What is a Salesforce Developer?
Salesforce developers design, develop, and implement customized solutions on the platform. These are the people who are responsible for creating and supporting programmatic solutions, for integrating other platforms with Salesforce, and for troubleshooting advanced technical issues. They are skilled with computers and have knowledge of coding.
In a small firm, an administrator might double as a developer. Alternatively, in a small firm, a developer might not exist. Rather, the company might hire a consultant to tackle any development projects beyond the in-house staff’s know-how.
In a larger firm, the roles are separate and distinct. Whereas administrators manage the day-to-day use of Salesforce, developers manage all technical aspects of Salesforce and build functionality within the platform using their Apex, Visualforce, and Lightning coding component skills. When customization is complete, developers hand it off to others in the team to implement and manage the functionality developed.
How much can a Salesforce Developer earn?
A Salesforce Developer can earn XXX according to the
What does a Salesforce Developer do?
The role of a developer will differ from company to company, but will typically involve some or all of the following:
• Developing customized programmatic solutions to meet requirements and support business processes.
• Developing and supporting integrations between Salesforce and external systems.
• Collaborating with project team members to design, develop, test, and deploy functionality as part of projects, which includes meeting with end-users and managers to determine project specifications related to user interface, customized applications, and integration with other software.
• Working with the administrator on development issues related to maintenance of the platform and support of users.
• Providing internal technical support related to the Salesforce platform.
What skills and experience should a Salesforce Developer have?
• Salesforce certifications, such as Admin, App Builder, Platform Developer 1, Javascript Developer 1 and Platform Developer 2.
• Additional certifications, depending on functionality a company has implemented. These can include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, or more specialized certifications, such as CPQ (Configure Price Quote), Field Service Lightning and Marketing Cloud.
• Salesforce Platform development experience using Apex, SOQL, SOSL, Visualforce, or Lightning Framework.
• Experience with web technologies, including HTML, CSS, XML, JSON, and JavaScript.
• Experience working with REST and SOAP APIs.
• Experience working with integration and middleware tools, such as MuleSoft.
• Working knowledge of Agile delivery and scrum framework.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field.
General Business and Soft Skills for a Salesforce Developer
Along with technology-related skills, employers also search for general business and soft skills, such as:
Communication and negotiation
Oftentimes, users of Salesforce will ask developers to provide specific solutions when better solutions might exist. As such, developers must be capable of interpreting requests, discovering the underlying logic for the request, and presenting alternative solutions.
Solutions-orientation
On the other hand, users might also be faced with problems for which they have no solution. Developers, then, must be problem-solvers who can brainstorm for various solutions to meet a business goal.
Agility and coachability
Salesforce releases updates every quarter, so developers should be willing to learn new material and adapt their techniques, applications, and customizations accordingly.
Team mentality
A developer’s job is to help enhance the productivity and efficiency of the team by automating tasks or creating structures to facilitate jobs. As a result, they must be invested in the larger goals. The best developers do not simply develop; they understand the varying perspectives of different stakeholders within an organization.
Commitment to learning
Because Salesforce releases updates quarterly, a developer can never claim to know everything there is to know about Salesforce, so following and learning Salesforce’s new product releases and technical capabilities is part of the job.
Tips to get a job as a Salesforce Developer
If you are searching for an entry-level job as a Salesforce developer, consider the following tips:
Be familiar with and prepared to discuss Salesforce development best practices.
Companies often have had bad experiences with code that was not created in accordance with best practices, which led to costly revisions, wasted time, and duplicated work. Establish yourself as someone who cares not only about developing a solution, but also about solutions that are high-quality and in accordance with Salesforce’s best practices.
Look for outside mentors or people in your organization who can review your code.
Having a more experienced person review your code is invaluable in terms of learning and improving your skills.
Get involved.
Attend Salesforce events, like World Tour and Dreamin. Get involved in the online Trailblazer community and join online collaboration groups. Complete superbadges. Participate in user groups. User groups will help you connect with people who can help you find employers, provide advice, or even give you a job opportunity.
Showcase your skills by building an app or Lightning component and listing it on the AppExchange.
Numaan Mohammad, a developer working in Canada, developed an app that helps view, filter, and export Big Object data. Creating the app helped Numaan build connections, which he believes helped him secure his latest job, which gave him an exciting opportunity to travel from India to Canada.
Be ready to talk through examples of challenging requirements and how you solved them.
Although a developer is not typically business facing, communication skills are still critical. Talking through a challenge and your solution will demonstrate your problem-solving skills and help you differentiate yourself from other developers.