My Salesforce Certification journey can be summarized in two words: Opportunity and Intent.

Opportunity came 6 years ago at a job interview with a consulting firm that was starting a Salesforce practice. I was asked if I would be interested in being one of its formative members. Obviously, being a job interview, I said “Yes,” but it wasn’t until later that night that I formed an explicit intent to master this new topic of “Salesforce,” which I knew nothing about.

My first goal was to become Force.com Certified. But coming in cold to Salesforce (and to CRM in general, for that matter) I did struggle to get a handle on it. Within days of starting my study preparation, I was trying to build Java code to talk with the Salesforce APIs (which was far more difficult than I had hoped). It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I discovered the Study Guide and realized that none of the stuff I was doing was actually part of the exam! So there I learned my first lesson:

Tip #1: Always read the study guide.

It took me 6-8 weeks of studying before I attempted the exam and passed. This was such a triumph that I decided to book my Advanced Developer exam for the following week, and failed spectacularly. I distinctly recall the feeling of doom I had mid-exam. I went back to the drawing board for a month before making a second attempt. And I failed...again. Nine months later, I made a third attempt and passed.

Tip #2: Don’t let overconfidence take the place of preparation.

With the failures behind me and around a year of real-life experience, my competitive nature kicked in. A torrent of exams then followed. Over the next two months, I achieved my Administrator, Sales Cloud Consultant, and Service Cloud Consultant certifications. I also completed my Technical Architect self-evaluation, and finally the Advanced Developer Programming Assignment.

Tip #3: There is nothing like real-life experience to round out your knowledge.

During this time, I came across the blog of Keir Bowden, or “@bob_buzzard” as he’s known on Twitter, and learned he’d achieved all 7 certifications. Rounding out my existing 5 certs with my Certified Technical Architect (CTA) certification became my next goal, and shortly after my first Dreamforce in 2012, I attended the Review Board, getting a partial pass in 5 of 7 areas. Although disappointed, I kept at it and achieved my Advanced Administrator certification before attempting my CTA retake a few months later. I passed and became CTA certified in October 2012.

Tip #4: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

I can honestly say that the CTA was the most challenging certification, involving weeks and weeks of significant preparation -- reviewing documentation, watching videos, presenting to coworkers, and technical experimentation. It was stressful, but it’s the one certification that I’m proudest of having achieved. Fast forward a few years, and the Salesforce University Certification program has expanded manifold.

I undertook my Force.com transitions, gaining me my Certified Platform Developer I and II status, but many new Architect certifications were being launched and it started to irk me that I could no longer say I held “all the Salesforce Certs.” I wanted to do something about it, and here’s where Intent played a role. I know I respond best when faced with a challenge -- so I booked all 6 Architect exams for the same day...meaning if things went to schedule, I would be starting the day at 8am and finishing up at just before 6pm with another 6 certs under my belt.

Tip #5: Set yourself a challenge and go for it.

I had prepared for this process mainly by relying on the knowledge I’d obtained for my CTA and in my day-to-day role as I work continuously in areas like Integration, Security, Data Modeling, and Release Management. When I turned up for the first exam, I had a sudden feeling that this might be a huge mistake. However, the first “Pass” settled me down and I got into the flow of things.

From there it was a rapid progress of about 1 question every 34 seconds for the next 360 questions. I took short breaks between the first and last sets of 3 exams and a longer break for lunch, as by the end of my first 3 exams my mind was wandering in the first sentence of some questions.

Looking back, I can say it’s been an incredible ride. My career in Salesforce has spanned 6 years and 16 certifications. I’ve gone from a developer/consultant in a fledgling Salesforce practice to a senior role within the world's largest Salesforce partner. I’ve traveled the country and the world, I’ve been rewarded both financially and personally for my efforts, I’ve learned so many things, and I’ve never been busier or had more fun.

To someone looking to follow in my footsteps (or even surpass me), I can give you the following advice:

• Intentionally seek certifications. Don’t just say “Someday.”
• Don’t wait until you know you are ready to take a certification. Set yourself a reasonable goal to help focus and drive you.
• “Experience” and “Study” go hand in hand.
• Salesforce certifications will positively affect your professional progression.
• Becoming a Salesforce CTA, although the most challenging, will have the biggest meaningful impact on your career. What’s more, the new Architect Journey is more defined than ever, with FREE elearning resource guides aligned to each certification.

I wish you all the best, and look forward to seeing you in the cloud!

Steven Herod is a Principal Director of Technology Innovation in the Cloud-First Applications team at Accenture. Steven currently holds 16 Salesforce Certifications and co-hosts a podcast for Salesforce Developers called Code Coverage. He was a technical reviewer on Andrew Fawcett's ‘Force.com Enterprise Architecture,’ an Alumnus of the Salesforce MVP program, and former co-organizer of the Sydney Salesforce Developer Group. He blogs at LimitException.com and tweets at @sherod. He lives in Wollongong, Australia with his family and is ever grateful for the support of his partner Barbara for always asking “Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

Steven’s certifications:
Salesforce Certified Force.com Developer August 24, 2010
Salesforce Certified Administrator October 24, 2011
Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant October 26, 2011
Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant December 12, 2011
Salesforce Certified Technical Architect October 30, 2012
Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator December 12, 2012
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I December 10, 2015
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II December 10, 2015
Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder December 14, 2015
Salesforce Certified Sharing and Visibility Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Mobile Solutions Architecture Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Integration Architecture Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Data Architecture & Management Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Development Lifecycle & Deployment Designer August 23, 2016
Salesforce Certified Community Cloud Consultant September 6, 2016