A common question for those starting their journey toward Salesforce Certified Administrator certification is “How long will it take to study?” Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Everyone learns differently, has varying amounts of time to dedicate to study, and has different prior professional experiences. However, from my experience working with people preparing for the exam, I know that it’s possible to do it in three months, dedicating a few hours per week to study. As I mentioned earlier, much depends on your background. Perhaps you’ve been or are already a Salesforce user, so certain topics will be easier for you to understand than someone encountering the platform for the first time. Before taking an exam, I recommend taking practice test questions to assess your knowledge. If you consistently achieve scores around 90% on these practice tests, you may be ready for the real exam. This approach allows you to identify any areas where you may need further study and ensures you feel confident and prepared on exam day.
If you have limited time to study but want to learn the platform quickly, I recommend using video courses rather than text-based ones. You can watch and listen to videos anytime and anywhere, even while doing other tasks. I know, I know, I said a few sentences ago that this isn’t recommended or optimal, but sometimes it’s necessary, and I understand that. What is important, the video courses should directly reference the official exam outline.
However, if you have more time to dedicate to learning, focus on real-life scenarios or practical uses of the Salesforce platform. I’ll write more about this later in this chapter.
Remember also that Salesforce is primarily a business platform, so start by learning the business functionalities of Salesforce before diving into configuration in Setup. Before you start configuring the system, you must understand how users work on it.
Another strategy that works for some people is to schedule the exam a few months in advance, which self-motivates them to prepare for the upcoming exam within a set timeframe. However, this may not work for everyone, as it can cause additional stress. Remember, though, that exams can be rescheduled. I’ve done it myself.
Let’s summarize the study strategies:
- Plan how much time you will dedicate to studying and try to stick to that plan.
- Remember to refer to the exam outline described on the official Salesforce page dedicated to the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam.
- If you have limited time, opt for video courses but, if possible, try to mix resources (we will talk about them more in this chapter). The resources you choose should reference the official exam outline.
- Use Salesforce Trailhead but omit the Superbadges as they are more complex and based on specific scenarios. Focus on the recommended Salesforce Trailhead courses.
- Consider booking the exam in advance as it may motivate you to study.
- Explore the test environment and see what each function does in practice by experimenting with different settings.
- Be an active learner by clicking on the features you see in the course.
- Start by learning the business functionalities of Salesforce before diving into a configuration in Setup.
- Follow a specific scenario or course, such as a video course, to organize your exploration of the system.
- If you have more time, focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the platform through real-life scenarios.
- Test your knowledge before the actual exam. We recommend achieving a score of around 85% (preferably 90%) on mock tests before taking the real exam.
You now have the Salesforce learning strategy under your belt, so let’s next explore the sources you can use to prepare for the Salesforce Certified Administrator certification. I will describe a few key sources that I have personally used and still use when learning about Salesforce. Our country’s president once said that he learns all the time, from everyone and everywhere. Learning Salesforce should be similar. The following sections discuss the most important learning sources, which I’ve divided into Salesforce resources (official materials from Salesforce) and non-Salesforce resources (materials created by Salesforce experts).