Salesforce Admin VS Developer - Which one to Choose?

Introduction

Are you also confused between Salesforce Administrator VS Developer? Well, it’s quite common as there is a very fine line between a real Salesforce Administrator and Developer.

To help you understand the difference between both the positions. Let’s begin with the basics what is Salesforce, why is it so popular and what are the different roles under it?

Salesforce is a CRM that works as a bridge between a company and the customer. It is considered to be one of the best-integrated platforms as it allows your departments (marketing, content, SEO, Sales, etc) to get a shared view of every customer.

Here are some important facts related to Salesforce that you should go through before we start anything:

• Salesforce command about 20% of the CRM market share
• More than 88% of the Fortune 100 companies are using at least one Salesforce application. Along with them, approx. 71% of customers use various apps from AppExchange.
• According to an IDC report, Salesforce and its partner ecosystem are expected to create 3.3 million new jobs by 2022.

Along with that, one of the reasons that Salesforce is popular is that it is packed with some unique features (content management, workflow creation, opportunity tracking, customer engagement tool, analytics, and much more) for market and salespersons.

There are multiple job positions under Salesforce that you can opt for as your career option:

• Salesforce Administrator
• Salesforce Business analyst
• Salesforce Developer
• Salesforce functional consultant
• Salesforce platform manager
• Salesforce solution architect
• Salesforce technical architect

These were some basic things you should know about Salesforce if you are interested in any of the above positions. Here, in this article, you will get to know about the difference between roles and responsibilities, salary packages, skills required, and much more about Salesforce Administrator and Salesforce Developer.  

To get a clear picture of both the positions, Let's start with the definition of Salesforce Administrator and Developer!

Who is a Salesforce Administrator?

Salesforce Administrator is considered to be one of the best positions among all. It is because the roles and responsibilities performed by a Salesforce Administrator help the organization to manage the Salesforce systems efficiently. They do this by recommending the best solution, maintaining sales databases, and also help the organization to accommodate well with Salesforce products.

The demand for a Salesforce Administrator depends on the size of the organization. So, if you are interested in the role of an Administrator then the article will further help you know about the roles and responsibilities, salary package, certifications, jobs, and companies' availability. 

What does Salesforce Admin do?

Various roles and responsibilities of Salesforce Admin are:

• Analyzing business requirements and providing the best solutions
• Help in up-gradation of Salesforce system
• Constant and effective integration and configuration 
• Managing Salesforce roles, profiles, workflow, etc
• Preparing reports for the teams
• Importing sales department leads, contacts, and other data

Who is a Salesforce Developer?

Salesforce Developer, the name has it all, which means it includes the development side. Being a Salesforce developer, you will be engaged with designing and developing specified codes and functionalities to deliver adequate customized applications. 

Salesforce developer brings new implementing plans to enable successful Salesforce services for business improvements.

You can’t judge any of the positions based on their roles & responsibilities as they both are experts in dealing with Salesforce applications. Both the positions are highly payable (approx. USD 5 to USD 12/per hour depending on your work experience) Salesforce professions, you can opt for any that you wish for.

What do a Salesforce Developer do?

Various roles and responsibilities of Salesforce Developer are:

• Meeting project managers to determine CRM requirements
• Designing coding, and implementing Salesforce applications
• Creating timeline and development goals for the application
• Testing the stability and functionality of the application, whether it is working fine or not
• APEX development
• Debugging
• Reviewing custom-developed codes

Let’s go through Salesforce admin VS Developer based on various factors:

Salesforce Admin VS Developer
Factors	Salesforce Admin	Salesforce Developer
Why choose them?	Both the positions are valuable but salesforce admin has all the access related to the company/project than Salesforce developer. Also, being the admin, they manage everything so that the team can deliver an error-free project to the client. If you desire to be a boss then you can choose Salesforce admin as your career path.	Talking about Salesforce Developer, it is one of the positions that come under Salesforce. Being a salesforce developer your duties would be to manage and customize the technical side of an organization. So, if you are a technical person or have a great interest in codings then a Salesforce developer is the suitable choice for you.
Beneficiaries of each position	Being a Salesforce admin can serve you with various beneficiaries such as: Get a set of powerful tools and features at your fingertips You play the role of problem solver Incredible career growth	Being a Salesforce developer you can enjoy the following benefits such as: Work with world’s best dominating technology that is Salesforce Enjoy high earning potential Get multiple routes into the ecosystem (you learn about various languages and gain knowledge related to SQL or HTML)
Key Skills	To be a Salesforce Administrator, you should comprise various skillsets such as: Salesforce expertise Data management Conversion rate optimization Email marketing expertise Problem-solving skills The talent of managing huge data sets and routinely checking data for accuracy	To be a Salesforce Developer, you should be expertise in skills such as: Ability to manage projects Bachelor’s degree in computer science or software engineering Advanced knowledge of Salesforce CRM platforms Experience in MySQL, Apex, JavaScript, VisualForce, and Native Exposure in developing customer-facing interfaces
Salary package	Salesforce Administrator salary in India: $7562.43 for employees with less than 1 year of experience to 6 years. USD 4537.46 to USD 12374.89 (above 6 years of experience)	Salesforce Developer Salary in India: Entry-level developers with less than one year of experience can expect approx. USD 4124.96 Having about 2-5 years of experience you can expect compensation of close to USD 6874.94
Which position is more secure?	As discussed above, Salesforce admin helps the organization in building functionalities based on new requirements. So, if you desire to choose a Salesforce admin career path then it will lead you to a secure future.	Choosing a Salesforce developer career path will also lead you to a secured future. As it is considered to be in the top 10 jobs in the US today.
Certifications	The certifications required to be a Salesforce admin: Salesforce administration certification	The certifications required to be Salesforce Developers are: ADM 201 DEV 401
Jobs and Companies	Some of the top companies that offer Salesforce administration jobs are Main Street Hub, Amazon, Kaplan Financial, Magnetrol, AvidXchange, Expedia, Globoforce, and many more.	You can find a Salesforce Developer job in multiple top companies such as Slalom Consulting, Amazon.com Inc, Accenture, Accenture technology solutions, Cognizant, Crossmark, and many more.
Course Duration	There are multiple institutes available that may help you achieve your desired position easily. The institute provides you with the best possible certification training. And the course duration of Salesforce Administration is approximately 6 weeks.	There are multiple institutes available that may help you achieve your desired position efficiently. The respective training institute provides you with the best possible certification training. And the course duration of Salesforce Developer is also approximately 6 weeks.

What are the shared responsibilities of Salesforce Admin and Developer?

Despite being slightly different, Salesforce Administrator and Salesforce developer do share some common responsibilities such as:

• A salesforce Administrator helps you manage ongoing system development by communicating with various stakeholders/customers/clients regarding new developments, support, and much more. 
• Being superior, salesforce admin supports Salesforce Developers and clients so that they can complete their work on time. 
• The bug fixing process helps in delivering the best product to clients. This is a great opportunity to involve the Salesforce admin in the process.

As they could help you test the usability and provide you feedback related to the project. Nowadays, more and more admins are coding and are taking on some of the responsibilities that would otherwise be left to a Salesforce developer. 

Salesforce Admin VS Developer Certification Details:

To become a Salesforce admin or Salesforce developer you should gain some certifications as discussed:

Salesforce Admin Certification

Knowledge/Skills

• Managing users data and security
• Knowledge of how to maintain and customize sales cloud and service cloud applications
• Know how to build reports, dashboards, and workflows

• Topics included in an exam - Organizational setup (3%), user setup (7%), security access (13%), standard and custom objects (14%), activity management and collaboration (3%), data management (10%), Analytics (10%), Workflow (8%), Sales and Marketing Application (14%), Desktop and mobile administration (3%) and much more.

Salesforce Developer Certification

Knowledge/Skills

• Platform development with proper modeling, management, and security
• Salesforce application customization with using a lightning framework
• Knowledge of Apex, programming, HTML, and JavaScript

• Topics included in the exam along with percentage - Salesforce fundamentals (7%), Data modeling and management (13%), logic and process automation (38%), Testing (7%), User interface (25%), Debug and Deployment tool (10%). 

How to prepare for Salesforce Administration and Salesforce Developer Certification?

You can prepare for Salesforce Administration and Salesforce Developer in multiple ways such as:

• Know exam details  - To pass the Salesforce Administration and Salesforce Developer Certification Exam, you need to have a broad knowledge of customizing Salesforce, configuring the platform, managing users, and looking for various ways to get even more out of its features and capabilities. The exam guide is your best resource to understand the format of the exam including the total number of questions in the exam, how much time is required to complete the exam, what topics are covered, how much they are weighted, what resource you should prefer to study and much more.
• Schedule your certification exam - It may seem strange to schedule your exam before you've started studying, but this is a great way to keep yourself motivated and working towards your goal of passing the certification exam. Scheduling a set date for your exam will help you prioritize your studying and keep yourself focused.
• Find some company to study with - Nothing helps more when studying for an exam than having friends or classmates to join you on the journey.
• Complete the administration/developer certification trail - Try to complete the administration/developer certification trail before the exam to get good speed, accuracy and help you stay focused. With the use of trial certification, you can get to know the percentage of each subject area covered on the test. This helps you understand and focus more on the subjects that cover the area with the highest percentage and less time to focus on the area with the lowest percentage
• Solve maximum sample papers for better outcomes - The most important thing to do during the certification exam is to go through the questions carefully. Solving Questions will help you increase your speed because exam duration is limited and you should learn to use time wisely. 

How can you schedule for the Salesforce Admin and Developer Certification Exam?

You can easily schedule for Salesforce Admin and Developer Certification by following the below-mentioned steps thoroughly:

Salesforce Admin Certification Registration Process:

• Log in to www.webassessor.com/salesforce
• Create your profile, if you don’t have one
• Choose exam mode (Online/Offline)
• In case of offline, Choose your test center
• In case of online, ensure you have all the system requirements
• Select your preferred Date and Time
• Read the policy and agreement details and review the details you have entered twice before submitting
• Proceed with payment gateway
• Click on submit and your registration is done

NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email for the same and you are good to go.

Salesforce Developer Certification Registration

Log in to www.webassessor.com/salesforce

• Click on register for an exam
• Choose the exam you wish to attempt
• Make a choice between Onsite proctored or Online proctored
• In case you choose the Onsite proctored exam:
• Choose a testing centre
• Select the date and time as per your preference
• In case you choose Online proctored
• Select date and time
• All online proctored exam is automatically adjusted as per your selected time zone
• Review your details twice and then click on checkout
• Enter your payment type
• Certification exams are taxable as per law
• Click on submit
• You can see a purchase confirmation on your screen

NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email for the same

Conclusion

Salesforce Admin and Salesforce Developer are two different positions that have their roles and responsibilities, certifications, skills. Some of you may get confused with both of the positions but we hope now you have got a clear vision. However, the career path of any role depends on your skill-set and interests. The number of job openings for both positions is enhancing year by year.

Getting into the Salesforce job profession as a Salesforce administrator or developer is easy, yet, it is necessary to develop an immense career path. However, a Salesforce Administrator can learn developing and can change their course towards the development side. It is because they have already worked as admin, and know all the roles and responsibilities held by them.

Apart from this, Salesforce administrator and Salesforce developer roles in the Salesforce job market are trendy. Also, a Salesforce Developer would usually build functionality comprising Apex or Visualforce in a Sandbox before handing it over to the Administrator to schedule deployment.

You can choose any of them as your career path as they both offer a good salary package and are considered as good career options to secure your future. 

Just choose the best as per your interest! In case, you still face any difficulty in choosing a suitable position then you can talk to professional counsellors who can help you give the best career advice and help you choose the best for yourself.

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