The Salesforce Administrator Certification is one of the first steps you will take to become a Salesforce professional! For many years this certification has been the very first one you get.
However, salesforce recently released the associate certification. I highly recommend getting that first to get your feet wet before jumping into admin.
The admin exam can be extremely daunting, but the associate helps you determine if the salesforce career is right for you and ease into the beast that is the admin exam.
In my opinion, the admin exam is a fairly difficult exam. The professional taking the exam is usually new to Salesforce and learning all that’s covered on the exam can be a difficult task.
There are two main things that can really elevate your certification experience.
First, learn how you learn best. If you learn by getting hands-on or by listening to someone explain concepts then find the ways in which you can learn that way.
Two, finding the resources that make things click for you. There are so many wonderful resources out there to help you pass. Not all resources will help you how you learn best. Try to find the resources that you can really understand and work well with.
Youtube Video
Before we jump too far into the post I want to mention that there is a corresponding youtube video on the Salesforce Emily youtube channel.
I will embed that here but keep scrolling to get to the good stuff!
Overview of the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam
Now let’s jump into the details of the exam!
This exam can be fairly difficult for a new person on Salesforce and can take many attempts to pass!
This exam covers a lot of different aspects of salesforce and jumps around between many aspects of salesforce.
Which is different than most other salesforce exams that cover the niche details of one aspect or functionality of salesforce.
Here are some quick stats on the admin exam:
- $200 initial exam fee; $100 retakes
- No Prerequisites
- 60-65 total questions
- Timed: 1 hour 45 minutes to complete
- Online or Onsite proctoring is available
- Passing score: 65%
There are seven sections on the admin exam, let’s break them down!
Configuration and Setup 20%
This section covers a lot of user management, the security model, and the general company settings you may come across being a salesforce admin. While this section covers a lot the most important aspects are going to be those that cover the security model and controls.
Object Manager and Lighting App Builder 20%
This section covers the details of the object and relationship model with some intersection on how the security model ties into it. Be prepared to answer questions on how to use page layouts, CRED permissions, and the different relationships you can have between objects.
Sales and Marketing Applications 12%
This section covers a lot of the specific features on the leads and opportunities objects. These are going to include lead automation features and the sales process.
Service and Support Applications 11%
This section covers the features of the cases object. This includes any of the case automation tools that you could use like escalation and auto-response rules. Another aspect is the general case tools like case queues and assignment rules.
Productivity and Collaboration 7%
This section bounces around a lot between the app exchange, chatter, the mobile app, and activity management. Unfortunately, these are not too related and it is a lot of memorization of the quirks of salesforce.
Data and Analytics Management 14%
This section is all about reporting and keeping data clean! It’s really important to know the differences between report types and report formats. Also, be sure to know the different types of dashboard components and when to use them!
Workflows and Process Automation 16%
This section is all about the tools you can use to automate your manual processes. While this has recently changed for all of Salesforce you may still see some questions on the process builder and workflow rules. It can take a while for Salesforce to update their exams.
My Background when Taking the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam
One thing that I’ve always found beneficial when looking at these types of blog posts or youtube videos is understanding where the person giving the advice was at in their understanding when taking the exam.
A person with decades of work experience in the field will see this exam very differently from someone who is just at the beginning of their career!
This way you can understand where my advice is coming from and gauge where you are in comparison to my experience!
I took this exam three times ranging from 6 weeks of study to 8 weeks, and finally passing at around 12 weeks of full-time study.
I had just graduated from my bachelors program and was looking to start a tech career. After talking with some people in my life we decided that going for a salesforce certification after graduation was the best route possible to break into the salesforce industry.
So I was studying full-time to get this certification.
One thing to note, I had some light salesforce experience. I used it as an end-user for a few years but was not fluent and didn’t really know that I was using Salesforce.
Also, I had some previous database experience using SQL. However, that was the extent of my Salesforce/previous database knowledge.
Resources I Used to Pass the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam
Next, let’s jump into the resources I used for passing this exam!
When I took this exam I wasn’t super into looking for good resources. I found a few courses that were okay. At the time, it was during the transition from classic to lightning and I also didn’t connect well with the instructors.
While I learned some I felt mostly confused by them and was hard to pass after those courses.
Here are the resources that really helped me to pass!
First, I used the exam guide (free) to help me understand the logistics and some of the specifics that would be covered on the exam.
Next, I jumped into trailhead. Use the official trailmix (free) that is a little more structured. Personally, I wish that I had done more of the trailmix and used trailhead to study for the exam rather than bouncing around to bunch of different badges not related to the certification.
Note: I recommend using the natural reader Chrome extension (free with paid options) to help with comprehension. For me, it’s a lot easier to listen than to read to documentation so this tool is a really fantastic one!
Finally, I recommend using the focus on force practice exams (paid). These were a game changer for my study. Being able to see documentation on why I passed or failed a question was really valuable!
Additional Resources to Pass the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam
Now that some time has passed there are a lot more resources available!
Here are some of my favorites!
First, I have an admin course that I created (paid) after not having great resources that were dedicated to the admin exam.
Then, there is a blogger that covers some of the most important topics for the admin exam. Here are his notes (free)!
Finally, if you’re looking for some free practice exams. SF Ben has some of them!
My Thoughts on the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam
Finally, here are my thoughts on the exam as a whole.
I personally think that this exam is very difficult because you are going from knowing little or nothing about salesforce to being able to pass a certification on it.
Also, this certification bounces around a lot for all the things you need to know to be a successful admin. There is soooooo much information that is under the realm of salesforce but not related within the settings of salesforce (like how a service consultant cert might be).
Don’t be afraid to fail this exam a few times before you are able to pass!
Another question I get a lot is if this certification will get you a job. I don’t like to say that it will or won’t. Because it is so highly dependent on the job market at any given time.
However, this certification will go a long way in helping you eventually find a job.
Recruiters and hiring managers are specifically searching for the salesforce admin certification when looking to fill a salesforce admin role.
Conclusion
A big congrats to you for making it through this blog post! We hope you found it useful!
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