Career Path For a CSA?

[junebug74]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some insights on career progression for ServiceNow Certified System Administrators. What does the actual career path look like in practice? Are people typically moving into technical architect roles, implementation consulting, or staying in admin positions but at higher levels? I'm curious about both the technical progression and salary growth potential. Would love to hear from anyone who's been down this path or has seen how it plays out in their organizations. Thanks!

[RKHD]

Thanks for the info!

[AidanO]

Hi Dr. Atul,

I appreciate your response and the initial question - this was very helpful

[Naikit15]

Thanks - Insightful! 

[osassoservi]

Hi @junebug74

It is pretty easy to get started in this path. I am also just starting my journey in becoming a systems administrator! Good luck.

[Trey3]

I completely agree with Atul's response in what I've seen across industry.  You may struggle finding a job with only a CSA certification and no experience in IT.  If you have experience in IT, you may want to leverage that for deciding your initial career path.   All these paths can lead into architecture which is where there are big salaries across the board.  There can be nice money anywhere though - I think your first couple of years you should let opportunities guide you.  The sooner you have real work experience, the sooner you can push your career in a particular direction.  Without experience, you may be a specialist without anyone willing to hire you.

Once you have solid work experience with ServiceNow, it is relatively easy to change paths and experience in multiple paths leads to more opportunity and higher pay - and a requirement for architecture. 

Although common if remaining at one company, it is unusual that I see resumes of someone with multiple years of experience working in a single application. There are companies dedicated to working in specific applications though.

Seasoned Developers may have the most opportunities but without strong knowledge of JS, most struggle becoming seasoned enough to gain initial footing in industry.  I think the days of hopping jobs before getting released are coming to an end - I see many of those resumes which I see as a clear sign they are getting rejections.  If without a job and new to IT and ServiceNow, you need to keep training in other paths to further your knowledge.  The broader your knowledge, the more opportunities you can apply for - an admin that understands other modules is going to have advantage over those without. I definitely would not consider admin as your end goal - everyone with a certification has to gain that cert first.  I know of no one personally that stopped at systems admin after years working with ServiceNow.  At my company, we have many instances and none have jobs with the expectation that one only does administration alone - it's a shared responsibility people with other roles in the system.  Although some companies lock down the role to certain individuals, I think your salary potential is locked down as well.

If you go down a non-developer route, I'd suggest ITSM next - no implementations I've worked in is missing ITSM. 

If you have a job that has opportunities with ServiceNow, I'd align to what that company can offer you in experience/training.  If you gain Admin and ITSM knowledge, I think you'll have an idea of the most common applications available - and without any other opportunities driving your decision, I'd choose the one(s) you think you are most passionate about. 

If development is truly a strength that sets you apart (not low code), that likely trumps all other skills for landing a job.  Low code development tends to be in support of the applications you need to decide between.  Often I see developers having to (self-perceived) backtrack to gain skills in ITSM and other applications before they can proceed forward.  I think it is easier to progress from System Admin, configuring specific OOB applications, implementation consulting, new application development.  I don't think you can get to architecture without fulfilling most of these in some way.  I tend to think ITOM is next useful after ITSM in adoption, but I may be wrong.  I think that route helps if you understand networking and the teams that work together to build out a companies LAN - on prem and cloud should be concepts you understand.

If there is an active SNUG near you, join it/attend it/make local connections.  Someone working locally to you may know which industries are hot in the area - and if a hiring manager receives a recommendation from someone they know personally, it's going to greatly improve your odds. After 2 years, you should have enough experience to start EFFECTIVELY pushing your career direction/salary.  If you already have IT experience outside of ServiceNow, your learning curve is smaller and will be able to start sooner. 

Technical progression is up to you.  If driven, the opportunity to make 6 figures is within grasp to many within 3 years.  I think anyone driven can get there under 10 years.  I don't believe many dedicated systems admins will make this salary without doing progression I described.  But you may not achieve this salary restricting yourself to 40 hour work weeks and you won't do this by checking text messages every 5 minutes.  Do not stay on a path to failure for your goals - there is a job out there that offers the right work/life balance and salary that makes most sense for your situation.  Be willing to change paths as needed to get to whatever your goals are - there is nothing wrong with accepting a lower salary for a less time demanding job to spend more time with your kids.  The ServiceNow infrastructure is very forgiving of one going down a path that doesn't work out.  Not everyone can operate at and contribute to highly demanding jobs - and most can't at all times in their lifetime.  And these salaries do not exist in every location and many cannot/do not choose to relocate.  Be honest with your current potential of what you can offer (again, not just technical abilities - against ability to relocate, other life goals, and outside influences/responsibilities) and what each job (and location) can offer you.