May 17, 2023

How to Pass the SnowPro Core Certification Exam

By Mac Noland

Are you looking to accelerate your data career by certifying your expertise in the Snowflake Data Cloud? Excellent, then the SnowPro Core Certification is the next right step in helping you achieve your professional goals. 

With this certification under your belt, you’ll not only validate your knowledge and skills in Snowflake but also set yourself apart in the highly-competitive data industry.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the essential tips and strategies to prepare for and conquer the SnowPro Core Certification exam. From understanding the exam objectives and leveraging study resources to actual test-taking tips and advice on pre-exam planning and prep, we’ve got you covered. 

What is the SnowPro Core Certification?

The SnowPro Core Certification allows data professionals to validate their knowledge in applying core expertise implementing and migrating to Snowflake.

A SnowPro Core Certified individual has a thorough understanding of the Snowflake platform and has the knowledge necessary to design, develop, and manage secure, scalable Snowflake solutions to drive business objectives. By obtaining the SnowPro Core Certification, data professionals can showcase their competence in using Snowflake and enhance their career prospects in the data industry. 

The 100 question certification exam is delivered online through Pearson VUE.  

Is The SnowPro Core Certification Worth it?

Absolutely!

For data professionals looking to validate their expertise or take their career to the next level, the SnowPro Core Certification is a no-brainer. 

At phData, we feel so strongly about SnowPro Core Certification that we actually promote, support, and sponsor all of our data professionals in completing the process. 

phData prides itself on being a high-end data engineering and machine learning services provider leaning on our extensive best practices and reliable partners. As our client list continues to grow and our active Snowflake project count sits in the hundreds at any given time, we simply cannot afford to lose the consistent level of service our clients have come to know and respect us for. 

phData’s mission is to be the world leader in delivering data services and products on a modern data platform. Ensuring our team of experts is SnowPro Core certified is essential to this mission.

Continuing Education For All phData Employees

When it comes to creating a great work environment, continuing education for employees is key. New employees begin their time at phData by attending a 3-4 week bootcamp before they ever even work with a client. 

phData invests serious dollars (more than three million a year!!) in ensuring that new employees are up-to-speed before they get started; and that existing employees have all the necessary continuing education opportunities available to them that they need to grow in their careers.

Our expectation is that our employees are constantly learning throughout their careers at phData, and we’re fully prepared to invest in making that happen.

phData not only covers the cost of the SnowPro Core Certification for all of our employees ($175 per employee per attempt), but we also offer paid time off to take the exam. Additionally, every phData employee that passes the exam and obtains their SnowPro Core certification is rewarded financially.

That sounds like a win for everyone!

How Difficult Is The SnowPro Core Exam?

Obviously, the SnowPro Core certification exam is not something you should take lightly, as it requires a certain level of preparation. On a scale of 1 to 10, we’d classify this certification process as a challenging 7! You should be prepared to invest 15-20 hours of study time before taking the exam.

Study Tips:

  • Snowflake offers online resources (some free, some paid) to help you prepare for the exam.
  • Udemy houses Snowflake online practice exams that can serve as refreshers.

 

(Did you know? phData recently purchased a company-wide subscription to Udemy as a part of their continuing education efforts.)

Who Should Get SnowPro Core Certified?

The certification is suitable for various roles, such as data engineers, data analysts, data architects, and database administrators who work with Snowflake or plan to work with the platform in the future.

Truthfully, all data professionals should consider getting SnowPro Core certified. Specifically at phData, the following teams are ideal candidates for this certification: Data Engineering, Data Science & Machine Learning, Analytics, and Managed Services. 

SnowPro Core certification lays the foundation for and is a prerequisite for the advanced Snowflake certifications. The SnowPro Advanced Certification series consists of five role-based advanced certifications: Architect, Administrator, Data Engineer, Data Scientist, and Data Analyst.

Tips For Passing The SnowPro Core Certification

  1. Get dressed! You will be asked to show the room you are taking the exam in (use an external webcam, if you have one, as it will be easier to show your room).
  2. Don’t read the questions out loud.
  3. Flag questions if you want to go back to them.
  4. You will be asked if you would like to test your laptop before starting the exam (we encourage you to do so).
  5. Use the restroom before you start the exam. You won’t be able to during the exam.

Closing

The SnowPro Core Certification is an important component of any data professional’s career. It validates your data expertise and lays the foundation for additional, more advanced Snowflake certification courses you can utilize to advance your career further.

phData invests in employees that invest in themselves. SnowPro Core Certification is one – of many – important continuing education opportunities available to phData employees. 

With continuing education being a strategic pillar of our organization, we’re immensely grateful for the reciprocal partnership with Snowflake that allows certification programs like SnowPro Core to be made available to data professionals. 

At phData, our goal is to gain SnowPro Core certification for 100% of our technical employees.

Ready to learn more about SnowPro Core Certification?

Frequently Asked Questions

Logging in early is required for ID verification. 

You need to schedule your exam at least a week out.

Data Coach is our premium analytics training program with one-on-one coaching from renowned experts.

Accelerate and automate your data projects with the phData Toolkit