Certify Your ‘Snow-how’ with SnowPro Core Certification — A guide
Almost 10 days ago, I got my SnowPro Core Certification and shortly after sharing this achievement with my LinkedIn family, my inbox was full of questions about it. Questions from why one should get it to how to prepare and what to expect in the exam. Some even asked about my score, to which my best reply was “good enough to pass the exam” 😅. Having received so many questions, I thought it might be a good idea to summarize my learning experience and share it with the broader community. I hope it helps.
What is SnowPro Core Certification?
SnowPro Core Certification is a globally recognized accreditation that validates an individual’s expertise in Snowflake data cloud technology. The certification program is designed to test one’s understanding of Snowflake’s core concepts, features, and functionalities.
What topics are covered in the exam?
The certification exam assesses your knowledge of the following Snowflake concepts:
- Data Loading and Transformation in Snowflake
- Virtual Warehouse Performance and Concurrency
- DDL and DML Queries
- Using Semi-Structured and Unstructured Data
- Cloning and Time Travel
- Data Sharing
- Snowflake Account Structure and Management
What are some good-to-know facts about the exam?
- Total Number of Questions: 100
- Question Types: Multiple Select, Multiple Choice
- Time Limit: 115 minutes
- Passing Score: 750+, Scaled Scoring from 0–1000
- No Prerequisites
For up-to-date information, follow the exam guide here. You might have heard of a different passing score of 80% in the past which was recently changed to scaled scoring and one can say that the new passing score is 75%. THINGS JUST GOT BETTER! 😍
Can you take the exam remotely?
Yes. SnowPro Certification exams offered by Snowflake are administered by Pearson Vue, and can be taken at over 1000 testing centers worldwide or remotely from your home with a virtual proctor.
What are the best resources to prepare for the exam?
Well, the best answer is “it depends”. It depends on what suits your learning style. I can share what worked for me,
SnowPro Core Certification Exam Study Guide
Perhaps the most important resource I can share with you is SnowPro Core Certification Exam Study Guide.
Why is it important? It contains the list of Snowpro core domains and objectives included in the exam. It has very useful links to different hands-on labs, Snowflake guides, and documentation. This guide is regularly updated by Snowflake and if you are planning to spend a few weeks to months for the preparation of the exam then I highly recommend checking the guide every few weeks to see if there has been an update in the material. For me, it was updated a week before my exam date.
Snowflake Documentation
The exam guide shared above contains links to the relevant topics Snowflake Documentation. I highly suggest going through it for all the core topics paying attention to little details. Try breaking down each concept/feature in the following,
- What is the core functionality of this feature?
- What problem does it address?
- On which Snowflake editions is it available?
- What are the limitations of this feature?
- Which roles or privileges are needed to use this feature?
- Are there any other considerations?
Snowflake University
Snowflake provides a very nice introduction to its key concepts at Snowflake University. There are two series in particular that would help you accelerate your learning,
- Level Up: First Concepts
- Essentials: Hands-on Learning with Proof of Progress, Please! (5 badges you can earn and flaunt 😎)
Badge 1: Data Warehousing Workshop
Badge 2: Data Application Builders Workshop
These will cover the ground knowledge you need to get comfortable with different concepts and terminologies. It will also make going through the documentation more fun and relatable.
Can I follow some video tutorials?
Yes! Joyce Avila, a fellow Snowflake Data Superhero, has a YouTube playlist where she shares an excellent summary of all domains covered in the exam.
Do I need anything else?
Well, that depends on you and how confident you are with your Snowflake skills. If you feel you need more practice, there are plenty of other resources available.
Some more FAQs
Here are some more questions that I got,
How many times did you take the exam?
I cleared it on my first attempt.
Did you take it remotely or in a testing center?
I took it remotely.
Did you know all the topics that appeared in the exam?
No. There were some nice surprises. The exam interface is designed in a way that you can flag the questions which you are unsure about and come back to those questions at the end. Sometimes the text or choices in the following question help you answer the earlier questions.
Can you share some of the topics which surprised you?
Here they are, managed access schemas, multi-factor authentication, and sample/tablesample function. While I knew the basics of managed-access schemas which helped me answer most of the questions, MFA and sample/tablesample functions were something I wasn’t super comfortable in. I did flag those questions and in the end, looked at all of them together which helped me answer many of them.
How much time is required for preparation?
I can not answer how much it would take for you. It took me two weeks of preparation with 3–4 hours daily. I have ~4 years of Snowflake experience.
Are there other resources?
Yes, Snowflake offers an On-Demand paid Snowpro Core Prep course that covers all the domains in detail and goes through the examples of each topic. I think the videos need to be updated to cover everything included in the recent version of the exam but check with Snowflake support before purchasing.
Summary
To summarize the resources,
- SnowPro Core Certification Exam Study Guide
- Snowflake Documentation
- Snowflake University (LevelUp Series & Snowflake Essentials)
- YouTube playlist by Joyce Avila
- SnowPro Core Certification On Demand Preparation Course [Paid]
If you follow the free resources shared above and watch (almost) all the videos and follow hands-on labs and guides, you can ace the exam on your first attempt. You need to strike the right balance between being methodological and chaotic. The more methodological you are, the more time it will take but you will have a very strong conceptual knowledge of how Snowflake works. Nevertheless, best of luck to everyone going to attempt the exam soon. May the odds be ever in your favor. Happy to talk more about the certification or answer your questions over LinkedIn.
I will try to update this article with more resources as I stumble across them. If you have something you want me to add to this list, please reach out to me here. If this helped you in any way, hit the clap button, share it with your peers, and when you pass your exam do share the news with me or, leave a comment!
