79th Rule of Acquisition - Beware of the Vulcan greed for knowledge

Also true for Salesforce professionals and Trailhead badges. I am currently at 174 and closing in of 175. When I first started, Trailhead was a great way to learn the platform. Not enough to get certified, but enough to understand the material in the study guides. Over time I drifted away from it. A lot of the badges on the recommended certification trails I had already done and once I hit Ranger status, the gamification aspect sort of fizzled out. 

It did not help that one of the last badges I did was called Catter. It's real and it's no longer available but here's the proof. As the name suggests it's about cats and as an owner of between 2 -3 rescue hounds at any given time, it is not my most valued badge.

Fast forward to about a year or so ago when I started to learn Apex. The Apex badges were very difficult for someone with no coding experience and not very helpful. They were configured for developers wanting to learn Apex. I left the trail for resources listed in previous posts. I figured I would circle back to them once I had a better understanding of coding.

At some point I came across the Object-Oriented Programing for Admins and SOQL for Admin badges. I took a look at them and they were exactly what I was looking for. I am not sure if they were intuitive based on the hours of watching Apex videos or if they just did a better job of explaining things, but they drove home some key concepts. Based on these modules and the studying I have done, I am more confident about learning to code and passing the Platform Developer I exam.

I do wonder if at some point you can have too many badges and conversely is there any benefit to getting more. I see a lot of multiples of Ranger status (e.g., 4X Ranger) and wonder if anybody cares about that sort of stuff. Much like too many certifications can sometimes be a barrier to things, especially if you can't back up the certifications with experience, I wonder about too many badges. When I pass 200 badges, I may note it on my profile, but I won't use a multiplier...probably

 

44th Rule of Acquisition - Never confuse wisdom with luck

I feel the same way about certifications and experience. I have four and hope to soon have five. My biggest concern with the number of certifications is that they will lead my experience. I can justify all of my current certifications based on experience and have a good ‘story’ lined up for the next two.

I view certifications as a curated learning plan. Just like in school, you get a syllabus, you absorb the material, you take a test and you get a grade. It doesn’t make you an expert in the class but it shows you are familiar with the topic. Over time you will not remember everything but you will know where to find the information and what it means when you see it again.

I can explain each certification in the Solution Architect path based on my experience (as I get them)  but I can’t explain the Solution Architect Certification that you get when you pass all 4. At first I was disinclined to take the consulting certifications but I recently saw a presentation on someone’s journey to becoming a CTA. \

The individual failed the first time and when studying for the second time took the ‘other’ certifications to keep current with the material. I am debating if it makes sense to take the consulting certifications and let my experience catch up.

The architect also mentioned there were two paths to pass the exam:

1. Theoretical knowledge and coaching - Luck

2. Practical experience being an architect - Wisdom

While it would be nice to be a CTA by either method, long term I think the best approach is gaining practical experience.