March 28, 2023 • 5 min read

Snowflake Certification Guide: Boost Your Data Warehousing Skills!

Rédigé par Vincent Fraillon-Maison

Vincent Fraillon-Maison

In this guide, we'll explore the benefits of the SnowPro Core certification from Snowflake! We'll cover everything you need to know: the prerequisites, exam details, and the best resources to prepare! 💪

Enhance Your Data Warehousing Experience

Snowflake is a cloud-based data warehousing platform that provides a fully managed service for storing and processing data. It can analyze large amounts of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.

snowflake architecture layers cloud compute storage services
This unique architecture separates computing and storage, providing flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. Snowflake also provides a user interface suitable for all your team members.

With Snowflake's architecture, you can quickly deploy at scale, making it an ideal solution for businesses that require quick access to vast amounts of data and computing power.

Moreover, Snowflake offers a range of features, such as automatic scaling, secure data sharing, and machine learning capabilities. Its architecture makes it easy to integrate data from multiple sources, including cloud applications, databases, and data lakes.

Latest Snowflake Features to Elevate Your Data Projects

Additionally, the latest advancements in Snowflake Data Cloud can deliver exceptional value to your projects:

  • Snowpark: With Snowpark, you can easily interact with data within the data warehouse, develop custom Python functions for processing at scale, and use the Snowflake computing clusters effortlessly from your machines.
  • Recent Acquisitions: Streamlit makes packaging and sharing data apps straightforward; SnowConvert accelerates migrations from legacy data warehouses such as Oracle, Teradata, or Data Lake with a Spark Connector to Snowflake.
  • The Snowflake VSCode extension enables you to use SQL files and explore Databases without leaving your IDE, making the versioning and the compatibility with the rest of your tech stack as straightforward as possible.

At Sicara, we're passionate about using new technologies to deliver the best performance for our data apps. We love polars, and the Snowflake Connector for Python allows us to interface with arrow-formatted data, enabling us to use state-of-the-art libraries and giving us an edge in performance.

Blog post: Polars vs. Pandas: A new era for Python DataFrames

Snowflake has deeply integrated with other connectors thanks to its Partner Connect program. For instance, dbt is a popular data transformation tool available to Snowflake users, quickly allowing them to transform their data and build pipelines.

dbt pipeline data transformation
dbt pipeline on the Snowflake Data Platform, with integration thanks to Partner Connect

Snowflake Certification: A Must-Have for Data Professionals

Becoming a certified Snowflake professional provides recognition and validation of your expertise in this technology. Accredited professionals are up to speed on Snowflake and have a deeper understanding of Snowflake's features. It enables professionals to utilize the platform more efficiently and quickly adapt to new features!

Acquiring a Snowflake certification acknowledges your proficiency in this technology and ensures that certified professionals are up to speed on Snowflake. With a deeper understanding of Snowflake's features and functionality, certified professionals can utilize the platform more efficiently and quickly adapt to new features.

Snowflake at Sicara: A single, efficient platform for your data and your workloads

Also, Snowflake offers partnership programs to companies whose employees hold SnowPro certifications. Having a Snowflake certification is a good investment for your career growth and your company's growth by enhancing credibility in the industry and better usage of all the technology! 🚀

The Certification Process

The SnowPro certification program offers two levels of certification: SnowPro Core and SnowPro Advanced. Individuals with basic knowledge of Snowflake's features and functionalities should pursue the SnowPro Core certification. Those who deeply understand Snowflake's architecture and features should aim for the SnowPro Advanced certification.

logo snowpro certification

This guide will focus on the SnowPro Core certification, with the required prerequisites and exam details.

To prepare for the SnowPro certification exams, individuals can enroll in Snowflake's official training courses. They are available in paid or free formats and with or without instructors. The training courses cover data modeling, performance tuning, and security best practices. In addition, individuals can also access the Snowflake documentation, user guides, and webinars to gain a comprehensive understanding of the platform.

The SnowPro certification exam consists of multiple-choice questions delivered online or proctored. Individuals must achieve a passing score of 75% to become certified. The exam fee is around 200 euros for the SnowPro Core certification, and individuals must register for the exam through the Snowflake Certification Portal.

Preparation for SnowPro Core

You are ready to prepare for the certification exam! This part will discuss the best ways to prepare for SnowPro Core.

Get hands-on experience with Snowflake.

First, create a free trial account and familiarize yourself with the platform: You will find a signup link on the Snowflake website to create a free account worth 370 euros of credits, which you can use to explore the platform and its features. Watch this 8-minute demo of Snowflake's Snowsight UI for a quick overview of the platform's features and functionalities.

Get started with quickstart tutorials.

Next, Snowflake offers a series of quickstart tutorials to help you get started with the platform. These tutorials cover topics such as data ingestion, data modeling, and data visualization. We strongly recommend going through the Zero to Snowflake tutorial, also available as a free, instructor-led course in multiple languages!

Watch Snowflake videos!

Then, visit the Snowflake Developers YouTube channel to watch the most popular videos of the community and cover topics such as data ingestion and modeling, data visualization, cloud storage and connectors, ML pipelines, and so on!

Make yourself a personalized study notebook.

Snowflake offers a comprehensive list of resources to help you prepare for the certification exam. You can use this list to create your study guide and focus on the most relevant topics. Refer to Snowflake's study guide to make notes and focus on the most pertinent issues.

Read the Snowflake documentation.

Finally, Snowflake's documentation is a great resource to help you prepare for the certification exam. You can use the documentation to learn more about Snowflake's features and functionalities and better understand the architecture.

Time to Get SnowPro Certified!

Obtaining a certification from Snowflake is an invaluable investment for your professional growth. You set yourself apart in the competitive data industry by showcasing your expertise. The certification exam may seem intimidating at first, but keep going! Here are some tips to help you prepare effectively and know when you're ready to take the exam:

Prepare responsibly 🤓

While jumping into the exam, it may be tempting to invest the time and effort to prepare thoroughly. Use Snowflake's training resources, documentation, and hands-on experience to build your knowledge and skills.

Create a personalized study guide📝

Snowflake offers a comprehensive list of resources! Take notes as you prepare, and tailor your study guide to your needs.

Practice, practice, practice 💪

Snowflake's certification exam consists of multiple-choice questions, so practicing answering them is essential. There are plenty of practice exams out there, but be cautious of the quality of the questions, as the exam has a new version from October 2022.

Assess your knowledge 🧠

Do you feel confident using Snowflake's features and functionalities? Gauge your understanding of the platform and its features before attempting the exam.

Get feedback from others 🗣️

Contact Snowflake professionals, colleagues, or mentors for advice and insights on your exam readiness.

Stay calm and focused during the exam 😌

On exam day, ensure you're well-rested, hydrated, and relaxed. Read each question carefully, eliminate wrong answers, and choose the best solution based on your knowledge and experience.

Remember, becoming a certified Snowflake professional takes time and effort, but it's a valuable investment in your career. Feel free to use Snowflake's training resources or contact us at Sicara for assistance. With determination and focus, you'll be well on your way to becoming a certified Snowflake professional! So, are you ready to elevate your data warehousing skills and unlock new opportunities?

But wait, there's more! If you have a Snowflake project to kickstart, we're here to help! Our team of Snowflake experts is available to assist and guide you through your data journey.

Don't hesitate to contact us and let us be part of your success story! 🚀

Cet article a été écrit par

Vincent Fraillon-Maison

Vincent Fraillon-Maison