yearly.
Factors such as location and experience level definitively influence the annual figure. But the position is a potentially lucrative career choice.
Road to Salesforce developer
Now we are talking!
The developer role is not the evolution of the Administrator role, as we can read sometimes.
But when the time to build a custom solution comes, it could help the developer to have admin knowledge to avoid rushing into the code instead of using standard features.
As usual, there is no such thing as "the golden road" which will lead you exactly where you want to go.
But here are some indications to help you to find your way out.
Education
Most software developers, including Salesforce developers, have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or some related field or good computer programming skills and appropriate experience. Furthermore, it would help if you understood Object-Oriented Programming Principles, Model-View-Controller design patterns, .NET Programming, or Java.
Early career
Incidentally, suppose you intend to enter Salesforce development right out of college. In that case, having an internship in the software industry is helpful. Such a contract gives you connections, experience, and needed skills. Once your study is over, if you can't immediately get into development, start with a programmer position, and work your way up to the developer level.
Nothing wrong with climbing the ladder while sharpening your skills.
Jumping into the game
If your wish to become a Salesforce developer happens long after college, consider taking an online course to teach you the needed skills and get your certification. There are many platforms where you can learn by yourself or with a teacher. (For example, Trailhead, Udemy, FocusOnForce)
Certification is essential in this field because it confirms to prospective employers that you possess the required skills to do the job they want you to do.
But certification will never replace experience.
Once you have found your Salesforce position, try to balance certification and hands-on experience.
Credentials
When we talk about Salesforce developer credentials, we usually talk about two of them especially:
- Platform Developer I: the developers understand how to develop and deploy custom business logic and interfaces using the Lightning Platform's programmatic capabilities. They know when to use declarative versus programmatic methods and can extend the Lightning Platform using Apex and Visualforce.
- Platform Developer II: is designed for those with the skills and experience in advanced programmatic capabilities of the Salesforce Platform and data modeling to develop complex business logic and interfaces.
Fortunately, Salesforce does a great job of facilitating newcomer who wants to train themselves.
You can visit their Trailhead website to find access to free training, which combines courses and hands-on exercises.
In addition, they have put together a "Trailmix," a combination of modules that will give you the core knowledge to pass any certification.
Here is where you will find the trail mix related to the Platform Developer.
What skill do you need?
If I picked some eras to focus on, it would be those:
- Analytical skills: It helps to analyze your client's needs and design the appropriate software.
- Communication skills: To better get your points across, show customers how the apps work or give your team members clear instructions on what's going on.
- Computer skills: Having IT skills is one of the apparent skills requirements.
- Interpersonal skills: Every good developer will inevitably need to be a good team player at one point or another.
- Problem-solving skills: Dealing with problems is developers' bread and butter. As a developer, you oversee every stage of software development, and you can be sure that problems will manifest themselves during each phase.
It also helps a good Salesforce developer to be creative and detail-oriented. In the former case, developers are often called to think outside the box to solve issues or design workarounds. In the latter case, software development is replete with small details, and overlooking a small matter could eventually escalate into something much more significant.
Key soft skill
I like to conclude from the human being's perspective. As a team member, you will need some of those "soft skills":
- Accountability: everyone is responsible for their action. As a developer, you can directly impact the tool hundreds or thousands of people use for their daily operations. The day will come when something will go off. Don't start the blame game. There is always a way to fix this and learn something from the situation.
- Optimism & Curiosity: evolving in a fast-paced environment is motivating and challenging. You must always keep yourself up-to-date on Salesforce's new technologies and best practices. It means regularly reconsidering what you think to know to build better for your next application.
- Empathy: you are building a solution for someone else. The game is trying to understand your users' needs deeply.
Congratulations on exploring the path to becoming a Salesforce developer! As you continue to master Salesforce, you may want to revisit some of my other articles to reinforce your knowledge. A great place to start would be "The Art of Project Management: A Guide to Success" as it provides valuable insights that can help shape your approach to Salesforce development.