One of our Senior Instructors, Barbara Campos, shares with us how she came to be part of the Salesforce world and what “teaching” really means to her.

As a child, (and also later as a young adult, I must confess) I had never been quite sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. There were a couple of things I knew I did well: I loved teaching and I loved helping people. I didn’t fully realize at the time that I could in fact have a fulfilling career that would allow me to do these two things, whilst also paying the bills!

In my mind, teaching in a country where education is not always seen as a priority wasn’t very appealing. I also believed volunteering was something I would only be able to do more regularly once I retired.

I was incredibly lucky to grow up in a privileged (and very big!) family in the South of Brazil. My parents worked full time and my siblings and I were usually at home after school with the lady who did the cleaning, washing, cooking, and all other sorts of household chores. But she was illiterate, and that seemed very wrong to me.

So I decided maybe I could teach her how to read and write. I must have been around 17 years old, and I think I can claim that was my very first teaching job, as well as my very first volunteering experience. We both cheered when she was able to sign her own name—I find I still get that same feeling today when I see students excited by learning to crack a formula or validation rule!

I later went to university, and in order to make some extra money, I taught English as a second language. I also worked as a volunteer in a state-run childcare facility. Once again, without previous planning, there I was teaching and volunteering.

My job at that little family-run language school helped me pay for my further education in Hospitality Management. I soon realized that in an industry where English is paramount, a lot of people in my class did not speak it very well. So, again, I found myself in a teaching role helping my colleagues.  

My career in hospitality progressed, and I moved to London. The hotel I was working for bought a new piece of software and I became involved in training the team. That’s when it finally clicked—I was meant to teach! I was good, I had a passion for it, and now I also had an opportunity to turn teaching into my career.

I applied for a job, and I became a technology instructor almost overnight. Having been a user of the system before, I knew it inside out, so I had a fairly smooth transition—with just a few bumps along the way, of course.

But the biggest strike of luck was when my new company then required me to learn Salesforce and become a Certified Administrator. Unsurprisingly, I fell in love with the product and found it to be very easy to teach. So just a couple of years later, I made the move and joined the Salesforce family as a Senior Instructor.

At that point I was already a Certified Administrator, which certainly made things easier, but there was (and continues to be) a LOT of studying. I must admit to having many “parking lot” questions during my first few classes. The learning curve was the steepest I had ever experienced, but at the same time it just felt right from day one.

At Salesforce, not only do I get to teach and help students (that is my day job after all!), but I also get to do a fair amount of volunteer work. Salesforce truly encourages all employees to give back. I regularly take part in a number of activities through the Salesforce Foundation and earlier this year, I spent 3 days at the refugee camp in Calais, France, teaching English to refugees and giving them some of my time just to listen to their stories. It was an experience I will never forget.

I never really planned on working in the technology world. But all my life I was somehow drawn to teaching and helping people. Little did I know that I would not only end up in tech, but I would also have a fulfilling and exciting career, doing what I do best. So if you’re still trying to decide what to be “when you grow up,” think about the things you are good at, what you love doing, and the things that make you happy, and see if, like me and instructing, you too can find your perfectly suited vocation!

Somehow my life brought me to where I am today. I guess some things are just meant to be—and I couldn’t be happier.

To see for yourself if mastering Salesforce is also your true calling, learn more about our extensive curriculum of instructor-led classes and register to attend your class today.