I Analyzed 50+ Reddit CSA Posts: Here's What Actually Works
Consolidated wisdom from r/servicenow: what worked for people who passed, what failed for those who didn't, and the patterns that predict success.
Why I Did This
Every week, someone posts in r/servicenow: "Tips for CSA exam?" or "Just failed CSA, help!"
The advice is scattered across hundreds of threads spanning years. Some tips contradict others. Some are outdated.
I went through 50+ Reddit posts about CSA exam preparation — success stories, failure posts, and advice threads — and consolidated everything into patterns.
Here's what actually predicts success.
The Single Most Important Resource
The ebook wins. Overwhelmingly.From the people who passed:
"I solely used the ebook, your flash cards, and like 15 questions from a random GitHub. Studied less than a week and passed."
"Knowing everything in the ebook is 100% enough to pass."
"Use the course videos and labs to augment your learning but if you read the ebook front to back and can recall it, you'll pass with flying colors."
"It covers absolutely everything you'll ever need to pass the exam. Like it's not even funny how detailed it is."
From people who failed:
"I spent alot more time on basic platform stuff but not on the items that were 30% off the exam."
The pattern is clear: people who read the entire ebook thoroughly pass. People who skim it or skip sections fail.
How to Use the Ebook
Reddit's best advice on ebook study:
"Go through the book multiple times and take notes of the colored blocks and paragraphs with bold."
The Lab Debate: How Many Times?
Labs are universally recommended. The debate is how much repetition.
Conservative view (2-3 times):"Overview the content, write notes from the ebook also and do the labs 2-3 times and the exam will be a breeze."Aggressive view (20+ times):
"Repeat the simulator and activities 20+ times. I did this and aced the test."The pattern: People who did labs until they could do them from memory without thinking passed easily. The exact number doesn't matter — what matters is reaching automaticity.
"Do the labs and then... do the labs again. Get a PDI and play with your own scenarios."Key insight: The labs teach you WHERE things are in the platform. Many exam questions test navigation and location, not just concepts.
Practice Tests: The Controversial Topic
Reddit is split on practice tests. Here's the nuanced truth:
What Works
SkillCertPro is mentioned positively most often:"SkillCert Pro exam dumps. $20 for ~600 questions and I passed CSA 10 days after."
"I found that around half of the questions were already on skillcertpro."Repeating until mastery:
"Each day I took all 5 tests, studied the questions I got wrong and why I got them wrong, then take it again. Repeat until I got 100%."
What Doesn't Work
Udemy courses get mixed reviews:"Udemy resources suck. I get Udemy for free through my company and while I love it for a lot of other things, for ServiceNow it's useless."
"Udemy is horrible for CSA. Do not study that!!"
BUT some found Udemy practice tests (not courses) useful:
"I kept repeating them until I consistently scored 85%+ and they really helped."ExamTopics with caveats:
"Always read the comments and community votes, refer to your manual to cross-check validity of the answer."
The answers on ExamTopics are often wrong. Use it to see question formats, not to memorize answers.
The Real Practice Test Strategy
From someone who failed twice then passed:
"Instead of trying to memorize the questions try to know why the other options are the incorrect questions."
This is the key insight. Practice tests work when you use them to learn concepts, not memorize answers. If you can't explain why each wrong answer is wrong, you haven't learned the material.
Time Investment: What's Realistic?
Fast passes (less than 2 weeks):"I passed the CSA exam with less than a week of study." (With ITSM background)
"I just passed 1 hour ago! Studied less than a week and passed." (Ebook + flashcards only)Typical timeline (2-4 weeks):
"Just passed the CSA exam with few weeks of studying."Longer timelines:
"Third time, I paid for practice tests... I studied about 3 hours a day for 2 weeks before the exam."The pattern: People with ITSM background or Atlassian experience pass faster. Complete beginners need 3-4 weeks minimum. Warning sign: If you're bombing practice tests after 2 weeks, you're probably skipping the ebook. Go back to fundamentals.
What Actually Appears on the Exam
Reddit insights on exam content:
Confirmed Topics (Multiple People)
Database Management is a weak spot:"Database management seems to be my struggle and I have redone that section twice now."Table Builder appears despite not being in ebook:
"Try also to take a look at the Table Builder. It wasn't covered in the ebook but I got 3 questions about it."Import Sets and Transform Maps heavily tested:
Multiple mentions of coalesce fields being confusing
Exam Characteristics
Easier than practice tests:"The actual exam is much easier than those practice exams."
"I thought I was ready to attempt the mock exam from Udemy and I got a whopping 42%... this was a turning point."Tricky wording:
"The exam has some stupidly worded questions."Scenario-based:
"CSA exam was tough, it is more on scenario based."
Failure Patterns: What Doesn't Work
From people who failed:
Pattern 1: Skipping the Ebook
"I spent alot more time on basic platform stuff but not on the items that were 30% off the exam."
The exam tests specific content. Random YouTube isn't enough.
Pattern 2: Memorizing Without Understanding
"I can tell when we hire contractors with CSA's who only studied the answers."
Memorizing brain dump answers leads to confident wrong answers.
Pattern 3: Not Doing Labs
"Any tips How to Pass without elab practice?" — From someone who just passed and knows you need labs
The labs teach navigation. Skipping them means struggling with "where is this" questions.
Pattern 4: Wrong Resources
"Second time I tried many free practice tests I found online, and failed by 1 point."
Random internet tests often have wrong answers and outdated content.
The Winning Formula
Based on 50+ Reddit posts, here's what consistently works:
Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1)
- Read entire ebook front to back
- Take notes on colored blocks and bold text
- Don't skip any sections
Phase 2: Hands-On (Week 2)
- Complete all labs
- Get a PDI and experiment beyond the labs
- Repeat labs until you can do them without thinking
Phase 3: Practice (Week 3)
- Take practice tests (SkillCertPro or similar)
- For every wrong answer, understand WHY it's wrong
- Repeat until scoring 85%+ consistently
Phase 4: Polish (Days Before)
- Review exam blueprint
- Re-read weak sections
- Do knowledge checks one more time
Exam Day
- Read questions carefully — watch for tricky wording
- The actual exam is easier than most practice tests
- If you did the work, you'll pass
The Uncomfortable Truth
From someone who passed after multiple failures:
"I know a guy who had to take the test 4 times and who is a very good dev now."
Failing isn't the end. But failing repeatedly while using the same approach is insanity.
If you failed:
Be honest. Then fix the gap.
What Makes This Different from Brain Dumps
Brain dumps give you answers. This gives you a process.
The process:
- Ebook teaches concepts
- Labs teach navigation
- Practice tests reveal gaps
- Understanding (not memorizing) prepares you for scenario questions
Brain dumps fail because the exam has scenario questions that require thinking. You can't memorize your way through "A user reports X, what's the most likely cause?"
Start Practicing
Reddit advice is valuable, but you need to apply it.
Our practice questions are derived from official ServiceNow course content — the same source as the ebook. Every explanation tells you why answers are right AND wrong.
Start CSA Practice Questions →Sources: 50+ posts from r/servicenow spanning 2022-2026
Ready to practice?
Test your knowledge with questions generated from official ServiceNow content.