With over 9.3 million new roles estimated to be created in the Salesforce ecosystem by 2026, there has never been a better time to get Salesforce certified.
Professionals with a Salesforce certification can expect to earn a better salary and stand out from other candidates when applying to jobs. Their industry knowledge and skill sets make them extremely desirable to businesses that need talent to drive their digital transformation.
However, embarking on a brand new career path can be a daunting prospect. As an official Salesforce Trailhead Academy Authorized Training Provider, K2 University helps professionals get certified with courses led by experienced trainers.
One person who decided to get certified with K2 University was Neil Doody. Read more about his experience and his new career in the Salesforce ecosystem:
1. Can you tell us more about your background?
I was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and grew up moving all over the world. I have made Dallas my home now for the last eight years.
Growing up, I was always interested in the culinary arts. I maintained this passion, leading me to culinary school in New York City right after I left high school. I followed that career path throughout my twenties, working all over Canada and the US. This ended with my building and running my own restaurant in Dallas for five years.
2. Why did you decide to change your career and become part of the Salesforce ecosystem?
The restaurant industry is hard work. I was working every day, every night until late, every weekend. I came to the realization that while it was fun and enjoyable in my twenties, it was not something that I could see myself doing for the rest of my working life, especially when trying to have a family in the future.
I had always been good with technology and computers, even when I was a young child because my dad has worked in high tech his whole life. After exploring a few options, I thought that Salesforce was an ecosystem that had a great variety of applications for so many different industries. It is also a growing platform that is going to continue to evolve. The same applies to the services Salesforce offers.
3. How did K2 University help you achieve this goal?
K2 University offered the extra solutions I needed to really accelerate my Salesforce learning.
Students have a structured class schedule that gives them the interactive classroom experience.The trainers are always available, both inside and outside of classes, to answer questions and offer guidance if anyone gets stuck along the way. As I was starting from scratch, trying to teach myself the whole platform, I would often get confused in the beginning with all the terms and Salesforce’s structure. Having the resources that K2 University and its trainers offered was so helpful when I needed to ask specific questions.
4. Now that you are Salesforce certified, what are your current plans?
Once I got my Salesforce certification, I started looking at the different types of positions that were available in the ecosystem. While the traditional administrator jobs with larger companies were available, I fell into a position with a small, start-up consulting company.
Being in a new start-up business helped me gain a lot of valuable experience because the company took on every project that it could. I ended up working with a lot of different organizations in different industries, all of which had varied business needs and Salesforce products. I came to really enjoy moving from one project and organization to another.
After a year I took the experience I had gained and recently started working for a great, more established consulting company. I am surrounded by some fantastic teammates and I’m continuing to learn and grow professionally.
5. What are your goals for the future?
I hope I continue to develop my knowledge and skill set with my current consulting company, working on the varied projects I am already a part of and the ones we have coming up in the near future.
I’m working with a team that is already in place and the company is planning to bring in more junior administrator workers. This means I see myself growing my project management skills, along with continuing to gain more certifications like Platform App Builder and Sales Cloud Consultant. I’ll then be able to move into a Senior Consultant and Solutions Architect position with my current company as we continue to grow.
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K2 University’s courses are all taught by certified trainers, offering training for admins, developers, marketers and business users. If you would like to gain the skills you will need to elevate your career as a Salesforce professional, contact us today.