Certifications: When Is Enough, Enough?
There has been a lot of posts lately on various social media channels about Salesforce certifications. The latest discussion was quantity of certifications versus actual work experience. I think both of these aspects should compliment each other. One shouldn't strive to complete hundreds of certifications with zero work experience. I don't consider "speed cert taking" as a valid hobby to have.
As of February 2023, I have five Salesforce certifications:
I have three years hands-on work experience with Salesforce:
- 2 years volunteering at A Faith That Does Justice
- 1.5 years at Penn State Health
My concern isn't getting more certifications, but getting more quality work experience with Salesforce. Certifications should not overpower work experience. I started studying for Sales Cloud Consultant to finish the "core" certifications out, but don't plan to take the exam until I can find & obtain more hands-on experience with Sales Cloud.
I consider Salesforce certification as a way to show fundamental baseline understanding of whatever topic was certified on. It does not make you an expert on the topic. It does not mean you know everything about it either. It means you took the time & effort to learn enough about the topic to pass an exam successfully. It's a starting pointing in the learning process, not the end point. In my opinion, the learning has only begun once you see the "pass" on an exam screen.
Keep learning!