The Complete Beginner’s Guide: How To Become a Salesforce Developer?

Salesforce dominates the customer relationship management world and has a customer base of over 150,000 companies comprising large scale, medium and small scale businesses.

Salesforce now has more than 19.8 percent share of the CRM market revenue[source]. This means that there is a surge in demand for Salesforce solutions the world over and the demand for Salesforce developers is at its peak. According to a new study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), there has been a tremendous spike in jobs that require Salesforce skills, and the Salesforce ecosystem is predicted to create 9.3 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion in new business revenues worldwide by 2026.

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If you wish to be part of this momentum and start preparing to become a Salesforce developer, this blog is for you. Here’s what you will learn in the next 5 minutes.

• Roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer
• Skills required to become a Salesforce Developer
• How to become a Salesforce Developer?
• What’s your future as a Salesforce  Developer?

Roles and Responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer

The roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce Developer are not limited to coding. Here is what you need to know:

• Gather functional and technical requirements from clients and solve issues as and when they arise.
• Convert the business requirements into innovative Salesforce solutions.
• Build Salesforce apps using Visualforce and Apex and extract the full potential of the Salesforce platform while building these solutions. 
• Take initiative to collaborate with other teams to discuss software upgrades and new tools that will be used in the Salesforce implementation project. 
• Be in charge of data consistency and accuracy throughout the implementation and post implementation stages.
• Document existing and newly created apps and systems to be prepared for the three Salesforce releases every year.

Skills Required to Become a Salesforce Developer

Programming Skills: This has to be the number one skill on your list for obvious reasons. A skilled Salesforce developer should be knowledgeable in Salesforce development and related technologies like Visualforce, Apex, data management and modeling, Lightning Framework and so on. 

Analytical Skills: A Salesforce Developer needs to have an analytical mind to understand business requirements and convert them into well-architectured Salesforce solutions. 

Communication Skills: The ability to communicate with your clients is a critical skill needed for a Salesforce developer. You will need to face plenty of questions and support queries from your client which need to be addressed in a timely manner. You should also be able to communicate your ideas effectively to your team members.

Problem Solving Skills: While developing Salesforce solutions, you will go through various hurdles, be it a simple bug or unexpected escalations from your clients. So in order to get ahead as a Salesforce developer you should be able to find innovative solutions that enhance Salesforce’s functionality. 

How to Become a Salesforce Developer?

Learn Salesforce Admin Skills 

Before you become a Salesforce Developer, you should be familiar with the out of the box features of Salesforce. Know this for a fact: A great Salesforce Developer is also a great Salesforce Administrator. Hence get ready to brush up your Salesforce Administration skills and if you are new to this, make sure you clear the following certifications 

• Salesforce Certified Administrator
• Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator
• Salesforce Certified App Builder
• Sales Cloud Consultant
• Service Cloud Consultant

Learn Object Oriented Programming

Without a doubt, you need to learn to code to become a Salesforce Developer.  Start learning Java and SQL to write code in Apex. Also learn or brush up your HTML and CSS skills in order to code in Visualforce and your Javascript skills to code in Lightning. Keep in mind that you need to apply business logic while working on a particular project for the client. So make Salesforce part of your everyday life and try to understand it from a business perspective. 

Gain PD1 and Scrum Certifications

Clearing Salesforce certifications is a sure shot way to get ahead of proving your Salesforce development skills while sending out your resumes. Getting a

 Salesforce certification is not an easy task and you need to dedicate quality time for it. It will certainly get you noticed among recruiters. While you are at it, set a timeline to clear the Platform Developer Certification. This certification is great to spruce up your Salesforce development experience. Also work on Scrum Master Certification as it will help you attain Scrum principles and efficiently run agile projects. 

Become a Member of Salesforce Community Groups

Being part of the Salesforce Trailblazer community will be a great opportunity to network with experienced developers and exchange knowledge. Ask questions about their Salesforce journey and how they landed their first job. 

What’s Your Future with Salesforce?

You will get plenty of opportunities knocking on your door once you crack the Salesforce developer job role. There are various areas you can extend your Salesforce knowledge to. You can navigate into senior job roles like a Senior Developer, Solution Architect and Technical Architect . Keep an eye out for opportunities  and latest trends  in the Salesforce landscape. 

Still contemplating on choosing Salesforce as your career? We have written a blog on 4 key tips that will help you turn heads in your Salesforce career. Give it a read and let us know your questions  in the comment section.