Complete guide to Salesforce certifications: which one to choose and how to get it?

In a world where digital transformation is at the heart of corporate strategies, mastering Salesforce is a major asset. The CRM market leader, Salesforce is used by thousands of companies to optimize customer relationship management.

Salesforce certification provides official validation of your skills andenhances your employability.

Salesforce certifications are becoming increasingly important due to the rapid expansion of the ecosystem. According to an IDC study, the ‘Salesforce Economy’, reinforced by Artificial Intelligence, is expected to create 11.6 million jobs worldwide by 2028, generating enormous opportunities for Salesforce specialists.

In this context, a Salesforce certification becomes a strong differentiator on the job market, setting you apart from other candidates.

Salesforce certifications play a key role in accessing the best positions and accelerating your career in the CRM and cloud professions. Whether you aspire to become a Salesforce administrator, developer, Salesforce consultant or architect, there’s a Salesforce certification to suit your profile and level of experience.

Certified professionals are in high demand. On Salesforce-related job offers, it’s not uncommon to see certification mentioned as a desired or strongly recommended criterion.

With equal skills, a certified candidate will often have the advantage in the recruitment phase.

The figures confirm that certification pays off. According to industry surveys, around 2 out of 3 professionals report an increase in salary after Salesforce certification, with an average rise of around 20%.

What’s more, each additional certification can increase your value in the eyes of employers. On average, a certified Salesforce administrator earns more than a non-certified one, and this gap tends to widen with the level of specialization.

Certification demonstrates your commitment to developing your skills. It can help you secure internal promotion or move into new roles. For example, a certified developer will be able to move into a lead developer or architect role more quickly.

Similarly, a consultant certified in several clouds will find it easier to take charge of strategic projects or supervise a team. In short, certifications accelerate skills development and visibility within the Salesforce ecosystem.

Let’s not forget that Salesforce regularly renews its technologies: certifications require continuous updating (via maintenance or new certifications), which pushes you to stay at the cutting edge. This is an advantage when it comes to staying competitive on the job market in the long term.

Salesforce imposes strict certification requirements, not only on individual professionals, but also on its partners and integrators. For a company to join the official Salesforce partner network (at Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc. levels), it must have a certain number of certified employees.

These certifications attest to theexpertise of our teams, and guarantee that our partners have the skills they need to effectively support their customers in implementing and optimizing Salesforce solutions.

Salesforce offers a wide range of certifications, each corresponding to a Salesforce profession or specialty.

Start with the certification that best matches your immediate professional goals (generalist to build your foundations, or specialized if you already have a clear business focus), then build your certification path as you progress.

Here are the main certifications available:

Salesforce Certified Administrator is the basic certification for anyone who will be administering and configuring the platform. It is primarily aimed at beginners and functional profiles who wish to understand the overall operation of Salesforce without getting into the code.

Who is it for?

• System administrators,
• CRM managers,
• Junior functional consultants,
• Anyone managing a Salesforce instance

💡 No advanced technical expertise is required. However, it is essential to have a good understanding of the interactions between the different business lines (sales, marketing, customer support) and how Salesforce optimizes their processes within the company’s value chain.

Validated skills

• Salesforce application configuration (objects, fields, process automation with Flow, validation rules),
• User and security management,
• Creation of reports and dashboards,
• General platform maintenance.

💡 This certification proves that you know how to administer Salesforce in an enterprise environment.

When should you pass it?

This is often the first Salesforce certification recommended for beginners. After a few months’ practice or dedicated Salesforce training, candidates can take the exam. It is a prerequisite for most higher-level certifications.
For seasoned administrators, there is an Advanced Administrator certification to validate more advanced skills once experience has been acquired.

Salesforce developers build custom applications and features using the platform’s code and tools. The main certification is Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I.

Who is it for?

• Technical profiles: developers and software engineers wishing to specialize in Salesforce.

💡 It’s recommended that you have basic programming skills (Java, C#, JavaScript or other) and have explored writing code on the platform (Apex, Visualforce, Lightning Web Components) before attempting this certification.

Validated skills

• Custom application development on Salesforce,
• The exam covers mastery of the Apex language (for server-side logic), visual components such as Visualforce or Lightning (LWC), use of the Salesforce API and advanced data modeling,
• In short, this certification certifies that you know how to develop on Salesforce using Salesforce Platform best practices.

When should you pass it?

Often after 6 months to 1 year of development experience on the platform, or following an intensive training course.
This is usually the first certification for a Salesforce developer.

💡 Later, an experienced developer can aim for Platform Developer II certification (advanced), or even other specialized certifications (example: JavaScript Developer I for front-end aspects, or B2C Commerce Developer for Commerce Cloud).

The Salesforce Consultant role covers a number of specializations, depending on the product (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing, etc.). Consultant certifications validate business expertise on a specific Salesforce Cloud, in addition to knowledge of the platform.

Who is it for?

• Functional consultants implementing Salesforce for customers or within a company. Generally speaking, you need to have already mastered the basics (often via Administrator certification) before specializing.
• A CRM project manager, a business analyst or a business expert (sales, marketing, customer service) will go for these certifications to prove their know-how in their field with Salesforce.

Validated skills

• Ability to translate business requirements into configured Salesforce solutions. Each certification corresponds to a functional area.

For example:

• Sales Cloud Consultant for sales processes (lead management, opportunities, forecasts),
• Service Cloud Consultant for customer support (case management, call center, knowledge base),
• Experience Cloud Consultant for portals and communities,
• Marketing Cloud Consultant for marketing automation, etc. The exam tests both functional knowledge of the field and mastery of the associated Salesforce functionalities.

When should you pass it?

• After gaining initial experience in the cloud concerned. It is often advisable to obtain Admin certification first, then practice on a real project (6 months to 1 year) before taking a specialized Consultant certification.
• These certifications are particularly relevant for progressing to senior Salesforce consultant or CRM project manager roles.

Salesforce architects are senior experts responsible for designing global solutions and technical architecture on the platform. The Architect course comprises several advanced certifications:

Who is it for?

• Professionals with extensive experience of the Salesforce ecosystem. Often, an architect has several years’ experience in developing and designing Salesforce solutions, possibly preceded by Admin, Dev and Consultant certifications.
• This pathway is of interest to those who wish to progress to positions as technical experts, project managers or lead architects on large-scale projects.

Validated skills

• Technical and functional platform architecture. There are several levels of certification: Application Architect and System Architect (each with 4 technical sub-certifications, e.g. Data Architecture, Identity and Access, Development Lifecycle, etc.).
• Once these milestones have been reached, the holy grail is CTA (Certified Technical Architect) certification, obtained after a highly demanding oral exam in which the candidate must design and defend a complete Salesforce architecture. Certified architects master integrations, security, performance and large-scale design choices.

When should you pass it?

• This is a long-term process. Architectural certifications are often obtained after several years in technical or consulting roles.
• For example, after 3-5 years’ experience and a few basic certifications in hand, a professional can begin the Architect (Application/System Architect) certifications, then aim for the CTA after 5-10 years.
• These certifications are relevant for accessing Technical Architect and Solution Architect positions, or for working for integrators and customers with complex projects.

In addition to the major roles above, Salesforce offers product- or industry-oriented certifications, for example on Marketing Cloud or other ancillary solutions.

Marketing Cloud

For digital marketing professionals, Salesforce has dedicated certifications for Marketing Cloud, its marketing automation solution (email, SMS, social networks…).

For example :

• Marketing Cloud Administrator (for managing the marketing platform),
• Marketing Cloud Email Specialist (specialized in designing and sending email campaigns),
• Marketing Cloud Consultant
  or Developer.

These certifications are aimed at marketing or technical profiles working with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and validate advanced skills in audience segmentation, automated customer journey creation, marketing performance analysis, etc.

Other specializations

The Salesforce ecosystem extends to a wide range of tools.

There are certifications for Pardot/Account Engagement (B2B marketing automation), CPQ Specialist (price configurator and quotation), Tableau CRM (Einstein Analytics) for BI, Industries (Vlocity) for industry solutions, and a Business Analyst certification to validate business analysis skills on Salesforce.

Each of these additional certifications demonstrates expertise in a specific Salesforce product. They’re generally useful after you’ve covered the basics, and when your role requires that skill (for example, a certified Cloud Marketing consultant will be favored for marketing automation projects, a CPQ specialist for complex quoting projects, etc.).

💡 Salesforce has also recently introduced an Associate certification aimed at beginners. Salesforce Associate certification validates general knowledge of the ecosystem (CRM concepts, navigating Lightning, using Trailhead…) and can be an entry point for those with no prior experience. However, most professionals start directly with Administrator certification, which remains the generalist reference in the field.

Faced with the diversity of Salesforce certifications, it’s natural to wonder where to start.

Your choice should be aligned with your profile and your ambitions:

Salesforce Administrator certification is recommended. It will give you a solid grounding in the platform and open up opportunities for administrative or consulting roles.

If you’re a complete novice, you may want to start with Salesforce Associate certification, then move on to Administrator.

The Platform Developer I certification is ideal for validating your technical skills (Apex, application development). However, taking the Administrator certification first can be beneficial to fully understand the functional basics of Salesforce.

Start with Administrator certification to master the core of the platform, then specialize through Consultant certification aligned with your field:

• Sales Cloud
• Service Cloud
• Marketing Cloud
• …

If you are changing carreers, Salesforce Administrator certification is generally the best way to gain a comprehensive understanding of CRM. Then, specialize according to your transferable skills (marketing, sales, development, data analysis, etc.).

In conclusion, Salesforce certifications are a springboard for your employability, your salary and your career development. It’s time to choose yours, get trained and join the community of certified Salesforce professionals.

So, are you ready to take the plunge and give your career a new boost? The Salesforce path to success is waiting for you!