Salesforce helps over 150,000 customers transform how they connect with their customers through our powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform. But simply having this technology isn’t enough — companies need someone who can turn all these capabilities into real solutions. That’s where Salesforce Administrators come into play.
Every successful company using Salesforce has something in common: a skilled Salesforce Administrator making it all work. As a Salesforce Admin, you’re the bridge between what your company needs and what Salesforce can do. With new AI tools like Agentforce enhancing the platform’s capabilities, companies need skilled Admins more than ever.
What we’ll cover
- What is a Salesforce Administrator?
- What does a Salesforce Administrator do?
- How to become a Salesforce Admin
- Career prospects and opportunities for Salesforce Admins
- How Salesforce Admins can lead the way with Agentforce
- Salesforce Administrator credentials and certifications
- How to prepare for the Salesforce Administrator certification exam
- Frequently asked questions
What is a Salesforce Administrator?
Salesforce Administrators (Admins for short) build and manage trusted solutions on the Salesforce Platform. Admins configure, automate and optimize Salesforce to effectively utilize the CRM system and maximize value. This involves managing and customizing Salesforce to help users get the most out of the platform. Salesforce Administrators work with stakeholders to define system requirements and customize the platform.
A Salesforce Admin best understands how to make the platform work for their company’s goals. That means making the most of the latest Salesforce innovations. When it comes to AI, Admins are not just part of the AI revolution — they’re leading it. With Agentforce, admins unlock AI’s potential by building trusted and secure agents using the skills and tools they already know. Whether an organization has one admin or many, these professionals are driving innovation with AI.
Core responsibilities include managing Salesforce users, data, security, analytics, and product. A Salesforce Administrator’s colleagues can rely on them to:
- Maintain the platform
- Make it as easy as possible for users of any technical level to use Salesforce
- Stay current on the platform’s new tools, capabilities, and updates
- Align Salesforce with company objectives to achieve meaningful outcomes as a product leader
Think of Salesforce Administrators as your trusted advisors on all things Salesforce. They are a vital bridge between business and technology.
What does a Salesforce Administrator do?
In some organizations, administrator jobs are combined with other roles. Depending on their needs, some hire for this role specifically. Because of our platform’s capabilities, having someone with an admin certification (more on that in a minute) can ensure the company is using the platform to its fullest potential.
A Salesforce Administrator handles a wide range of duties that help companies get the most from their Salesforce investment. Here are the key responsibilities:
- Build and maintain the Salesforce platform for a company’s specific needs
- Set up new users and make sure they have the right access levels
- Create custom reports and dashboards to track business goals
- Automate business processes to save time and reduce errors
- Train users and provide ongoing support
- Keep company data clean, accurate, and secure
- Customize fields, layouts, and workflows to match business processes
- Stay current on new Salesforce features and updates
Core to the admin role is managing user access and security. Admins are responsible for making sure their company’s most important asset — their data — is secure and well managed.
Take, for example, your sales team. They might use Sales Cloud to keep track of opportunities and close deals. With the help of a Salesforce Admin, your salespeople can set up personalized dashboards, fields, alerts, and reports to shorten the sales cycle and track every lead in greater detail. This level of organization can lead to greater satisfaction among salespeople and new customers.
What is a Trailblazer?
Trailblazers are the go-getters of the Salesforce world — people who love learning new skills and finding better ways to help their companies succeed. They’re the ones who jump in, figure things out, and share what they know with others. When you become a Salesforce Admin, you join this global community of problem-solvers who grow their careers while making a real difference at work.
Salesforce Admins are a core audience within the Trailblazer community, a network of technical practitioners who are building their careers, companies, and communities with Salesforce. As the community continues to grow, so does the Salesforce admin role. The opportunities for admins are endless and with the right skills and tools, you will continue to thrive.
How to become a Salesforce Admin
You do not need a technical background or knowledge of Salesforce technology to begin. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection anywhere in the world can get trained on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform designed to teach new students and seasoned professionals a wide variety of business skills. Best of all, learning to become a Salesforce Admin happens online and on your schedule.
To find work as an admin, you must prepare and study, and then pass the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam. Absolute beginners kick things off by learning what the Salesforce platform is and what it does and then build on that learning in a series of engaging modules. We estimate that it takes around 115–125 hours of study and preparation to pass.
Core skills Admins should strive to develop to be successful include communication, process automation, problem solving, and more. Explore the Salesforce Admin Skills Kit to learn more and see how admin skills are typically represented on job descriptions and resumes.
Career prospects and opportunities for Salesforce Admins
As our Trailblazers continue to grow and impact business, Salesforce Admin jobs will grow, too. Our research shows 148% job growth for admins in the past 5 years (US data) and a median U.S. salary of $86,000. It’s a career path for people who love to learn and for professionals who enjoy using the latest technology.
Some people who earn their Salesforce Administrator Certificate do so to supplement their current role in a company – and potentially secure a higher salary. Others use it to enrich their resume and find a new position.
Many companies across industries and of different sizes use Salesforce, including retailers, nonprofits, financial services, healthcare providers, software companies, and businesses that provide a service.
How Salesforce Admins can lead the way with Agentforce
Agentforce helps your teams deliver specialized support to employees and customers. As companies look for smarter ways to work, Salesforce Admins are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. With Agentforce, Admins can build, customize, and deploy agents that help teams work more efficiently and create better customer experiences.
1. Salesforce Admins can become AI experts
As a Salesforce Admin, you’re already skilled at solving business problems with technology. Now, you can expand that expertise to include AI. By learning to build and manage Agentforce solutions, you’ll develop valuable AI skills that set you apart in the job market. Companies need professionals who can connect AI capabilities to real business needs, making your Agentforce knowledge invaluable.
2. Salesforce Admins will have firsthand knowledge of Agentforce
Admins get early access to Agentforce developments and hands-on experience with its capabilities. You’ll be among the first to understand how to create custom agents, set up workflows, and connect Agentforce with existing Salesforce features. This direct experience means you can guide your company’s strategy and become the go-to expert for getting the most from AI solutions.
3. Salesforce Admins can help implement agentic AI at companies
Salesforce Admins can lead the way in AI exploration. You can spot opportunities where Agentforce can solve business challenges, such as automating customer service responses, providing personalized sales coaching, or streamlining operations.
By showing how Agentforce makes work easier and gets results, you can help your company adopt AI solutions with confidence. Whether it’s building custom agents using Agent Builder or integrating Agentforce with Slack for better team collaboration, your expertise helps transform how your company works.
You’re invited to join our community
Want to connect with Salesforce Admins and get a sneak peek into this rewarding career path? Join our Trailblazer community today!
Salesforce Administrator credentials and certifications
Becoming a Salesforce Admin can be a valuable long-term career path or a way to improve the career path you’re already on. The Salesforce Administrator role has eight credentials, including:
- Salesforce Associate – designed for individuals who have a fundamental awareness of how an integrated CRM platform solves the challenge of connecting departments and customer data, and who may have up to 6 months of Salesforce user experience. Understanding reporting, user administration, sharing, customization, and data management at a foundational level is also beneficial, but technical expertise is not required.
- Administrator – designed for those who have experience with building reports, dashboards, and workflows, as well as managing users, data, and security. These individuals also maintain and customize Sales Cloud and Service Cloud apps.
- Advanced Administrator – for seasoned Salesforce Administrators who have mastered advanced Salesforce features and functionality to solve a variety of business problems
- CPQ Specialist – for individuals with experience designing, building, and implementing quoting flows with Salesforce Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ), the technology used to organize sales teams
- Marketing Cloud Administrator – for administrators who configure and troubleshoot configuration and user requests in Marketing Cloud, including subscriber data management and Setup navigation
- Platform App Builder – for those skilled in designing, building, and implementing custom applications
You can also pick up a few Superbadges along the way to indicate extra learning concentrations in topics such as Business Administration Specialist and Security Specialist. Admins using generative AI and Agentforce might also want to consider the AI Specialist credential.
Note that in addition to becoming a Salesforce Admin, other paths of study exist to help professionals learn and demonstrate their capability with our platform. You may also want to consider certifications to become a Salesforce Architect, Developer, Marketer, Consultant, or Designer.
To become a credentialed Salesforce Administrator, you don’t need any other certifications. However, if you choose to become an Advanced Administrator, you’ll need to start with your Administrator Certificate. The Advanced Administrator exam builds on your Salesforce Admin knowledge and deepens it.
Before scheduling your exam, we recommend that candidates have at least six months to one year of experience using Salesforce.
How to prepare for the Salesforce Administrator certification exam
Future admins have a few options to prepare for their credentials. To complement the Trailhead courses, Trailhead also has a community of fellow learners; members are known as Trailblazers. You can join the Trailblazer Community to learn together, find answers, and collaborate.
Administrators can also learn from the Salesforce Admin YouTube channel with videos that show what the role entails, as well as recorded webinars and educational videos. (You can also get tips on how to pass the exam.)
Other online and offline resources include blog posts, podcasts, and virtual programming and in-person events that are updated often and spark some inspiring conversation.
With the help of a Salesforce Admin, your salespeople can set up personalized dashboards, fields, alerts, and reports to shorten the sales cycle and track every lead in greater detail. This level of organization can lead to greater satisfaction among salespeople and new customers.
Once you’ve gone through the courses and steps on Trailhead to learn and study for the certification, familiarize yourself with the Salesforce Certified Administrator Exam Guide.
When you’re ready, it’s time to sign up for the exam. The test can be taken in person or online. It includes 60 multiple-choice or multiple-select questions and five non-scored questions. Test takers have 105 minutes, or just over an hour and a half, and they must score 65% or higher to pass. There is a fee to take and retake the exam.
After you pass the test, you’re a certified Salesforce Administrator, and your career opportunities have expanded. But your learning doesn’t stop there. Maintain your certification on a specific schedule to keep your knowledge, skills, and abilities current.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Salesforce Administrator?
- A Salesforce Admin manages and customizes Salesforce to help users get the most out of the platform.
- How do I become a Salesforce Administrator?
- You can become a Salesforce Admin by studying the platform and earning Salesforce Admin certification.
- What are the core responsibilities of a Salesforce Admin?
- Admins are responsible for security, user management, data management, product management, and analytics.
- What certifications are available for Salesforce Admins?
- Salesforce offers a foundational Admin certification, with advanced options as you gain experience.
- What career opportunities are available for Salesforce Admins?
- Admins can grow into roles like platform manager, consultant, or solutions architect.
- Do I need a technical background to become a Salesforce Admin?
- No, but understanding technology concepts is helpful for mastering the platform.
Ready to be an #AwesomeAdmin?
Explore the Salesforce Administrator career path by digging into these helpful resources and get ready to take the next step in your career.
