Is the Salesforce world maxed out?

I joined a conversation this weekend on a forum where someone had asked if there are still jobs in the Salesforce ecosystem for newcomers. That morphed into a couple of private conversations with folks who wanted to know more about how to get started and what to expect on the journey. And I thought that I'd expand a little on my journey, which I realize is not a cookie cutter journey that all folks will take. But perhaps for those teetering at the starting line and not sure whether or not it's worthwhile, maybe it will help.

I spent 20 years in Supply Chain Operations working my way up from a planner to a senior planner, to a buyer/planner, to a senior buyer/planner, to a manager for the purchasing/planning/warehouse departments. I had a solid job (this is often a qualm for folks wanting to make a complete shift - why would you give up all the time and effort that you put into your career for an unknown??), and I made decent money. But I was extremely burned out and under so much stress that I was no longer sleeping more than 2-3 hours at night during the week when I had to get up for work the next morning. And my health was in jeopardy. Maybe you're not in a place where you HAVE to make a change. I was in a place where if I did not make a change, there was a good chance I was going to end up very very sick. Or worse.

Making a switch while working a full time job is absolutely possible (another question that folks have). If you can carve out about an hour a day to study and work toward your new role, you can absolutely make this happen in a reasonable amount of time. Folks go to college and work simultaneously all the time (well, some of us did anyhow). You have to prioritize it. Maybe it means you're not watching TV in the evenings after dinner, and instead you're spending an hour on trailhead or taking practice exams, or spinning up a Dev org to practice what you learned. Maybe on the weekends you're binge-studying instead of binge-watching Netflix. What is your priority and what are you willing to do to make a change? I saw a meme over the weekend that spoke to this - how many people want change vs how many people want TO change? There's work and discomfort in changing your habits. But on the other side of that is the change that you're seeking. If you're not willing to put in the work to change yourself, then the end result you want is not coming. Put in the reps.

Are there still roles out there? Yes!

What about all the layoffs? If you watch the news, you're going to be afraid to work in ANY industry. They broadcast far and wide ALL layoffs - big and small - and they are happening in just about every industry at any given point for all sorts of reasons. If you're making your decisions based on the catastrophizing that happens in the news, you're going to be afraid to do anything in life. Turn off the news. What do you WANT to do for work? Whatever that is, aim at it and put in the work.

Am I guaranteed a job if I join a career program like Talent Stacker | Salesforce Career Development Program . Nothing in life is guaranteed. Going to college and getting a degree doesn't guarantee you a job. And joining a career development program won't make it guaranteed either. BUT (assuming you WANT to work in this ecosystem) you'll have a lot of guidance and support along your journey, which I found to be incredibly useful when I joined that program and worked through their plan. And I did land an incredible role. But I put in the work. It's not a magic pill. You don't just join and magically you're landing roles. You follow the path they lay out and you put in the reps and you work hard at it. The biggest thing for me in that program is that there's a path to success, there's hands-on projects, and there's support along the journey. That is what I found value in. And I still find value in. And one of the reasons that I signed up to be a mentor for their partnership program. I want to give back.

How do you get started if you want to change careers to Salesforce? You can certainly do a program like I did. You can also do it on your own. I did try that initially. But I found that there were so many rabbit holes on Trailhead, and such a variety of information out there that it got overwhelming. And having guidance (especially since I was working full time and didn't have the luxury of spending hours getting lost on the trails) was essential for me. The group does offer a free 5 day peek into the program that gives initial steps and an overview of what's offered, in the event that you just want to see what it's all about without making any committments. I did start there, then spent 6 months on my own, and then came back to the program and joined because I felt like it would be beneficial and I was not making as much progress on my own as I had hoped. If I had it to do all over again, I'd still join the program. It was absolutely worth the investment both financially and in the time I spent working through the modules.