ServiceNow CSA, then CIS-ITSM. Was the second one worth it?

Short answer: yes, but not for the reasons I thought.

I did the CSA in late 2023 because the company paid for it. Standard story. Six weeks of casual prep, passed it on the first try in November, got the badge, put it on LinkedIn. Nice.

A year later I started thinking about CIS-ITSM. The pitch from my manager was that it would "open doors." I wasn't sure. CSA had been useful but not life-changing. Was a second cert really going to move the needle?

I did it anyway, and I'll explain why.

Here's the thing about ServiceNow certifications. CSA gets you in the door. It's the price of admission. Everyone in the ecosystem has it or is studying for it. CIS-* is what actually starts conversations with recruiters. I had three recruiters reach out within the first month after I added CIS-ITSM to my profile. In the year I had only CSA, I had maybe one a quarter.

The exam itself is harder, but not in a "scary" way. It's harder because the questions are more situational. You need to know how Incident, Problem, and Change actually fit together in a real implementation, not just what each one is.

Where I'd push back on the "always do it" advice: don't rush. I prepared for nine weeks. About 60 hours total. I tried a practice test after three weeks and got 55%. After six weeks, 71%. Took the real one on January 18th, 2025. Got 81%.

If you're stuck deciding, the question I'd ask is: are you trying to keep your current job, or grow into a new one? CSA covers the first. CIS-* is for the second. They're not the same investment.

Was it worth it for me? Yes. But I had a clear reason. If I'd done it because "more certs = better," I would have wasted nine weeks.