Getting started as a ServiceNow System Administrator

[Jeff Currier]

I am often asked how to get started as a ServiceNow sys admin or how to become a better System Administrator.  While there are many questions and answers like this on the ServiceNow community, I thought I would start this blog to get an updated and consolidated list.

Demo center
A good first step is to visit the ServiceNow demo center to familiarize yourself with the out of the box functionality of ServiceNow.  You can focus on the areas your organization is implementing or has implemented and pay close attention to the navigation dashboards, and reports.  This will give you an initial foundation for beginning your administrator training.

Developer Site learning paths
From the Developer site, register for a Personal Developer Instance (PDI) and begin taking some of the free hands-on labs to become somewhat familiar with the job of a ServiceNow Administrator. There are labs for building applications, scripting, security, reporting, integrations and many more.  Since these are free, these are a great risk-free way to prepare for more formal training, so you know what questions to ask and where you need to get stronger.

Formal Instructor lead training
Formal training with a live or virtual instructor is necessary to providing the comprehensive foundation as a ServiceNow Administrator.  The ServiceNow Fundamentals course is necessary and System Administrator Advanced and Scripting in ServiceNow Fundamentals can also be helpful.

Now Learning
Complement your formal training classes with additional free courses from Now Learning.  Look for courses that interest you or complement your skills.  Then build your learning plan.

Developer Site Learning paths
Now that you have formal training on how to administer ServiceNow, repeat some or all of the hands-on labs you did on the developer site.  See if they are easier now and reinforce you learning.  You can test yourself to see how much you can do without looking at the detailed steps.

ServiceNow YouTube Channel
The ServiceNow Support YouTube Channel is a good place to see short videos on various subjects to help improve your breadth and depth.

Customer Success Center
The Customer Success Center is the best place to keep up to date with information on all product areas but more importantly best practices.  These include best practices for everything from upgrades to governance and user communications.

Certifications
Once you have completed the training and gotten some hands-on experience, you should look to become a Certified ServiceNow Administrator (CSA) as well as keep your certification up to date with the Delta certifications updated with each ServiceNow release.

Others
Google is already a great place to find answers.  So is the ServiceNow Community.  Also, partners offer classes and other resources which can be helpful too.  And don’t forget to attend your local ServiceNow User Group meetings (SNUGs) and the annual Knowledge conference as these are great ways to keep up to date and expand your network of resources.

Repeat
Learning as a ServiceNow Sys Admin never ends.  If you think you did it all, go back to the top step and visit them all again.  You will be surprised how much you have learned as well as how much you forgot which you learned before, plus ServiceNow is continuously changing.  So you must never stop learning.

I hope this helps some people.  I will try to update the links as things change.  If I missed any good resources, please add them in the comments below.
-Jeff