Snowflake SnowPro Core - Recertification
Is your SnowPro Core Certification about to expire?
I hate certification exams, but I enjoy the preparation process.
All working professionals know the importance of certifications. These help establish your credibility and tell the world you are an expert in your area. If you are an independent consultant like me, it is one of the best ways to attract recruiters to view your LinkedIn profile.
The sad part of all these certifications is that they expire in 2-3 years, and you must retake the exam. As much as I enjoy the preparation process, I just hate sitting in one place and answering the MCQs. I don’t think that is the best way to assess a person’s “application of knowledge,” which is more important than just “possessing the knowledge.” However, certifications are critical to show the world you have the required knowledge to do your job.
I had taken my Snowflake SnowPro Core Certification exam a couple of years back, and it was about to expire this month. I decided to appear for the recertification exam mainly due to two reasons:
The recertification exam has fewer questions and is half the price of the actual exam. (You must take the recertification exam before your original certificate expires.)
I wanted to keep myself updated with some of the latest features and the new capabilities recently added to the data cloud platform.
I am happy to share that I’ve passed this exam, and the certification is now valid till 2025. I also got listed in the Snowflake directory as a certified professional!
My Preparation
My current role is that of a Data Architect, which primarily involves consulting my customers on the design and architecture aspects of data platforms on various technologies.
I was not involved in many hands-on activities using Snowflake in the last 2 years. I had a good understanding of Snowflake concepts, architecture, loading and unloading approaches, governance and security, and administration. However, I lacked the hands-on practice required to memorize various commands, specific options, and admin settings.
I took a course on Udemy (see study references at the end of this post) to go through all the concepts and to understand new things added in the last 2 years. Snowpark, the new Snowsight UI, and additional features in Streams, Tasks, and MVs are some of the new things that were not available in 2021 when I first took the exam. I spent more time exploring these new features.
Pro tip: I generally skip the practicals or demos when I take any course. I only go through the videos that explain the concepts. It helps me to understand the new concepts quickly. After understanding all the concepts, I start with the demos/hands-on. This approach might only work for experienced folks as they can easily understand the concepts without doing much hands-on
.
You can watch YouTube videos and webinars, take courses, read books, or even take a lot of practice exams to feel confident - but refrain from using the exam question dumps as the primary learning source. Remember, more than the certificate, it is the learning journey that will help you to apply the concepts in your real-life projects.
Actual Exam
The SnowPro Core exam is of medium difficulty. It is challenging but not very tough. You can compare it with the AWS SA Associate or Databricks Data Engineer Associate exams. I think hands-on practice is a must to successfully clear this exam.
Important note: If this is your first online proctored exam, ensure that the internet connection is stable (broadband works best), you have a clean desk, and you have arranged backup in case of power failure. I had a tough time to get the Pearson Vue software running on my Macbook Air so had to switch to my Windows laptop.
What Next?
As a data consultant, I like to explore data technologies across platforms - AWS, Azure, GCP, Databricks, or Snowflake. I plan to continue exploring these platforms and new ones like Dremio, Onehouse, and Microsoft Fabric without really thinking of any certifications. However, I do plan to try my hands at the new AWS Data Engineer Associate exam.
Study References
Sharing with you some of the reference materials I used while preparing for the exam
This time, I purchased a course from Udemy by Learn Anywhere. It’s a good lecture series that teaches you all the concepts along with demos. When I first took the exam in 2021, there were not many courses available. I had taken on-demand courses from Snowflake Academy. If you are working with a Snowflake partner, you might get access to more free courses, so please check that.
I also came across a good article on Medium that summarizes the exam content, which is very handy for revision. This is an old one, so it might not have some of the latest content, but it is good for reference.
I also referred to a series of articles by Gonzalo Fernandez Plaza on Medium. He has done a great job in summarizing the important exam content.
Thanks for reading, and all the best for your exam!
If you want to connect with me to discuss more about these certifications or other data architecture-related stuff, you can book a call with me on topmate.
You can also have a look at my upcoming book, Practical Lakehouse Architecture.
