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The Five Major Salesforce Certification Categories

Salesforce certification categories
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The Five Major Salesforce Certification Categories

If you’re reading this, you’re likely aware that Salesforce offers several Salesforce certification categories that marketers and salespeople should consider to master the Salesforce platform and boost their professional standing. You’re also likely interested in beginning your certification journey.

It’s worth noting that unlike other professional programs, Salesforce certifications don’t have hierarchies (such as associate, expert, etc.). Instead, the certifications focus on various job roles among sales professionals. These include administrators, marketers, developers, and architects.

You must pick a certification in your line of work as this will have the biggest impact on your day-to-day roles and career in general.

The 5 Main Salesforce Certification Categories

The following is a summary of the five main Salesforce certification categories. We’ve tried to cover as much information as possible that you need to know about each certification category.

  1. Salesforce Administrator Certifications 

Salesforce administrator certifications are some of the most popular because they are foundational to the rest of the Salesforce platform. The credential specifically targets budding sales professionals responsible for building reports and managing dashboards, data, users, workflows, and security. Those responsible for the maintenance of Salesforce applications should also consider administrator certifications.

There are four main administrator Salesforce certification categories, i.e., the Salesforce Certified Administrator, Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator, Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder, and the Sales Certified CPQ Specialist.

The Certified Administrator and Platform App Builder certifications are entry-level course while the other two are mid-level. Entry-level certifications have no prerequisites and generally take 3-6 months. The CPQ certification, which takes 6-12 months to complete, also has no requirements. The Advanced Administrator certification, however, requires the Administrator certification and takes 1-2 years. The four cost $200 each.

  1. Salesforce Developer Certifications 

Aside from the administrator certifications, the next most popular Salesforce certifications are the developer courses. The platform offers three main developer certifications – Salesforce Certified Platform Developer One, Salesforce Certified Platform developer Two, and Salesforce Certified JavaScript Developer One.

Another entry-level certification that doesn’t include any prerequisites, the developer-I certification, takes 3-6 months to complete and costs $200. Meanwhile, the developer-II certificate is a mid-level certification that takes slightly longer (2-4 years) to complete. The Platform Developer-One certification is a prerequisite.

Finally, the JavaScript Developer-One certificate targets front and back-end JavaScript application developers. It’s an entry-level certification with no prerequisites and takes 1-2 years to complete. The three certifications cost $200 each.

  1. Salesforce Consultant Certifications  

Another addition to the Salesforce certification categories list is the Salesforce certified community consultants are professionals with experience implementing and consulting on Salesforce Communities applications in customer-facing roes. The certifications target consultants working the full project life cycles of Sales Cloud implementations, Field Service Lightning (FSL) implementations, and Community Cloud implementations.

The three main consultant certifications are the Salesforce Certified Education Cloud Consultant, a mid-level course that takes three years to complete; the Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Cloud Consultant certification, another mid-level course that takes 2-5 years to complete; and the Salesforce Certified Community Cloud Consultant certification, also a mid-level course that takes 2-5 years to complete. All the three list an administrator certification as a prerequisite. Each costs $200.

Tips to Pass Any Salesforce Certification

Other notable consultant certifications on the Salesforce platform include the Field Service Lighting Consultant, Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant, Service Cloud Consultant, and Sales Cloud Consultant.

  1. Salesforce Marketer Certifications 

Salesforce offers at least three key marketer certifications, i.e., the Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Administrator, Marketing Cloud Consultant, and Marketing Cloud Developer. The Marketing Cloud Administrator credential is designed for individuals with knowledge of the features available to end-users and configuration options available in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It’s an entry-level certificate that takes 3-6 months to complete and costs $200.

Meanwhile, the marketing cloud consultant and marketing cloud developer certifications are senior-level certificates that take at least a full year to complete. Each costs $200, and in both cases, you need a Marketing Cloud Administrator certification to enroll.

The other certification available in this category is the Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Specialist, designed for marketing professionals who use the Marketing Cloud Email application (Email Studio). It’s a mid-level course that costs $200 and takes 6-12 months to complete.

  1. Salesforce Architect Certifications 

Finally in the list of Salesforce certification categories is the Salesforce architecture certifications designed for professionals with a deep understanding of native Salesforce features and functionality. Professionals with the ability to model role hierarchy and specialize in data modeling and sharing would benefit greatly from the certification too.

There are three main architecture certifications, i.e., the Salesforce Certified Application Architect, Salesforce Certified System Architect, and Salesforce Certified Technical Architect. However, several other certifications exist within the category, including the Certified Heroku Architecture Designed, Mobile Solutions Architecture Designer, and Certified Development Lifecycle and Deployment Designer.

Most architecture certifications are mid-level, with no pre-requirements. However, the Technical Architect, Applications Architect, System Architect, and Development Life Cycle Architects are all senior-level certifications with several prerequisites. All cost $400, except for the Technical Architect certification that costs $6,000. It takes up to 8+ years to complete some Salesforce architecture certifications.

The Time to Get Certified is Now

The good news is that most entry-level and mid-level Salesforce certification categories don’t require any special knowledge or prior skills. As long as you’re motivated to earn that certification, you can enroll right away. Sign up with us today and kickstart your journey towards earning your first Salesforce certification.