Before anything else, let’s just mention there are several interesting upcoming Salesforce certifications in 2021 that any Salesforce platform’s user should be excited about.
Salesforce is a robust CRM with many offers for different industries and professionals. While it is easy to assume that you can find your way around it, it is important to get certified. This is because each tool within Salesforce is targeted at a particular skill set, and you need to have the basics and the industry jargon to unlock the potential of this handy platform fully.
For example, if you want to work with Sales Cloud, you need to understand sales vocabulary like leads, hot, cold, and warm leads. You also need to understand how the sales process works generally and specifically within your organization.
Salesforce keeps improving its offers, so even if you have been certified before, you need to ensure that your skills are up to date.
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Upcoming Salesforce Certifications in 2021
As aforementioned, Salesforce tools are very industry and role-focused. We are going to divide the certifications based on departments or roles:
Developer Certifications
Here are the available certifications for developers.
Platform Developer I
This is a prerequisite for any Salesforce Developer.
Skills Acquired
- Salesforce database modeling and management
- Salesforce fundamentals
- Testing, debugging, and deployment
- Programming customization best practices
- Apex fundamentals
- Process automation and Logic
- User Interface
Cost and Length
Platform Developer I is an entry-level course. It costs $200 and takes 3 to 6 months. No prerequisite courses are required.
Platform Developer II
This one is ideal for developers with some experience. After you qualify and get to work with Salesforce, you spend your time building custom applications on the Lightning Platform.
Skills Acquired
- Salesforce database modeling and management
- Salesforce fundamentals
- Performance
- Testing, debugging, and deployment
- Programming customization best practices
- Integration
- Apex fundamentals
- Process automation and Logic
- User Interface
Cost and Length
Platform Developer II costs $200 and takes 2 to 4 years. It requires Platform Developer I as a prerequisite.
JavaScript Developer I
This best suits you if you have some experience with building front-end or back-end web applications using Javascript. This certification can be applied to both mobile and web.
Skills Acquired
- Objects, Functions, and Classes
- Debugging and Error Handling
- Server-Side Javascript
- Variables, Types, and Collections
- Browser and Events
- Asynchronous programming
- Testing
Cost and Length
JavaScript Developer I is an entry-level certification. It costs $200 and takes 1 to 2 years. No prerequisites are needed.
Admin Certifications
Admins also have some upcoming Salesforce certifications in 2021 to look out for.
Salesforce Certified Administrator
This is a must-have if you want to become a Salesforce admin.
Skills Acquired
- Salesforce features
- Organizational Setup
- Configuration best practices
- Security and Access
- Sales and Marketing applications
- Tools and campaign management
- Activity Management and Collaboration
- Analytics
- Desktop and Mobile Administration
- User SetUp
- Standard and Custom Objects
- Service and Support Applications
- Data Management
- Workflow and Process Automation
- AppExchange
Cost and Length
The Salesforce Certified Administrator certification is entry-level. It costs $200 and takes 6 to 12 months. No prerequisites are required.
Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator
This is ideal for Salesforce Admins who want to advance their skills.
Skills Acquired
- Service Cloud Applications
- Auditing and Monitoring
- Change Management
- Security and Access
- Content Management
- Workflow and Process Automation
- Extending Custom Objects and Applications
- Sales Cloud Applications
- Data Management
- Analytics, Reports, and Dashboards
Cost and Length
The Salesforce Certified, Advanced Administrator certification is mid-level. It costs $200 and takes 1 to 2 years. The Salesforce Certified Administrator is a required prerequisite.
Platform App Builder
This may pass for a developer certification, but it actually is an admin role. It equips you to design and build custom applications on the Salesforce Platform.
Skills Acquired
- CRM objects in Salesforces’ schema, relationship types, and their implications on accessing records on Salesforce.
- Declarative customization boundaries; use cases for programmatic customization.
- An application’s life cycle
- How to automate business processes using Record Types, Roll-up Summary Fields, Workflow, Process Builder, Flow, and Validation Rules.
- User Interface customization
Cost and Length
The Platform App Builder certification is entry-level. It costs $200 and takes 3 to 6 months—no required prerequisites.
Marketer Certifications
Here are the certifications you need to look out for if you want to become a Salesforce Marketer or improve your skills.
Pardot Specialist
You end up becoming a Pardot master.
Skills Acquired
- Visitors and Prospects
- Administration
- Pardot forms, landing pages, and form handlers
- Lead Management
- Email Marketing
- Engagement Studio
- B2B Marketing Analytics
- Pardot Einstein
Cost and Length
The Pardot Specialist certification is entry-level. It costs $200 and takes 3 to 6 months—no required prerequisites.
Pardot Consultant
This is perfect if you are a consultant who will be involved in a Salesforce project from scratch to implementation. It will help when creating marketing automation strategies.
For consultants working the entire project lifecycle of Pardot implementations.
Skills Acquired
- Evaluation
- Automating Business Processes
- Lead Management
- Salesforce Engage
- Account Configuration
- Email Marketing
- Personalization of the Prospect Experience
- Reporting, Metrics, and Analytics
Cost and Length
The Pardot Specialist certification is mid-level. It costs $200 and takes 1+ years. The Pardot Specialist is a prerequisite.
Marketing Cloud Admin
You need to be well versed with Marketing Cloud to benefit from this certification.
Skills Acquired
- Digital Marketing Proficiency
- Subscriber Data Management
- Setup
- Channel Management
- Maintenance
Cost and Length
The Pardot Specialist certification is entry-level. It costs $200 and takes 3 to 6 months. No prerequisites are needed.
Architect Certifications
The following are certifications architects can pursue in 2021:
Salesforce Data Architecture and Management Designer
If you have been involved in assessing architecture environments and requirements on the Salesforce Platform, you can go for this certification. You will develop solutions on Salesforce Customer 360. This is a senior-level certification, and it takes over five years to complete. 2 to 3 years of experience with the Salesforce platform is also required. It costs $400.
Wrap Up on upcoming Salesforce Certifications in 2021
We have looked at some upcoming Salesforce certifications in 2021 based on roles. This list is by no means exhaustive. Take advantage to upskill and improve your chances of getting your dream Salesforce job by signing up for Salesforce Certification training at our partner, Plumlogix University.
