How many Salesforce Certifications are enough?
The answer depends on what you want to do.
Key notes
- For most people – 2 -3 certifications will be enough.
- Some certifications are much more helpful to your career than others
- Experience trumps certifications every time
I got my first Salesforce Certification in October 2023. That was enough to get my foot in the door with a major Salesforce partner in Australia.
Today I have 15 Salesforce Certifications.
Here’s what that means in practical terms:
- It’s a quantifiable bragging point that’ll probably make it easier to land an interview than someone with no or fewer certifications
- It demonstrates drive and ambition
- It means I have a basic competency in the areas that I am certified in
- It does not mean I have more experience, or am better than non certified people at my job
The best way to think about it is like a university (or college if you are in the states) degree – A salesforce certification gives you a basic understanding of an area of salesforce, but it’s only hands on experience that is going to make you an expert.
In fact, having too many certifications and not enough practical experience can be a major red flag for recruiters.
So… how many certifications are enough?
That’ll depend on your goal.
For most people, I’d say 2-3 certifications will be enough.
The most valuable certifications would probably be:
- Platform Administrator
- Platform App Builder
- Platform Developer
When combined with hands on Salesforce experience, these should be enough to get you an interview.
For people working as consultants, you’d expect them to have 3+ certifications, especially since most Salesforce partners incentivise people to get Salesforce certifications.
This will also be increased if you specialise in a particular domain in Salesforce, e.g. Marketing Cloud.