The Salesforce ecosystem has been growing more extensively over the years. Salesforce currently dominates the cloud computing space with a 40% market share and the CRM space with a 19.7% market share.
The year 2023 is expected to be good for the salesforce economy, with increasing demand in the banking, finance, and manufacturing sectors. If your goal is to make a career in the Fortune 500 or small to medium organizations as a salesforce professional, this is the best time to get started.
As a fresher, choosing a suitable career in Salesforce is confusing, as Salesforce provides a wide range of career opportunities. Salesforce platform developer is one such job profile with high demand. Once you build the proper skill set, experience, and relevant certifications, you can command high salary packages.
Take the help of the Salesforce Learning App for Android and iOS to access the practice exams, cert readiness score, and valuable study modules to help you ace Platform Developer 1 certification and get started with Salesforce.
It is the reason we have created this post to help you understand from the beginning. In this post, first, we will briefly introduce the salesforce platform developer, their role, and their responsibilities in the organization.
Then we will discuss how you can become a platform developer, the importance of the salesforce platform developer I certification, eligibility criteria, required skills, a brief overview of the exam, and essential tips to get started with the exam preparation.
After reading this post, you will know how to start with platform developer I in 2023.
What is the Salesforce Platform Developer?
So, the salesforce platform developer is a programmer who has an in-depth understanding of multiple Salesforce platforms and builds salesforce apps for the organization using Salesforce and a combination of other platforms per the business’s requirement.
Apart from the Salesforce platform, salesforce platform developers are expected to be well-versed in programming and business processes. Salesforce platform developers possess knowledge of tools like Apex, Visualforce, and the salesforce lightning component framework. Platform developers can create customized apps for the business with the help of these tools.
What is the Importance of Salesforce Platform Developer I Certification
Salesforce certification is proof to validate your skills and knowledge. Salesforce certifications help recruiters differentiate the authentic candidate. So if you have relevant skills and experience, it is highly recommended to get certified.
Salesforce platform developer I certification helps you get a better job profile and salary package. You can work as a salesforce developer with all the companies using the salesforce platform. This certification also opens the door to career upgradation.
If you are a fresher, we recommend joining internships and learning salesforce app development. Once you have exposure to some live projects, you can opt for these certifications.
Required Skills and Eligibility For Platform Developer I
Before taking the exam, you must meet the essential criteria and skillset for the exam. Because then only learning the concepts will make any sense to you. If you are a fresher or non-IT professional, then we highly recommend you first approach an online learning platform to get acquainted with the basic concepts and build some practical skills before taking platform developer I
- You should have at least 6 months to one year of demonstrated experience in programming and app development on the salesforce platform. Ripping the benefits of platform developer I certification is essential, which helps you absorb the concepts easily during exam preparation.
- You must have a proper understanding and working experience with relational databases and business processes. Also, ensure you have a working knowledge of app development stages like development, testing, and deployment.
- You need complete work experience with Apex, Salesforce lightning framework, lightning process builder, Apex trigger, and Visualforce, which are used for Salesforce app building.
- As a platform developer, you must know the use cases of agile development, Salesforce schema, and declarative and programmatic methods.
So, if you have the skill mentioned above and relevant experience, you can move further to our next step, exam preparation. But before we discuss planning and strategy for the preparation, we will have a brief overview of the platform developer I certification exam.
Exam Overview and Syllabus
First of all, we will see the exam format.
- The Salesforce platform developer I certification exam is an online exam with all Mulitple choice questions.
- A total of 60 multiple-choice questions are asked, and you will be allotted 105 minutes to crack the questions.
- If you are taking the exam for the first time, you must pay 200 USD for the exam fees. You can take every retake after paying 100 USD exam fees if you fail.
- The passing criteria for the platform developer 1 exam is 65%. It means you will have to make more than 39 correct answers out of 60.
- Logic process and Automation
It is the most crucial topic of the exam in terms of weightage. So, it would help if you prioritized this topic in preparation.
You can learn you use cases of automation tools and programming in this topic. Other sub-topics of this section are Apex programming, triggers, custom controllers, data types, visualforce controllers, and handling exceptions. You also get exposure to designing object schema and formula fields.
- User Interface
]User Interface section covers topics like the salesforce lightning platform and uses cases of visualforce. This section is more about applying your theoretical knowledge to real life. The best way to prepare for this section is by reading and applying the concepts you learned.
- Data Modeling and Management
This section covers topics like data modeling and designing data models. As a salesforce platform developer, you need to understand data modeling and its applicability.
Debug and Deployment Tools
Debugging and using deployment tools is a crucial part of the job of a platform developer. In this section, you will learn types of debug logs, developer consoles, testing frameworks, and the process of deploying the app.
Salesforce Fundamentals
This section tests your knowledge about Salesforce CRM objects and apex and declarative tools.
Testing
Testing is the major component of app development. In this section, you get to learn about different types of testing frameworks and their applicability.
Now, you are ready to get started with the preparation of a Platform Developer. As you know all the essential information about platform developer I, we will provide you with an organized framework to start the exam preparation.
6 Tips to Kickstart your Preparation for Platform Developer I in 2023
Before you read the tips, keep in mind that everybody is different. We have provided broader tips; you can set your plan accordingly
- Prioritize the Preparation of Topics as per Weightage
We have just given a brief overview of the topics. Visit the official source for the entire syllabus and its weightage. Sort out the issues as per their weightage and allot the reading time accordingly. The topics with lesser weightage in the exam do not mean that they are less critical in real life. As a developer, you must thoroughly know all the topics. So, justify each topic well, but ensure you allot your reading hours proportionately.
- Make an Imaginary Live Project to Apply your Learning
As we discussed earlier, doing is the best way to learn the concepts. Your approach should be understanding each idea and applying it to your project. You can use imaginary scenarios to build a personal project. It will strengthen your knowledge and improve your creativity and work experience.
- Use only Authentic Study Resources and Materials
Your reading material is essential because you will learn everything from it. So make sure you use study materials approved by Trailhead. Trailhead is an official source of information from Salesforce. You can refer to the material provided by Trailhead as well.
- Join a Reliable Online Learning Platform for the Preparation
Investing in a reliable online learning platform is an excellent idea to improve your preparation. Because the online learning platform does not only provide reading materials, you get the opportunity to learn from industry experts; you get exposure to live projects under the guidance of experts so that you can get their valuable feedback and identify your improvement areas.
If you are a fresher, an online learning platform is the best starting point to get started with platform developer I, as you get everything you require on a single platform.
- Take Multiple Rounds of Mock Tests
Taking regular mock tests makes you ready for the actual exam. By taking mock tests, you learn time management, test your preparation and identify your strengths and weaknesses. So, keep taking mock tests periodically and assess your results.
One of the main advantages of joining an Online learning class is that you get access to mock test series and quality question dumps. Also, the online learning platform provides you with a detailed results report to improve yourself.
- Prepare in a Group, Join Online Communities
Joining online communities and preparing in groups has compelling benefits. You can train with like-minded people, so you do not feel alone. You can prepare for the exam with more accountability when you are preparing in a group.
Here too, an Online learning platform helps you, as many online learning platforms provide access to their discord community, where you get to interact with many quality people and salesforce professionals. So that you can prepare along with them, raise your doubts and queries and share your knowledge.
Conclusion
That’s all about how you can start with Salesforce Platform Developer I in 2023. We covered the developer’s role and the importance of platform developer I certification and took an exam overview. One of the best ways to kickstart your platform developer preparation is by joining an excellent online learning platform, as we saw its benefits.
