Certification


Guide to Certification

Salesforce.com certification is a professional credential for Force.com developers and Salesforce administrators that validates your knowledge and skills. There are four levels of certification—two for administrators and two for developers. To qualify, you have to pass a certification exam.

This article describes the certification program, examining certification benefits, paths to certification, the certification exam structure, and the preparatory classes.

Why Get Certified?

Earning a salesforce.com certification helps show off your hard-earned skills and opens new doors. We already have many developers and admins that are expert enough to take the exam and pass it—now you'll have an external validation of your expertise.

By becoming a Certified Administrator or Certified Force.com Developer, you join a select group of highly qualified individuals.

When you earn your credential by passing the requisite certification exam, you get:

  • A certificate
  • A "Salesforce.com Certified" logo to use on business cards and in email signatures
  • Free access to new feature content for 1 year to keep your certification current
  • Personal growth and professional advancement
  • Membership in the exclusive Salesforce Certified professional community
  • Access to special events

Certification and Certification Paths

When you successfully pass a certification exam, you're considered certified. To maintain the certification over subsequent releases, you have to study for and take interim exams that test your knowledge of new release features. You’ll be automatically notified when these tests become available. The cost of the new release exams is included in the initial certification fee for 1 year. After that year, a maintenance fee is charged.

There are two levels of certification for developers: Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Developer and Salesforce.com Certified Advanced Developer.

Likewise, for administrators: Salesforce.com Certified Administrator and Salesforce.com Certified Advanced Administrator.

Certification Preparatory Classes

To help get ready for the certification exams, you can sign up for one of the preparatory classes. The certification exam is included in the price of these classes. Of course, if you believe you're already at the right level, simply sign up for the certification.

For developers, we recommend the following preparatory classes:

  • DEV 401 Building Applications with Force.com and Visualforce
  • DEV 501 Apex and Visualforce Controllers

For administrators, we recommend:

  • ADM 201 Administration Essentials
  • ADM 301 Advanced Administration

DEV 401: Building Applications with Force.com and Visualforce

This hands-on course covers the object model and how to configure applications with metadata—the fundamentals of creating Force.com applications. You’ll learn how to build a sophisticated application from start to finish, including how to design applications for the cloud, create custom objects, use workflow and rules to automate processes, and build the user interface.

DEV 501: Apex and Visualforce Controllers

Designed for experienced developers, this hands-on course provides a deep dive into the Force.com programming languages (Apex) and the cloud-based development environment. You’ll explore how to develop custom interfaces and write business logic and interactions. You’ll find out how to manage your projects in the cloud, using team development and debugging best practices. And you’ll learn to use platform’s deployment capabilities.

ADM 201: Administration Essentials for Enterprise or Unlimited Edition

This course is for new administrators or those who want to brush up on their core skills. You’ll learn how to set up, configure, maintain, and customize Salesforce CRM. The course also covers key features, including enterprise security, data utilities, and analytics.

ADM 301: Advanced Administration

Ready to tackle your biggest administration challenges? Using real-world scenarios, Advanced Administration covers advanced topics such as managing data, enhancing end-user productivity, and expanding Salesforce CRM.

Other Classes

Other classes are also available. Though not as part of any certification path. these classes will broaden your knowledge of the platform:

  • DEV 502: Force.com Integrations
  • DEV 531: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with Force.com Code (Apex)

DEV 502: Force.com Integrations

This course teaches you how to design and build all types of integrations with the Force.com platform. The first day introduces the major integration methods and demonstrates techniques for using those methods. In the remaining days, you’ll explore the specifics of the major technologies that play a role in integration, including the Force.com Web services API, sites, and portals.

DEV 531: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with Force.com Code (Apex)

If you’re new to programming, this course introduces you to object-oriented programming with Apex (Force.com code). You’ll learn the basics of creating classes and triggers, as well as the best practices and methodology concepts you’ll need to build Force.com applications. When you complete this class, you’ll know how to approach your first programming assignment, write basic code to build applications, and work with the Force.com tool set.

Certification Exam Structure

Developer certification exams feature multiple-choice and multiple-select questions that cover a broad range of topics. Each exam includes 75 questions, and you’ll be given 90-120 minutes to complete it. For the Salesforce.com Certified Force.com Advanced Developer exam, you’ll also have to review and submit Apex and Visualforce code to meet a prescribed set of requirements and explain your coding choices.

The exams tests for understanding of the most important Salesforce features rather than information that must be memorized. For this reason, the exams include few, if any, questions about limits, numbers, or items that can be easily looked up when needed. To get an idea of the level of difficulty, see the Developer Certification Study Guide.

Free Podcasts

You can access free Force.com Classroom Training to help you prepare for the classes and exams. The Training and Certification iTunes Podcast Page features over 60 episodes, covering much of DEV 401 and DEV 501.

Summary

Salesforce.com certification is a professional certification, allowing you to validate and declare your expertise. Certification is available for both developers and administrators.

Links

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