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Salesforce Inc has its very own web-based learning centre called Trailhead which most people who are part or wish to be part of know about. Via this medium, professionals undergo self–guided training (and all for free). It’s a value addition initiative of Salesforce Inc to encourage more bright talent to enter this lucrative career field and make their career. Trailhead addresses the gap in a pool of trained professionals available in the job market, especially in emerging markets like India where CRM services have now taken off and demand is going to rise for Salesforce trained/certified personnel.
A major chunk of Trailhead’s large success is due to its gamification. Users study/train to obtain badges that enables them to move up the Salesforce trailhead ladder, with ‘Ranger’ being the ultimate rung. Becoming a Trailhead Ranger requires 100 badges & 50000 points which requires time & dedication. Let’s look at the Trailhead hierarchy so we all can understand where a fresher begins and can reach over time and with perseverance:
RANK BADGES POINTS
Scout (first rung) 0 0
Hiker 1 200
Explorer 5 3000
Adventurer 10 9000
Mountaineer 18000 25
Expeditioner 50 35000
Ranger 100 50000
Many Salesforce personnel exceed the current status of Ranger (and 100 badges) with some getting 200, 300 and even more. So a next rung needs to be put in place like the rank/term of a “super ranger”. With thousands of badges available on Trailhead, it’s simple to comprehend why so many people are acquiring multiple Trailhead badges. Inviting modules released weekly, a steady flow of new Salesforce features & products to learn, and more time to focus on learning/skilling/growth in the years of Covid induced lockdowns and offices being shuttered is leading to a boom in badge acquisitions.
A Mason Frank Career Survey that gathers exhaustive data from 2500 and more Salesforce professionals, spanning a range of designations, domains, and geographies reveals the following information on the % of professionals and which rung of the Trailhead they are in:
Scout (first rung) 2%
Hiker 4%
Explorer 5%
Adventurer 14%
Mountaineer 17%
Expeditioner 24%
Ranger 35%
The average number of Trailhead badges is around 200 currently. As mentioned above, the Covid induced free time/need for re-skilling or upskilling has led to this spike as compared to a survey done a few years ago. The website Top Trailblazers ( https://toptrailblazers.com/ ) is a public online website that monitors who is leading the Trailhead badge rankings and certifications. It’s a great place for those in Salesforce to keep abreast of the progress of others in the industry.
So, if you are already in the Salesforce universe, which trailhead rung are you on? We hope you enjoyed reading this article just as much as we have in bringing this to your knowledge. Keep checking our website for the latest webinars and courses that will benefit you or someone you know.
About the Author
Anand Sharma
Anand is a Salesforce Evangelist, joined the Salesforce ecosystem in 2014 helping customers to be successful with Salesforce, and joined Codleo to share the goodness with even more developers all around the world. He is based in New Delhi, with his wife, and he tries to escape summers every chance he gets.
