Salesforce Certified Administrator

Since 23rd June, Salesforce have changed the exam so it was really difficult to get 'pass'. I failed early July didn't realizing the exam has been changed. But look on the bright side haha I got to know how much it is different from before. (I have failed few more times before..)

All the example questions or dumps floating on the internet were not on the exam at all, AT ALL!!!! So I study from the first.. get the concept from FoF, Udemy and Salesforce Help page. 

There are many questions about assignment rules, approval process, escalation rules, Flow, Screen Flow (so difficult). Less qs about simple things unlike before. So please prepare well..!! 

Now I will prepare for other exams and will try ReviewNPrep's materials so already bought one. Looking forward to it!!

First I'll start off by saying I joined a workforce development program back in Feb this year. So I've been exposed to the Salesforce platform for 6 months now. Although I did have previous experience on the platform years ago. The exposure helped a lot. I took advantage of the free trailhead webinars pertaining to the admin exam, I purchased Mike Wheeler's courses on Udemy, when they were on sale for 11.99 each. There's a total of 4 classes. Lastly I looked for trailhead modules in trailhead that would prepare me for the exam. Focus on force is also a really great resource. Aim to score at least 80% on the topic exams in focus on force. 

I started off by following the Salesforce Administrator path provided by Trailhead and tried to complete it as much I could. I got to know about so many features that I hadn't used yet. I also learnt a lot from Mike Wheeler's Udemy courses. Once I was sure about it, I started practicing by taking different online quizzes such as ProProf to understand how the exam pattern is and what sort of questions would be there, It was really helpful. Finally I went for the test and passed it.

1. Went through the full Trailhead Admin curriculum May 1st - June 10th (free):

- bi-weekly study sessions with partners I found online

- Michael Wheeler’s video course for guided examples and context for the trailhead

2. Superbadges acquired May 11th (Security), June 2nd (Reports and Dashboards), and June 9th (Business Admin):

None of these were easy. They all took me two days and between 6 to 12 hours of focused work complete.   

3. Certification days June 1st and June 15th: 

Do this once you've completed 100% of the Trailhead. The June 1st Certification was not as helpful because the Workflow/Process Automation and other sections I was not familiar with went over my head. When I went on the second time I used Loom to record the webinar so I could pause, slowdown, and speed up the training to meet my study needs. 

4. Practice exams! June 11th - 21st ($30):

- Webassesor: simple exam to get used to the platform

- Trailhead: found at the end of the Admin trailmix. only a few questions, but helpful

- SalesforceBen: free one on website. Simple, but good.  

- Udemy (Mike Wheeler): Fine. They had a number of Classic questions on there that I wish he would remove.

- Focus on Force. The gold standard. Very difficult questions. Most similar to the test. Very well done answer explanations for every question. 6 full tests for $19. Totally worth the money.  

5. Trailhead live June 20th and 21st:

Hi Buddies,

I would like to share my journey of  my learning for Administrator Course and getting certified-

1. I have successfully completed  the course in Trailhead through the below link-

2. I have gone through Salesforce Hulk videos in You tube which is authored by Shrey Sharma

3. I also went through the Udemy course hosted by Mike Wheeler 

4. I also went through the flash cards within the trail head-

5. Finally I went through the practice mock tests through below links which was really useful for certification point of view-

https://sfdcstudy.org/salesforce-certified-administrator/

https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=mjy0mdcyoq5srd

https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=mje1ndu5oa21bh

Hope this information will be useful for the people preparing to get certified.

Thanks!

Regards,

Neha Jalan

I already had experience and knowledge required for admin certification, as I have 1.5 yrs of experience. So, I just revised the concepts from either video or salesforce documentation. I didn't solved any trailhead module, but if you are not experience enough so you can go through trailhead modules and try to cover all the topics.

After that I referred Dumps and I could find 30 to 40 % questions were from them. 

I had a few start and stoping points through my journey, but finally became successful in obtaining my certification. I started my journey through Salesforce Military (Vetforce) and Trailhead modules trainings. I took the virtual class in preparation for my exam. I then studied Focus on Force study guides and practice exams (FOF is a great resource) which helped me understand how the format of the exam would be. I also used Quizlet as an additional resource. I took my first exam and failed; 58%. There was still a lot of stuff I needed to study harder on. I then went to Dreamforce and got more motivated! I took the exam again and failed but I did get a 63%! Third time was the charm, and I passed! Through all my education and certifications I had taken before this exam, I felt this has been the hardest exam I ever had to do. Tech is a new change for me and I look forward to more challenges! Good luck on your exams everyone!

There are a few things to consider. One is to read and practice. The more you read and practice the more you will remember and understand. I said 60 days to prepare for the exam. Which was a rough estimate. This varies from individual to individual. I was studying almost every day for 2 hours after work. Bear in mind I am Salesforce Admin for nearly 3 years already. But if you are completely fresh you will need 2-3 months and more than 2 hours a day to study that's for sure.

Learning Material:

Traileheads are a great way of getting the bigger picture of the Salesforce features.

Mike Wheelers videos show a nice presentation of each relevant topic and feature to visualize.

Focus on force gives you the ability to take mock tests and if answers are incorrect you will get the explanation of what was wrong including the screenshots and link to Salesforce help files. 

The most powerful material is in fact Salesforce help files. There you will find all the details possible to help you with your exam. 

Good Luck!