The last two roles are pretty straight forward, so we’ll combine them into a single email.
These days, the Administrator (Admin) is more than someone that configures users, resets their password, and adds some fields. In some cases, they are a one person army.
For example, in smaller projects, the admin can serve as a blend of Solution Architect and Business Analyst. In larger ones, they assist with some of the more “tedious” activities, and usually don’t get involved with design.
Possible certifications are Administrator and Platform App.
The Developer (Dev) is mainly responsible for written apex and building flows. They are generally more technical, and less client-facing. Understanding coding methodologies, such as Separation of Concerns, to build modular and scalable coding is important.
Possible certifications are Developer and Platform App.
Either role serves as a great entry point to Salesforce. If you like to code, and perhaps have some Java experience already, then shifting to a Salesforce Dev will be fairly easy. On the other hand, if you’re more person-oriented, then starting as an Admin could be your first position.
The takeaway
The Admin and Dev are like foot soldiers in an army. They are the front lines of the configuration and development, and work with architects to ensure the design is being properly implemented.