Careers Spotlights
Salesforce Technical Architect
How much do Technical Architects make?
| Junior pay band | Senior pay band | Contract rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States ($) | - | 180,000-220,000+ | 126-200 (p/h) |
| United Kingdom (£) | - | 105,750-185,750+ | 733-1,030 (p/d) |
| Germany (€) | - | 120,000-163,750+ | 725-1,036 (p/d) |
Junior pay band
| United States ($) | - |
| United Kingdom (£) | - |
| Germany (€) | - |
Senior pay band
| United States ($) | 180,000 - 220,000 + |
| United Kingdom (£) | 105,750 - 185,750 + |
| Germany (€) | 120,000 - 163,750 + |
Contract rate
| United States ($) | 126 - 200 (p/h) |
| United Kingdom (£) | 733 - 1,030 (p/d) |
| Germany (€) | 725 - 1,036 (p/d) |
Freelance Technical Architects work an average of 50 hours per week
What factors impact your earning potential as a Technical Architect?
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with Salesforce | 97% | 0% | 3% |
| Years of experience in IT | 91% | 0% | 9% |
| Exposure to large projects | 86% | 9% | 6% |
| Becoming a Salesforce product specialist (e.g. working with Salesforce Industries [Vlocity], CPQ, FSL, Sales and Service Cloud) | 74% | 17% | 9% |
| Salesforce certifications | 71% | 12% | 18% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 63% | 29% | 9% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 54% | 37% | 9% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 51% | 23% | 26% |
| College/University degree(s) | 51% | 20% | 29% |
Years of technical experience with Salesforce
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 97% | 0% | 3% |
Years of experience in IT
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 91% | 0% | 9% |
Exposure to large projects
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 86% | 9% | 6% |
Becoming a Salesforce product specialist (e.g. working with Salesforce Industries [Vlocity], CPQ, FSL, Sales and Service Cloud)
| Satisfied | Neutral | Dissatisfied |
|---|---|---|
| 74% | 17% | 9% |
Salesforce certifications
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 71% | 12% | 18% |
Specific vertical industry experience
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 63% | 29% | 9% |
Years of experience working for a partner organization
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 54% | 37% | 9% |
Years of experience working for an end user
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 51% | 23% | 26% |
College/University degree(s)
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 51% | 20% | 29% |
What steps should you take to become a Technical Architect?
Education
In terms of qualifications, 81% of Technical Architects hold at least a Bachelor's degree. However, only 51% consider a degree to be an important factor when it comes to increasing earning potential, while 47% believe that a degree to be important to work with Salesforce.
Certification
Salesforce certifications are a great way to increase your knowledge of the platform, as well as offering a way to verify your skillset to potential employers.
Of those who took part in this survey, 91% of Technical Architects are certified, and 84% believe that certifications help candidates stand out in a competitive job market.
The Salesforce Certified Technical Architect certification is undoubtedly one of the most difficult Salesforce credentials to achieve, requiring a lengthy number of prerequisites before you can go down that path. It’s also unusual in that there’s no formal exam in order to pass—instead, it’s earned through peer review and completing all certification exams within the Domain Architect tier.
To be eligible to become a Certified Technical Architect, you’ll need to earn the Certified Application Architect and the Certified System Architect certifications to start with. Like the Certified Technical Architect certs, these two high-end badges don’t require additional exams—you’ll earn them automatically once you complete the four stipulated prerequisite certifications.
To become a Certified Application Architect, you’ll need to earn four certifications; Data Architecture and Management Designer, Sharing and Visibility Designer, Platform Developer I, and Platform App Builder. Earning the Certified System Architect cert means completing the Development Lifecycle and Deployment Designer, Identity and Access Management Designer, Integration Architecture Designer, and Platform Developer I certifications.
Once you’ve earned all seven of these and earned the right to call yourself a Certified Application Architect and a Certified System Architect, your progress will be assessed by a review board. They will then determine if you are to be awarded the title of Certified Technical Architect.
What Salesforce certifications do Technical Architects hold?
Roles that can lead on to becoming a Technical Architect
As you can see from the hefty certifications roadmap above, the path to becoming a Salesforce Technical Architect is neither short nor easy. They’re among the highest-paid Salesforce professionals for a reason; the job is technical and complex, requiring many years of experience with the ins and outs of the Salesforce platform. There are several ways to earn that experience, however.
Here are a few of the job roles we see leading to a career as a Technical Architect:
- Salesforce Developer
- Salesforce Administrator
- Software Engineer
- Java Developer
What skills and experience should Technical Architects have?
- Extensive experience with software development, programming design, and systems management
- Extensive experience developing Salesforce customizations using Apex and Visualforce, performing integrations, and executing data migrations
- In-depth understanding of Salesforce architectural and operational best practices
- Outstanding problem-solving abilities, able to develop creative solutions to meet business needs
- Excellent discovery and requirements gathering skills
- Familiarity with developing technical architecture for complex Salesforce implementations
- Practical experience implementing full lifecycle enterprise software projects
- Strong understanding of cloud concepts, strategy, systems design, implementation and management
- Track record of XML, SQL, HTTP/HTTPS, and enterprise application integration processes
- Experience with Lightning/Communities, Process Builder, Triggers, Workflows, CSS, HTML, Templates and Web Services
- Knowledge of tools like Ant Migration Tool and integrated development environment platforms like Eclipse
- Ability to document proofs of concept, system designs, data models, system landscapes, and role hierarchies
- Great communication skills and ability to present and explain designs to stakeholders, defending points of view to a variety of audiences where necessary
- Strong application design skills combined with strong data, integration, and security architecture skills
- Detail-oriented with the ability to rapidly learn and take advantage of new concepts, business models, and technologies
- Proven ability to analyze, design, and optimize business processes via technology and integration
- Ability to convey and convince customers of best practices at various levels within a large organization
- Strong Enterprise Architecture background
What are the opportunities for progression for Technical Architects?
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Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
