Recently, there are a few popular threads on LinkedIn discussing Salesforce certifications vs experience.
One scenario that was mentioned was an individual with 10 certifications and only 1 year of experience. That definitely seems odd, and may indicate the person is using exam dumps. Side note: If you don’t know what an exam dump is, I recommend you DON’T search for it. Seriously. You’ll only hurt yourself in the long run and you’d be dishonest with yourself.
When you’re starting your Salesforce career, it makes sense to gather a few certs. Perhaps the basic ones like admin, sales, service, and app builder. As you evolve, it’s important to balance theoretical knowledge with actual project time.
So aside from those basic certs, you should consider getting another once you have actual real-world experience with the particular module. For example there’s no point in having all the marketing cloud certs if you’ve never delivered a marketing cloud project.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you have 10 years of experience and only 1 cert, you are opening yourself for criticism or a lack of trust. I remember walking into a new client’s office with 8 years of Salesforce experience and 0 certs, and it made me feel like I was unqualified for the role. With a few certs, the client probably would have trusted me as soon as I walked through the door, instead of me having to “prove myself”.
The takeaway
While there’s no specific formula for Salesforce certifications to experience, it’s a good idea to have certs that correspond to the work you do. For example, if you love being an admin, then consider the admin, advanced admin, and app builder certs. If you’re soon to be or are already an architect, then consider at least 6 certs and have a roadmap to the application, system, B2C, or B2B architect certs.