My CAD Exam Experience: Why “Certified Application Developer” Falls Short of Its Promise

[mfhaciahmetoglu]

Hi all,

I recently passed the ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD) exam. The experience left me with a strong urge to share honest feedback about the test’s quality and the gap between its name and what it actually measures.

The title “Certified Application Developer” carries weight. It suggests a developer who has moved beyond basic configuration into the realm of true application-building expertise, someone capable of designing and implementing clever, impactful, and valuable solutions, and navigating the platform’s complexities with confidence. After more than three years working intensively on ServiceNow, during which I have implemented many things from intricate multi-stage workflows to full applications in UI Builder, from subtle yet complicated customizations (yes, I know, forgive me) to advanced scripting that powers critical business logic (which all in all proved me the enormous strength of this platform), I approached the CAD expecting a rigorous validation of those skills.

What I encountered instead was a test that feels quite removed from the realities of development. They rarely ask you to reason through a real-world scenario or demonstrate why one approach is superior to another in a given context. Instead, the exam leans heavily on memorization: the exact signature of an API method, the inheritance hierarchy of an obscure table, the location of a toggle buried deep in system properties. These are details any competent developer can retrieve from documentation in moments or AI now, yet they dominate the question bank. What is the value of these questions?

To answer this question, we gotta reflect on what the real strength of being a developer is, especially in an age of AI where writing codes are getting increasingly simpler. 

My answer, and I would be happy to hear other people's opinions as well, is the unique combination of expertise and imagination, which is honed by experience.  ServiceNow is an immensely versatile platform. I liken it to playing with Lego toys, though it promises a much superior "play" due to an overwhelming abundance of choices. A developer is the person who knows how to navigate this abundance in a way that falls in line with best practices, chic, confidence, and value. The question is then whether this CAD tests this knowledge or not? Anyone who took it would readily concede that no, it does not. One needs hardly any expertise or imagination to pass this test.   

There is no room to entertain any solution, no opportunity to explain a design decision, no challenge that mirrors the ambiguity and constraints of actual projects. In short, the exam tests whether you have studied the right trivia, not whether you can build applications that deliver value.

This is a missed opportunity, both for ServiceNow and for the community that depends on its certifications. I have other certificates from other platforms and must admit that their tests were much more precise with scenario-based exercises that actually need thinking, performance trade-off analyses, and so on. Such formats produce credentials that employers respect because they reflect skills that matter in the workplace. The CAD, by contrast, risks becoming a checkbox rather than a badge of proficiency.

To anyone preparing for the exam and anyone who takes this certificate as a sign of expertise, my advice is simple: treat it as a baseline, not a capstone. Use it to confirm a sort of familiarity with the platform’s breadth (in which case, I wouldn't be surprised if someone who never used the platform has passed this exam, either), but do not mistake passing for proof of mastery. Build real solutions, contribute to the community, dive into Now Learning labs, and push yourself on projects that force you to think, not just remember.

And to ServiceNow: the platform and its developers deserve a certification that truly reflects what it means to be an application developer. Let’s evolve the CAD into an assessment worthy of its name.

Best,

Firat

[Jennifer Metz]

Hi @mfhaciahmetoglu,

I can understand your confusion because this is not something people really talk about too openly. Certs are valuable, but not for the reasons most people think.

Certs help build base knowledge and introduce you to concepts, language, and structure when you are learning something new. They can make you feel more grounded when entering a new space and that part does matter. But certifications are not proof of skill. They are proof of exposure.

In the real world, success depends heavily on one thing... your ability to sell yourself.

You sell yourself when you apply for a job.
You sell yourself when you negotiate pay.
You sell yourself when you talk to leadership.
You sell yourself when you pitch ideas.
You sell yourself when you work with clients.
You sell yourself during performance reviews.

Life is a sales position which nobody realizes they were hired for.

Certifications are mostly a marketing tool. They help get you past filters, into interviews, and through automated systems. They don’t get you hired. You do.

For context, I’ve been in this space for almost 5 years and I’m just now seriously prioritizing certifications because I want to move toward an architect track. Not because I need them to prove anything, but because I understand how the system works. Certifications help with visibility, credibility, and positioning. That is the real value.

The difference between two people with the same certification usually is not knowledge. It is confidence, communication, and the ability to clearly explain your value. It is who tells a better story about their experience and the impact they are making.

This applies to all certifications, not just ServiceNow or other tech avenues. Certs do not replace real world problem solving, decision making, or leadership. They do not teach you how to handle ambiguity, manage stakeholders, or make hard calls. You learn those by doing the work, not by studying for a test.

So get certified, but do not confuse a badge with a career. If you do not know how to advocate for yourself, communicate your value, and market your strengths, the certification is just a line on your resume. And if you do? You will outperform people with more credentials but less presence every time.

Just my 2 cents lol