Seeking Guidance on Starting a ServiceNow Journey – Resources, Certification & Career Advice

[Ronnie2]

Good afternoon Folks,

I hope everyone and their clans are happy and well

This is my first post here, so I hope I’m landing in the right place—and among kind souls willing to share a bit of wisdom.

I currently work as a Cloud Support Engineer in a BAU 2nd/3rd line role, supporting Entra ID, Azure, and Microsoft 365 workloads for a UK bank. We use ServiceNow extensively for incident, change, and request management, and I’ve become increasingly curious about what lies beneath the surface—particularly around reporting, dashboards, workflows, and automation. I’d love to better understand how ServiceNow can drive continuous improvement, and how I might contribute more proactively through it.

My short-to-medium goal is to explore ServiceNow certifications—from fundamentals to specialisations—with a view to eventually moving into a dedicated ServiceNow role. I’d really appreciate any advice on:

• Free resources or study materials (URLs, books, videos, etc.)
• Realistic timeframes and study plans for certification
• Cost expectations and any ways to reduce them
• How others have transitioned into ServiceNow-focused roles

I’m 52, and to be candid, I’ve struggled with confidence in recent years. Every new team member has joined at a more senior level, and it’s left me questioning my path. But I’m determined to change that. I believe in continuous learning, and I know I’ve still got a lot to offer—I just need to find the right direction and support.

If you’ve walked a similar path, or have any insights to share, I’d be genuinely grateful. Even a nudge in the right direction would mean a lot

Warm regards,
Cluaran

West of Scotland (CRA)

[Nikhil Bajaj9]

Hi @Ronnie2 ,

Its great that at this age as well you want to start a new chapter. 

Resources:-

1. developer.servicenow.com to create your own Instance , where you will do the practical. Moreover navigate to learn section of developer site to learn ServiceNow.

2. ServieNow university - Create account and start with Welcome to serviceNow training and Welcome to ServieNow Micro certification (It is Free).

3. Youtube channels - You can start with Learn&Grow channel from Atul Grover ex:- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5bZK6szqsSAKPTJA67As5Q/videos

4. There are many other channels as well and free trainings as well - https://www.youtube.com/@servicenow_india

Once you are done with these basics learnings - Navigate to ServiceNow university and start with - ServiceNow Admin fundamentals training.

Now Coming to realistic timeframe- everyone have their own speed and grasping power so no one can tell you exact time. When you learn any new thing, new hobby- definitely you need to spare 3-6 Months on it.

Now coming to Costing - Learning- No cost, as i have given you some free channels and sites. Certification will cost you around $300 + Taxes (First traget few Micro certifications- which are free and then you can move to CSA - Certified Admin and then Based on your interest you can choose certification from different modules- ex:- CAD, CIS- ITSM etc)

This is the only way to transition- Either learn from free resources or get a proper training from any working professional or instatitue.  We all have done that but fortunately got projects to get Hands on.

Please feel free to ping community further, if you have any questions. Even you can ping me one to one as well, will be happy to assist.

If i was able to help you, please mark my answer as- Solution accepted. This willhelp further learners.

Regards,

Nikhil Bajaj

[Nikhil Bajaj9]

Hi @Ronnie2 ,

If i was able to help you, please mark my answer as- Solution accepted. This will help further learners

Regards,

Nikhil Bajaj