What advice would you give to someone transitioning from a nontechnical background?

[Muna Hassan-Sey]

My journey began through RiseUp Program. At first, terms such as business rules, tables, workflows, and access controls felt unfamiliar. I often questioned whether I belonged in technical conversations.

I eventually realized that I was not starting from nothing. My military experience taught me how to understand processes, manage risk, solve problems, lead teams, and work with different stakeholders. I simply needed to translate those experiences into the language of technology.

A few practices were especially helpful:

• Reading job descriptions and asking myself, “How have I already done this in my career?” The setting and terminology may have been different, but many of the underlying skills were the same.
• Conducting informational interviews with people already working in my target roles. Their insights helped me understand the daily work, identify skill gaps, and make better career decisions.
• Last but not least, embracing the community. The ServiceNow Community has been tremendous throughout my journey. Whether I was studying for the CSA, preparing for interviews, translating my previous experience, or learning to believe that I belonged, the community supported me. Over time, I stopped feeling like I was simply trying to find my place. I began to feel like these were my people.

Today, I work as a ServiceNow consultant, business analyst, and Scrum Master. I am still learning, building, and expanding my functional and technical knowledge.

If you are a veteran or career changer entering ServiceNow, give yourself permission to be a beginner. Practice in the platform, learn from people already doing the work, and embrace the community.

Most importantly, don’t discount the experience you already have.

What advice would you share with someone beginning their ServiceNow journey?

[SohamTipnis]

Hi @Muna Hassan-Sey,

Welcome to the ServiceNow family!!!!🎊

A good advice would be to focus on consistency rather than trying to learn everything at once. ServiceNow is a huge platform, so feeling overwhelmed in the beginning is completely normal. Start with the fundamentals, practice real-world scenarios in a PDI, and gradually build your scripting and configuration skills.

Also, don’t underestimate your previous experience. Skills like problem-solving, communication, process understanding, and working with stakeholders are just as important as technical knowledge.

Most importantly, don’t compare your beginning with someone else’s middle. Keep learning, keep practicing, ask questions, and make use of the ServiceNow Community. Over time, the concepts that seem confusing today will start becoming second nature.

Let me know what you think!!

If you find my answer useful, please mark it as Helpful and Correct. ‌‌😊

Regards,
Soham Tipnis
ServiceNow Developer || Technical Consultant
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sohamtipnis10

[Muna Hassan-Sey]

Excellent advice Soham.