How to Start Your ServiceNow Admin Journey: Training, Certification, and Tips from Real Experience

[BillMartin]

How to Start Your ServiceNow Admin Journey: Training, Certification, and Tips from Real Experience

Becoming a ServiceNow administrator has completely changed my career, and I want to help others take that same step with confidence. If you're wondering how to learn ServiceNow, get certified, or move up in your IT career, this guide is for you. I’ll share what I’ve learned through hands-on practice, certification prep, and daily work on the ServiceNow platform—so you can get real results faster.

If you want to see exactly how this plays out, don’t forget to check out my detailed video tutorial below and subscribe for even more tips.

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Why ServiceNow Certification Matters

When I started, I realized that certification was more than just a line on my resume—it gave me the structure and motivation I needed to actually learn the platform, not just “get by.” The official ServiceNow Certified System Administrator (CSA) is the first big milestone, and I recommend it to anyone serious about this career.

• Certification demonstrates real skill.
• It gives you credibility with employers and peers.
• The process forces you to cover all the platform’s core features.

 

The Core: How I Learned ServiceNow by Doing

Reading docs is necessary, but nothing replaces rolling up your sleeves and actually performing tasks in a personal developer instance. My best advice: sign up at the ServiceNow Developer Portal for your own free instance and start practicing right away.

Focus your practice on these key areas:

• Building Service Catalog items (start simple, add complexity over time)
• Using Flow Designer to automate tasks without code
• Creating tables, extending existing ones, and understanding how permissions work
• Assigning and testing user roles and groups
• Setting up and troubleshooting Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Mistakes are part of the journey—as I’ve learned, the problems you solve in practice are the ones you remember during certification and in your job.

Go-To Training and Certification Resources

To succeed, I always keep these resources close:

• ServiceNow Documentation (I reference it constantly)
• Now Learning for Official Courses (great for deep dives and certification paths)
• ServiceNow Community (perfect for practical advice and networking)
• Developer Portal (get your own instance, test scripts, and try things risk-free)
• Official Release Notes and Updates (know what’s new before the exam)

Bookmark these—they’re lifesavers.

What the CSA Exam Really Tests

While prepping for my CSA exam, I noticed that many questions are scenario-based and require a working understanding, not rote memorization. Here’s what helped me:

• Doing the hands-on labs multiple times
• Reviewing the exam blueprint and focusing on any areas I felt weak
• Asking real questions in the forums—someone always pointed me in the right direction

 

Tips for Real-World ServiceNow Success

Certification is your ticket in, but succeeding as an admin means practicing daily:

• Automate routine requests to save end-users (and yourself) time.
• Test new features in your developer instance before recommending them at work.
• Assign roles with care—security mistakes lead to bigger problems.
• Join the conversation in the community and on Slack groups.
• Share what you learn—teaching others has accelerated my own skills tenfold.

 

My Challenge to You

If you’re reading this, you’re ready to level up. Invest in hands-on practice, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to fail. Every ServiceNow expert I know started with “I don’t know yet.”

Ready to see live demos and get practical tips you can use today? Watch my full video session here, leave your questions, and subscribe for more straight-from-the-field content. Let's grow our skills together.

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Join the Training & Certifications forum and let me know how your journey is going, or ask anything you're stuck on. Your ServiceNow admin story starts with a simple step—let’s take it together!

[GlideFather · Accepted solution]

@BillMartin thank you for sharing this!
what about ServiceNow university as another good source of information and point of learning?

Where shall I sign this? 👇✍️

Every ServiceNow expert I know started with “I don’t know yet.”

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

Haha love it, I’ll bring the pen. 😁

Appreciate the nudge @GlideFather . Now Learning, now called ServiceNow University, gives a strong foundation in platform strategy and out of the box workflow design. It helps you learn the rules of thumb the right way. And since ServiceNow is both SaaS and PaaS, it is a canvas: to begin with the out-of-the-box templates, then grow and customize with purpose.

[Nikhil Bajaj9 · Accepted solution]

Hi @BillMartin ,

"since ServiceNow is both SaaS and PaaS, " -- How can you forget IAAS as well so mixing all together becomes APASS - Application platform as a Service. 😁 Happy to see that you have not marked your reply as solution accepted yet. 😂

Regards,

Nikhil Bajaj

[GlideFather · Accepted solution]

@BillMartin thank you for sharing this!
what about ServiceNow university as another good source of information and point of learning?

Where shall I sign this? 👇✍️

Every ServiceNow expert I know started with “I don’t know yet.”

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

Haha love it, I’ll bring the pen. 😁

Appreciate the nudge @GlideFather . Now Learning, now called ServiceNow University, gives a strong foundation in platform strategy and out of the box workflow design. It helps you learn the rules of thumb the right way. And since ServiceNow is both SaaS and PaaS, it is a canvas: to begin with the out-of-the-box templates, then grow and customize with purpose.

[Nikhil Bajaj9 · Accepted solution]

Hi @BillMartin ,

"since ServiceNow is both SaaS and PaaS, " -- How can you forget IAAS as well so mixing all together becomes APASS - Application platform as a Service. 😁 Happy to see that you have not marked your reply as solution accepted yet. 😂

Regards,

Nikhil Bajaj

[BillMartin · Accepted solution]

good points @Nikhil Bajaj9