Snowflake Certification Path

Let's start talking about data cloud, one of the hottest topic.

Snowflake is getting attention. As Bosonit 's #partner, here we would give a good overview of Snowflake and its certification path.

It is clear that Snowflake's platform is far more than just a data warehouse, that can store and analyze all your data records in one place. It can automatically scale up/down its compute resources to load, integrate, and analyze data. As a result, you can run virtually any number of workloads across many users at the same time without worrying about resource contention. Workloads can include use cases such as batch processing data to streaming real-time data to enabling interactive analytics to process complex data pipelines.

First, let’s talk about why Snowflake is gaining momentum as a top cloud data solution:

• It has out-of-the box features like separation of storage and compute, on-the-fly scalable compute, data sharing, data cloning, and third party tools support.
• It serves a wide range of technology areas, including data integration, business intelligence, advanced analytics, and security & governance.
• It provides support for programming languages like Go, Java, .NET, Python, C, Node.js, etc.
• For general users, Snowflake provides complete ANSI SQL language support for managing day-to -day operations.
• It’s cloud agnostic, with unlimited, seamless scalability across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure (with the prospect of adding Google Cloud soon).
• Not only does it provide cloud infrastructure, but also many choices for designing modern architectures, making it particularly suitable for agile methodology and dynamic usage trends.
• Snowflake can be used to fit many use cases—data lakes with raw data, ODS with staged data, and data warehouse/data marts with presentable and modeled data.
• Data processing is simplified: Users can do data blending, analysis, and transformations against various types of data structures with a single language, SQL.
• Snowflake offers dynamic, scalable computing power with charges based purely on usage.
• Snowflake's ability to operate against massive raw data has truly ramped up insightful data analysis, allowing, for example, for “Schema on Read” to access data in structured and semi-structured formats without having to model them first.
• It empowers us to analyze a variety of data structures including CSVs, JSON, XML, Parquet, Avro, and to blend them at the same time by using SQL language.

All that adds up to a lot of power. And we all know what comes with great power! It’s important to establish Snowflake correctly for your enterprise and to enable your people for the big jump ahead.

Snowflake Certifications – Which snowflake certification is best for you?

Snowflake certification can be a great way to improve your skills and knowledge in data management. But with so many different options available, it can be difficult to know which snowflake certification is right for you.

Snowflake Certifications have got everything covered for you to learn anything related to Snowflake. Whether you are a beginner, associate, or advanced, you will find a bag full of courses that suits both your practical exposure and domain.

Also, it is the only data cloud that allows you to leverage the cloud solution as a data lake and a data warehouse, meaning you don’t need to maintain separate systems for these two functions. It also means you can build your own data architecture within just one platform.

Moreover, Snowflake emerged from the idea of fleshing out the capabilities of legacy data warehouses or data lakes while enabling flexibility and scalability of the cloud, thereby optimizing costs and performance.

Snowflake certifications are the best way to get a strong foothold in the data community while gaining employers’ trust as a Snowflake expert.

Snowflake categorizes its certification in two baskets:

For Beginners:

SnowPro Core Certification: This certification is intended for individuals who have a deep understanding of Snowflake’s core features and best practices for using the platform. It covers topics such as Snowflake architecture, data loading, querying, and security.

For Experts and Role-based certification:

There are five certifications under this: 

• SnowPro Advanced: Architect 
• SnowPro Advanced: Administrator 
• SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer 
• SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist 

Now, let’s learn about the Snowflake certifications in detail.

SnowPro Core Certification

If you are a beginner and want to headstart your career in data or dive deeper into Snowflake solutions and platforms, this snowflake certification is perfect for you. SnowPro core certification validates your knowledge and skills for applying essential elements of Snowflake solutions to implement and migrate data and resources to Snowflake.

Being a SnowPro Core certified professional, you will have an in-depth understanding of Snowflake’s cloud data warehouse and have the skills to effectively create, develop, handle and secure Snowflake solutions and leverage the benefits to make them relevant for business.

Check Out: SnowFlake SnowPro Core Certification Free Questions

These knowledge and skills include: 

• Loading and transforming data in Snowflake
• Scaling virtual warehouses to enhance performance and concurrency
• Optimizing data sharing
• Dealing with query constructs of DDL & DML operations
• Managing and examining Snowflake Accounts
• Operating with semi-structured data
• Outlining continuous data protection

Speaking of the SnowPro Core certification exam, it is 115 minutes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes long, and is a computerized test. The exam would cost USD 175, and no prior certification is required. The exam would contain 100 questions in formats like multiple-choice, multiple select, and true/false questions. On a scale of 1 to 1000, passing marks are 750+. The exam covers six domains: 

DomainWeightageFeatures and Architecture of Snowflake Cloud Data Platform20-25%Account security and access 20-25%Performance concepts10-15%Data loading and unloading5-10%Data transformations20-25%Data sharing and Data protection5-10%

Lastly, for preparation, you will find: 

• Instructor-led training: Snowflake Fundamentals 4-Day: covering basic concepts, design fundamentals, and best practices for the Snowflake cloud data platform. 
• Paid self-study material- Virtual class for Snowflake Fundamentals: consisting of lectures, demos, and labs for fundamental concepts of Snowflake. 
• Free resources: containing three types of materials: 

– SnowPro Core study guide: highlights subjects of certification.

– Snowflake hands-on: for practical exposure to the data cloud platform.

– Snowflake in 20 minutes: covering pin-to-pie of Snowflake platform in just 20 minutes.

SnowPro Advanced: Architect Certification

If you are someone aspiring to be a:

• Solution architect
• Database architect
• Systems architect

This snowflake certification would be the perfect milestone for your career. SnowPro Advanced: Architect Certification provides detailed knowledge and skills to implement comprehensive architect solutions using Snowflake. Here’s the list of abilities you require for the exam:

• Designing a complete workflow between source and consumption through the Snowflake data platform.
• Designing and implementing data architecture matching businesses’ security and compliance needs. 
• Knowing which Snowflake and third-party tools will help firms optimize performance.
• Leveraging Snowflake Data Marketplace and Exchange to design and implement shared data sets. 

Apart from this, you also need a minimum of 2 years of experience in working with Snowflake Architecture tools in a product ecosystem and hands-on with:

• SQL and SQL analytics
• Creating a complex ETL/ELT pipeline
• Reinforce compliance mechanisms
• Applying data modeling techniques

Talking about the certification exam is 115 minutes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes long, and is a computerized test. The exam would cost USD 375, and SnowPro Core certification is required. The exam would contain 65 questions in formats like multiple-choice, multiple select, and true/false questions. On a scale of 1 to 1000, passing marks are 750+. The exam covers four domains: 

• Accounts and protection (30%)
• Snowflake Architecture (25%)
• Data Engineering (20%)
• Optimizing performances (25%)

Finally, for preparations, you have: 

• Instructor-led video: Snowflake Advanced Training: helps you understand Data Movement, sharing designs, and Snowflake cloud data platform practices.
• Paid resource: SnowPro Advanced: Architect Certification Exam Study Guide: covers concepts of exam domains.  

SnowPro Advanced: Administrator Certification

If you have prior experience or knowledge in: 

• Snowflake data cloud administration
• Data administration
• Cloud infrastructure administration
• Cloud data administration

This certification will be a valuable step for your resume. SnowPro Advanced: Administrator Certification validates your knowledge and skills for applying blanket principles of data cloud administration using Snowflake elements. To qualify for this exam, you should be able to:

• Manage and monitor Snowflake accounts, Snowflake data security, and compliance
• Handle and maintain database objects and virtual data warehouses
• Perform database monitoring, tuning, and data sharing
• Operate Snowflake Data Exchange and Data Marketplace
• Monitor and control disaster recovery, backup support, and data repetition

In addition to this, you also require two or more years of experience with Snowflake Data Cloud Administration and efficiency in ANSI and Snowflake expanded SQL. 

About the certification exam, the duration is 115 minutes long and is a computerized test. The exam would cost USD 375, and SnowPro Core certification is required. The exam would contain 65 questions in formats like multiple-choice, multiple select, and true/false questions. On a scale of 1 to 1000, passing marks are 750+. The exam covers five domains: 

• Snowflake security and role-based control (25-30%)
• Account management and data compliance (25-30%)
• Monitoring and Tuning performance (20-25%)
• Data Sharing and Data Marketplace (10-15%)
• Disaster recovery and Data replication (10-15%)

Lastly, for preparations, you will find: 

• Instructor-led video: Administering Snowflake Training: explaining database administration concepts.
• Paid resource: SnowPro Advanced: Administrator Beta Certification Exam Study Guide: covers certification exam topics in detail. 

SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer Certification

This certification is specifically for those who wish to advance their careers in data engineering. SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer Certification offers a detailed understanding and skills to apply data engineering principles using Snowflake components. Before appearing for the certification exam, you need to build your resilience in: 

• Fleshing out data from Data Lakes, APIs, and on-premise infrastructure
• Transform, clone, and exchange data across various cloud platforms.
• Create complete real-time streams
• Build scalable computing tools for DE workloads
• Examine performance analytics

Further, you also need 2+ years of experience working with: 

• Snowflake for accomplishing DE tasks
• Restful APIs, SQLs, and semi-designed data sets

Now, speaking of the certification exam, the duration of the exam is 115 minutes and is a computerized test. The exam would cost USD 375, and SnowPro Core certification is required. The exam would contain 65 questions in formats like multiple-choice, multiple-select, and true/false questions. On a scale of 1 to 1000, passing marks are 750+. The exam covers five domains: 

• Data movement (35-40%)
• Optimizing performances (20-25%)
• Storage and Data Security (10-15%)
• Security (10-15%)
• Transforming data (15-20%)

At last, coming to the preparation, you will get: 

• Instructor-led video: Snowflake Data Engineer Training: discusses features, concepts, considerations, and best practices of Snowflake Cloud Data Platform. 
• Paid resource: SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer Certification Exam Study Guide: delves into the concepts and topics of the certification exam. 

SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist Certification

If you are looking for opportunities in roles like: 

• Data scientists
• AI/ML engineers
• Quantitative researchers

Interestingly, this certification can be a perfect stepping stone. SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist Certification authenticates your skills for using Snowflake elements to implement principles, solutions, and processes for data science. To be eligible for the certification, you should be able to: 

• Define concepts of data science
• Deploy best practices for Snowflake data science
• Perform data and feature engineering using Snowflake
• Leverage machine learning models
• Present business case studies using data visualization
• Deploy life cycle management for models

Next, coming to certification exams, it is generally 115 minutes long and consists of 65 questions, including multiple select, multiple-choice, and true/false questions. The exam costs $375, and you need SnowPro Core certification before applying for the exam. On a scale of 1 to 1000, passing marks are 750+. The exam covers five domains: 

• Concepts of data science (10-15%)
• Pipelining data (15-20%)
• Data and feature engineering (25-30%)
• Developing models (25-30%)
• Deploying models (15-20%)

Last, speaking of exam preparation, Snowflake offers: 

• Instructor-led videos: Data Science Training: guides you through the utilization of workloads of Snowflake Data Cloud and Data Science. 
• Paid material: SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer Certification Exam Study Guide: highlights subjects and domains of the certification exam. 

SnowPro Advanced: Data Analyst Certification

Notably, another good thing is that Snowflake has recently added one more milestone certification in late 2022: SnowPro Advanced Data Analyst certification.

Though not much information is available as of now, you can definitely get a sneak peek at their data analysis virtual training: Snowflake Data Analyst Training. It’s a two-day course elaborating on how to search, upload, visualize and chip out foresight from Snowflake Cloud Data Platform. 

Advantages of Snowflake Certification

Moreover, the prime advantage of Snowflake certification is that it removes the mammoth tasks of implementing individual data warehouses and data lake platforms. This further prevents you from continuously migrating data and going back and forth in real-time, reducing risks like data loss, theft and security. It makes the Snowflake solutions more relevant for businesses that have to deal with vast amounts of data daily. 

Practically all fortune 500+ organizations began utilizing the Snowflake information stockroom. This set out tremendous open doors for individuals with BI and Data warehouse abilities.

When we say performance with Snowflakes, you will increase your productivity by 15 times more than separate conventional solutions and platforms where this is a perfect choice for data-driven organizations. 

You can become a data engineer, analyst, scientist, and administrator for data-dependent organizations. You can choose the certification that best suits your experience level.

Summary

Snowflake is increasingly becoming popular, following in the footsteps of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Since it eliminates the glitches and gaps of these big-shot cloud players, businesses and organizations are becoming early adopters of Snowflake cloud data platforms.

Yet, like every other concept, these big players have their own glitches and loopholes that often make operations a bit harder. Interestingly, Snowflake not only bridges these gaps but also improves infrastructure experiences.