With more than 150,000 businesses utilizing Salesforce, the company dominates the worldwide marketplace as the leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform. As a result, more candidates than ever before are considering a career in Salesforce Administration and exploring the many pathways from entry-level to advanced positions.

We know how difficult it can be to narrow down what your Salesforce career path should be. To help you begin your journey, we’ve broken down some of the most common questions asked by candidates looking to launch their careers as a Salesforce Administrator including the role and responsibilities of an entry-level admin, salary potential, and advanced positions available to candidates who commit to expanding their knowledge of the Salesforce ecosystem through special certifications.

What is a Salesforce Administrator?

The first Salesforce career path we are going to explore is: Salesforce Administrator. Salesforce Administrators help bridge the gap between the technical operation of the platform and the end-users, who are typically sales, marketing, and business associates. Administrators are the associates who configure and manage the platform’s tools to improve its function for the specific needs and expectations of the end-users. Simply put, it is the Administrator who helps companies make the most out of their investment in the Salesforce platform.

This role is typically an entry-level position for individuals who have experience with Salesforce and have earned a Salesforce Administrator Career Certificate.

The responsibilities of a Salesforce Administrator include:

• Building personalized reports and dashboards
• Data management and workflow improvement
• Managing new leads and existing contacts in the CRM database
• Creating and managing user accounts, updating permissions, and modifying individual permissions
• Build low-code applications to improve automated processes and productivity using the Salesforce Lightning App Builder

 

What is the role of an advanced Salesforce Administrator?

If you move forward with this Salesforce career path, there is room for advancement. The most common next step for Salesforce Administrators is a Senior or Advanced Administrator role. These associates have stayed the course and gained advanced knowledge of fundamental administrative functions. An Advanced Salesforce Administrator has mastered management and improvement processes for workflow features, custom reporting, and data management and may be tasked with leading junior Salesforce Administrators.

An advanced Salesforce Administrator must have advanced knowledge of critical platform functions, including:

• Security and permissions management
• Advanced data analysis and management
• Cloud applications
• Process automation
• Object management and customization
• Information auditing
• Environment Management and Deployment

 

What is the average salary for a Salesforce Administrator?

Market-rate salaries for any role across all industries are determined by company size, location, annual revenue, and an applicant’s breadth of experience. In the U.S., the average salary for a Certified Salesforce Administrator is around $84,000 per year for an entry-level associate. Salesforce Administrators with five years or more experience often command average salaries of $87,000 per year.

In select markets, it is not uncommon for an Advanced Administrator to receive up to $125,000 per year.

What are alternative Salesforce career paths?

The demand for candidates with Salesforce skills is growing daily and is expected to accelerate as more companies embrace sophisticated CRM platforms to refine business operations. The Salesforce Administrator role provides associates with a core foundational knowledge of the platform that can easily be applied to more advanced technical roles within an organization. There are many other Salesforce career paths to explore. Beyond years of experience, the most successful associates transitioning from an administrative role to a technical or consultant position also complete additional certificate or credential programs to enhance their skills.

Alternative Salesforce career paths may include:

• Salesforce Developer
  • Deliver coded solutions to enhance the Salesforce environment, objects, and workflow
  • Average salaries begin at $108,000 per year
• Sales Cloud Consultant
  • Design and implement solutions for sales and business development users
  • Average salaries begin at $97,000 per year
• Marketing Cloud Consultant
  • Set up and implement marketing cloud products, manage subscriber data, troubleshoot account configuration
  • Average salaries begin at $100,000 per year.

Launching your Salesforce Administrator career with Pathstream

The first step to launching your career as a Salesforce Administrator is learning how to use the platform. Pathstream offers a specialized, 18-week certificate program for candidates looking to advance their skills using Salesforce and cultivate a foundation of in-demand proficiencies. Learn more about getting started as a Salesforce admin with Pathstream here.