Over and over, what I hear from people who have successful Salesforce careers is this: Though Salesforce careers are appealing to people with a technology background, you do not need a background in technology to be successful in Salesforce. Regardless of whether you have spent years studying computer sciences or coding, you can ride the wave of disruption, and either change the direction or your career or enter the workforce in a relevant, technology-centric career.
In the transportation industry, ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft disrupted taxicabs; in retail, online shopping has threatened brick and mortar stores; in education, online degrees are replacing a noticeable percentage of traditional degrees; in accounting, artificial intelligence is taking the place of manpower: I could go on and on.
Like any career in technology, working in a Salesforce role requires a variety of skills, both technical and non-technical, depending on the position. You may have already picked up some of these skills during the course of your education and prior work experience. If you need to learn and add to your skills, Salesforce’s robust training tools can teach you, and many of these tools, such as Trailhead, are available at no charge.
Indeed, Salesforce offers multiple career paths, depending on your career choice, all of which position you for an in-demand job at one of a variety of careers with an average salary generally ranging from USD $66,000 to $118,000 for a Salesforce administrator position, all the way up to USD $134,000 to $179,500 for a senior Salesforce architect.
If you are in doubt that you, too, can pursue a career in Salesforce, consider this: The Salesforce platform was established as click-friendly instead of code-friendly. Yes, skilled coders love the platform, but so do non-coders as it enables users to develop apps and customize the platform by way of configuring instead of coding. This draws people from various backgrounds. General business consultants, educators, biochemists, retailers, and hair stylists are just a few of the professionals who have transitioned into Salesforce careers, which are equally appealing to young adults coming out of high school or college, forty-somethings transitioning into new careers, and those coming out of retirement to pursue a job about which they feel passion.
Jobs in Salesforce are heavily in demand, with 500,000 new job openings in the current year alone and an estimated 3.3 million jobs within the next two years. Salesforce has 19.8 percent of the market share in CRM software, which is more than double its second-place rival. It is expected to double its revenue within a four-year period, so the growth in jobs will not be slowing down anytime soon.
I have seen so many people create opportunities to travel globally and see the world because Salesforce was their career path. In a way, Salesforce is the same wherever you go. If you can communicate in the language of Salesforce, you can work anywhere because your skills will be in demand all over the world.
—Ben Duncombe
Director of Talent Hub, a Salesforce recruitment company
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The expanding job opportunities available within Salesforce run the gamut and include:
• Salesforce administrator careers.
• Business analyst or project manager careers working for companies big and small that use Salesforce.
• Developer careers for those that are more technical and who like to customize and develop solutions in Salesforce.
• Architect careers whereby Salesforce specialists design solutions before they are implemented.
• Consulting careers in which Salesforce professionals help implement and customize Salesforce to deliver technology solutions to clients.
• Careers working as entrepreneurs, which could include owning a consulting firm, becoming a freelancer, or developing an app for the AppExchange.
• From 2020 to 2021, Salesforce grew its workforce from about 49,000 employees to about 56,000 employees, making it an attractive organization for developing your career.
As for me, I spent ten years working in various Salesforce roles, including business analyst, project manager, consultant, and solutions architect. Along the way, I have earned twelve different certifications to move up the career ladder. Currently, I run Focus on Force, a company that has helped thousands of people learn Salesforce and prepare for certifications.
Through my work, I have been fortunate to meet people from around the globe, some of whom are beginning their careers in Salesforce and some of whom are advancing or changing the direction of their Salesforce careers as they learn more and more about the various Salesforce opportunities.
What I have come to realize is this: The Salesforce ecosystem is analogous to the job market as a whole. There is a little something for everyone if you know where to look and how to position yourself. Regardless of whether you have a master’s degree in information technology or no formal education beyond eighth grade, you can earn a more-than-competitive wage and move up the ladder in a Salesforce-related career. The same is true for homemakers and businesspeople, techies and non-techies, artists and academics. You name it, and I have seen someone thrive.
However, what is true in the traditional job market is also true within Salesforce: Not all jobs are for everyone. While some people prefer defined job duties, others would wither away if they performed the same job functions day after day. Some have a high tolerance for change and risk; others prefer stability. Some of us thrive as entrepreneurs while others prefer the security of more traditional jobs.
The Salesforce Career Playbook explores the different options and career paths within the Salesforce ecosystem so that you can align your strengths and needs with a career that is right for you. After all, you will have a more successful, fulfilling career if you are allowed to bring your strongest talents to work each day. This book can be useful if you are new to the Salesforce world or if you have already started your Salesforce career.
The questions you should consider when thinking about a career in Salesforce:
What are the careers and roles available if I am new to the Salesforce world?
What are the career paths available to me if I’m already working in a Salesforce role and would like to develop and grow my career?”
Most of all, which of these paths is best suited to my personality, skills, and lifestyle preferences?