Becoming an Architect is a journey and if you want to see yourself as a successful architect in coming days, you are at right place.
Part 1: The Core Learning
List of questions
- What is the qualifying criteria?
- What sacrifices should I make in the long run compared to the alternate career path I have today?
- What fruits can I expect from choosing the Architecture career path?
- What alternatives I have if not to become an Architect?
- What technical depth do I need to develop to become an Architect?
- How broad should my technology and architecture knowledge be?
- How well do I need to understand the business before becoming an Architect?
- Am I capable of thinking beyond an individual application and seeing the entire ecosystem?
- How strong should my problem-solving skills be to handle complex architectural problems?
- Am I prepared to make architectural decisions and defend the trade-offs behind them?
- Can I communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders?
- Am I capable of managing conflicting stakeholder expectations and bringing everyone towards a common decision?
- Can I lead and influence teams even when I don’t have direct authority over them?
- Do I have the ability to think beyond today’s solution and anticipate tomorrow’s business, technology and scalability needs?
Few questions to consider, which many people ignore before choosing the architectural career path. I have discussed these questions in my master site >> Before You Become an Architect: 14 Questions You Must Ask Yourself
Main article >> Architect Mindset
Don’t blindly make choice in career, I had seen many in my career who ended up as a failed Architect or Manager. Choosing a career based on perceived prestige rather than person–career fit may ruin your future. The underlying psychological mistake is essentially confusing “this career is objectively prestigious” with “this career is right for me.“
For example: “Medicine is a superior career, therefore I should become a doctor“, without asking “Do I actually have the aptitude, temperament, motivation, and willingness to live the lifestyle required?“
Here below I have given some self assessment followed by some career suggestions based on the answers given by you, Architect vs. Engineering Manager: Which Leadership Path is Right for You?
Part 2: The Softskills
Main link
Part 3: The Technology
Here we actually came to Salesforce Specific Architecture career development
Part 4: Decision Making
Learn to Evaluate Architecture Trade-offs
Learn Architecture Patterns and Anti-Patterns
Learn When to Use Declarative vs. Programmatic Solutions
Learn When to Build vs. Buy
Learn Salesforce-Native vs. External Solutions
Learn Single-Org vs. Multi-Org Architecture
Learn Agent vs. Automation Architecture
Learn How to Document Architecture Decisions