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When we use the term Salesforce Developer (also known as SFDC Developer), we refer to a person who operates Salesforce. What is a Salesforce engineer? What does it mean to be a Salesforce developer? Salesforce is a platform that gained worldwide leadership in the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) market. It plays a crucial part in the development and success of your business. The key roles in this sphere are:
Salesforce Administrator;
Salesforce Consultant;
Salesforce Developer.
In this article, we will reveal the mystery behind Salesforce Developer responsibilities, what competencies are required to become one, and also shed some light on the Salesforce programmer skills and qualifications.
Being a Salesforce Developer Doesn’t Mean Working in a Salesforce Company
Some people believe that if we speak about Salesforce Developer as a position, we necessarily mean somebody who works for Salesforce. For example, an individual can work for Ergonized and be an expert in the SFDC development of Salesforce system components, including, but not limited to, Visualforce page, integrating third-party software or developing a custom functional, specializing in Salesforce development language Apex, etc.
For sure, a Salesforce engineer should be familiar with the following applications and platforms:
Force.com is a platform that facilitates the development of cloud-based systems and applications.
Lightning App Builder: a solution that simplifies page and component creations for applications; e.g. one-page apps and applications for managing and downloading your reporting dashboards.
Heroku is one more cloud-based platform where Salesforce App Developers can simplify their work on application development, providing easy scaling and total flexibility.
Salesforce is an independent company that provides all kinds of cloud-based solutions. It offers SaaS and PaaS platforms, providing Salesforce-certified and experienced developers the opportunity to work for different companies and develop diverse solutions for enhancing Salesforce functionality.
Salesforce Developer Requirements
You might think that a college degree is a solution to everything. With Salesforce, it is not a mandatory requirement; you should possess some knowledge that is actually not so easy to get from college. Sfdc developer means to know:
Object-oriented principles of programming (at least the very basics).
Basic knowledge of Java or C#.
Model-View-Controller design patterns.
And similar topics. All in all, if you do not have any programming background, most likely, you will face a lot of difficulties and challenges in becoming a Salesforce Developer.
What languages do you need to use in Salesforce Development?
If you ask a Salesforce Developer about their favorite things in the system, they will definitely highlight the following advantages:
It’s a platform with developers’ needs in mind.
It is perfectly optimized for any kind of development, which makes is just pleasant to interact with;
The environment is highly customizable, so any Salesforce Developer will be able to customize it to any needs;
The platform has the ability to be integrated with any system and has a great API interface.
And for sure, as with any system which is rapidly changing along with the technologies, there is no limit to perfection. The majority of Salesforce Developers would confirm that the current IDEs are not very user-friendly and may be tricky to work with.
Salesforce Administrator and Salesforce Developer: What is the difference?
SFDC developers need to know how to customize an existing source code or to write a new one, depending on business requirements. Usually, for each platform, a developer specializing in it is required. Similarly, for each big customer, a different developer is assigned.
And of course, your developer should be familiar with Visualforce and Apex, as these are the main key working skills of any person involved in the Salesforce development processes.
Salesforce Certification Explained
If you seek some official confirmation of your proficiency level as a developer Salesforce offers an opportunity to obtain the official certification In fact, there exist different certification programs for Salesforce developers, Salesforce consultants, and other experts involved in this field. These three certificates are basic for any Salesforce developer:
Platform Developer I – for basic programming in Salesforce, understanding the system capacities and implementation of custom logic;
Platform Developer II – to obtain this certification, you need more advanced programming skills and acquaintance with data modeling;
Platform App Builder – this one is self-explanatory and can be provided to people who prove their capacities in the development, modifications, and management of custom applications for integration with Salesforce.
More detailed info on certification can be found on the official certificates page. You can become acquainted with different solutions provided by the platform; for instance, you can opt for the Sales or Community Cloud, as well as any other product supported by Salesforce.
That being said, you need to acquire specific certifications to work as a Salesforce developer, particularly those issued by Salesforce to prove that you are familiar with Salesforce SFDC meaning, background, and skills. But of course, if you already have a certification in the field, it will be helpful when looking for good positions. Now, when the question ‘Who is a Salesforce developer’ is addressed, let’s dive deeper into the direct responsibilities of this job.
What Salesforce Developers Do for Clients?
There exist many ways to customize Salesforce, which makes the list of what a Force.com developer can offer to a customer pretty long. It depends on business specifics and goals. While there is no exhaustive answer to the question ‘What is a Salesforce engineer doing’, however, if we consider the main ideas and directions, the roles and responsibilities of a Salesforce developer are the following:
Integration with 3rd party applications that already exist and are functioning in the client’s system;
Salesforce customization according to any aspect of the business when a need arises;
A possibility to configure Salesforce UI and settings with just point-and-click options.
All these aspects help customers to enhance their working processes with this platform according to their specific needs and bring more growth opportunities to their businesses.
Blog Credits – Ergonized6
