Salesforce jobs are a hot commodity, and it’s no mystery why. The demand is there, the barrier to entry is low, and it’s a good way towards a good living.

For many people in the ecosystem, Salesforce – and tech careers generally – have been life changing.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to break in. Yes there’s the huge learning curve. But there’s also the experience issue. How do you get admin experience for a job, unless you volunteer to set up a nonprofit’s instance? (Sidenote: maybe don’t rush to do that. Blog post upcoming.)

And if you’ve been an admin for a while (like me), you might be wondering what else is out there beyond becoming a developer, architect or consultant.

So today’s post is for my career-seeking ohana. This is information I learned over the years in random bits & pieces, that I wish I could’ve accessed sooner.

Consider this post written for you if:

• You are having trouble breaking into Salesforce as an admin, or don’t want to start that way
• You have other experience you’d like to transition into a Salesforce role
• You’ve been an admin for a while and want to try something new
• You’re just curious about what this lady *points thumbs* has to say

How to use this guide

The buckets below are just functional areas. If you’re job-hunting, you’ll want to look for titles that correspond to your level within those areas.

So for example..if you’re starting out in Salesforce and interested in Sales Operations (spoiler, that’s our first category) you might look for roles with Associate, Coordinator, Specialist or Analyst in the name. Someone who’s more senior may look for manager, lead or director jobs.

It all depends on where you’re applying, how their titles work, and the experience you bring.

Also, note that these posts are intentionally written with a Salesforce spin. But the categories below can & do exist separately from Salesforce. Share with any of your friends who may be considering non-Salesforce, non-coding roles in Tech.

Okay. Onto the career paths.

For the true Salesforce newbies

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Career resource page on Trailhead. It gives a good lay of the Salesforce land. My post just adds some more specifics.

And finally…

If you find yourself jazzed about any of the paths above, start learning! (For those anxious about learning Salesforce, I recently wrote a post about how I approach learning new tech. Feel free to check it out.


If you have questions or ideas for what I can add to make this guide more helpful, please drop in the comments.