I am not at all exaggerating when I say I get emails DAILY looking for xRM developers.  I wish I could clone some of the people I know and work with, I’d be a gazillionaire from referral fees.  xRM Developers is a NEW and HOT specialty and in demand, qualified xRM devs can practically write their own ticket.  So, what to do now?

Are you already a .NET developer?  Great, you’re more than halfway there!  You know code, you already THINK the right way, you just need a little boost.  Here’s your to-do list:

• Join a user group.  I just happen to have one to recommend, xRMVirtual.  It has a strong base of almost 1000 developers to learn from, meets a couple times a month online, all meetings recorded and available on-demand.  Oh, it’s free to join and participate too.  Look on the page of in-person groups, there might be one near you to try also.
• Get a couple of books.  There are a few, I have some favorites.  xRM as a Rapid Development Platform is excellent for programmers that need to learn CRM as a platform.  Teach Yourself CRM in 24 Hours is great to give you what you need to understand CRM concepts, the different moving parts, get your mindset in a CRM way, etc.
• Go get your hands on some CRM.  Sign up for a free trial account at CRMOnline.  It’s a 30 day trial, no credit card needed and a great way to just try it out.
• You need a mentor.  This will take some effort on your part.  Spend some time lurking in  the forums.  Read the Q/A exchanges between the experts.  You will find someone that you seem to understand better than the others, click better.  Drop them an email.  I know these folks, they are eager to help, it’s why they are on the forums to begin with.  If that doesn’t work, drop me an email, we’ll chat, I’ll help you with an introduction.

Even if you’re not looking for a job right now, maybe your boss came over and said, “hey, go learn this xRM stuff and make me some software”, this list will help you too.  Then when you’re the expert, you can ask for that raise ;).