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ThatGuy Where to begin?
Hello,
To start off, I have been working with Salesforce as an administrator for about 2 years. Before I began, I had no experience with the Cloud or any platform similar to Salesforce.
I would like to get started with more formal administrator and developer instruction, as I intend to get my Administrator and Developer certifications. I believe I'm off on the right foot: going through the tutorials and workbooks Salesforce provides online, but I do not know what my next step should be.
For someone at my level, I wonder if Dreamforce would be a worthwhile investment, but I'm worried that the information provided there still beyond my scope?
Are the classes provided by Salesforce necessary to obtain their respective certifications, or would I be able to acquire the knowledge they provide from hands-on experience? I know they are not required for certification, but how valuable is the insight they provide?
For someone starting out they are extrememly valuable.
Review the docs in the technical libraby as wekk and get as much hands on experience as you can......
You need a solid foundation on which to build and the classes offer by salesforce will give you that foundation. They are pricey thoguh.
Dreamforce has a lot of course for new developers. Sometimes over your head is a good motivator and you can still use the knowledge presented and learn from it.
If you have been an admin for 2 years, I expect you've build up some good experience. But not everything may have been needed in scope of your organisation. If you are doign the tutorials and workbooks, I assume you already have a developer org to play around in, and that is precisely the way I'd suggest you to stay on. I did the instructor lead 201 course, and while it provided a good execise book, and some insights, I would definitely not say you need it to get certified.
I went from hearing about salesforce for the first time to certified administrator in less then 5 months, while having a bigger focus on development than administrating. (Gonna try to do my dev certificate in the next month or 2 preferably). I spend most of my learning curve in my dev org, the documentation, sf youtube videos and these forums where I try to train myself by answering questions when I can.
In all honesty, looking at the cost of the training classes, I think you may have lower costs just trying the exame a few times. Though if cash is not an issue, take the classes :)
This is the kind of response I was hoping to receive. I wanted to be sure I was on the right track with following the workbooks and tutorials. I would like to attend Dreamforce, but like the classes, the cost is always an issue, and I want to be sure I am getting the most from the money I invest in learning this platform.
That's good to hear! I feel that the cost of the training courses is prohibitive, and it's pushed me too look into other avenues to develop my abilities.
I'm just looking to hear from one or two more people, then I'll close up this thread. I want to hear another opinion, since the two responses I received differed slightly...
Well , i am into this whole sfdc things for the last one month(break from my b school) and i have my first app built and am recreating an app for the domain i am working on..But have to tell you it is going to take a lot more work on our side to go thru and do things on our own rather than going to a class.
For me, i cannot afford those classes but after going thru the workbooks it feels like a piece of cake atleast for developement and consuming ext webservices. I think the key is to get accustomed with the apex lang constructs and know the governor limits and such things. And if you are at a job where you use SFDC, then it is all the more easy(I use another CRM and not sfdc)
That said, dont waste time and go ahead doing those exercises from the workbooks. You will be amazed how much you will accomplish before your scheduled traning classes even begin..:)