The Snowflake Certification program launched in September 2019 and boasts over 10,000 SnowPros (as of October 2022) in our certified community. Earning and maintaining a SnowPro Certification is your personal commitment to expanding your Snowflake skill set, knowledge, and possible new career opportunities. To demonstrate continued competency, stay certified with Snowflake through our recertification paths. Every SnowPro Certification expires after two years but you can maintain your status by applying for recertification.
Recertification pathways
Snowflake offers multiple recertification options and encourages all SnowPros to stay agile with their Snowflake skills.
If you are SnowPro Core Certified, there are two different recertification paths you can choose:
1. You can take the SnowPro Core Recertification exam ($88 USD), which is offered at a reduced price and is a shortened version of the current Snowpro Core Certification exam. When you pass the recertification exam, it will renew your Core for an additional two years from the date you pass.
2. You can level up in Snowflake’s Certification program by earning one of the SnowPro Advanced Certifications ($375 USD). Your SnowPro Core Certification’s expiration date will automatically be extended to match the expiration date of your Advanced Certification.
If you hold multiple credentials, you only need to maintain your highest certification level as it will continue to extend any lower-level certifications. If you are advanced certified, you have one path to maintaining your certification:
1. You can take the SnowPro Advanced Recertification Exam ($188 USD) for the role you are certified in. The recertification exam is offered at a reduced price and is a shortened version of the current exam. When you pass the recertification exam, it will renew your advanced credential for an additional two years and also move your SnowPro Core expiration date to be aligned with your new advanced expiration date.
Knowing your recertification period
All SnowPro Certifications automatically expire two (calendar) years after you passed your exam. You are eligible to apply for a SnowPro Recertification exam six months before the expiration date of your certification. You can level up to any of the advanced roles at any time in your Snowflake journey.
If you do not take any recertification actions and two years have passed, your status will expire and you will have to start over with the SnowPro Core Certification exam.
Choosing the right recertification path
Only you know which recertification path makes sense for your current job requirements and future career aspirations.
Below are some example scenarios to consider:
Luna the Yeti’s SnowPro Core Certification is about to expire. Luna wants to become a SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer to aid in their bid for a promotion at work, but Luna wants additional time to prepare. Luna knows that being SnowPro Core certified is a prerequisite for the Advanced exams, but feels like they are not ready to attempt the Data Engineer exam. Based on this, Luna decides to take the SnowPro Core Recertification exam to extend their current SnowPro Core status, and they pass the exam. A couple of months later, Luna takes and passes the SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer Certification, which helps earn their promotion at work! By leveling up, Luna now only needs to maintain the Data Engineer Certification with the Data Engineer Recertification exam every two years.
Petal the Unicorn’s SnowPro Core Certification is about to expire in two months. Snowflake is one of many tools Petal works with on the job, but she’s not sure which role-based certification may help in the future. Petal decides to maintain her SnowPro Core Certification through the SnowPro Core Recertification exam path. She passes the recertification exam and extends her Core credential for another two years. This will allow Petal time to determine which Advanced Certification aligns with her future career goals.
Larry the Llama is a Data Scientist. He earned his SnowPro Core Certification at his last company. Larry’s new company has a machine learning initiative on its roadmap and is in the process of onboarding Snowflake for its data science workloads. With Larry’s past experience with Snowflake, the company has identified Larry as a potential project lead for the initiative. The company is offering Larry the position as long as Larry becomes SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist Certified.
Larry looks up his SnowPro Core Certification status and realizes it has expired and he is no longer eligible for the recertification paths. Larry now has to retake the SnowPro Core Certification exam as it is a prerequisite for the SnowPro Advanced Certifications. Being a Snowflake expert, Larry passes the SnowPro Core exam on the first attempt and is quickly able to level up and pass the SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist Certification.
Recertification exam tips
Recertification exams are meant to evaluate if you have stayed up-to-date on Snowflake’s new features and enhancements. The recertification exams share the same exam guides as their parent certification, but focus on what’s new with Snowflake. Be sure to review the specific program’s exam and study guide to evaluate if there are new areas that require additional platform learning.
Looking ahead
If you have feedback on how we could improve paths to maintain Snowflake certifications, or ideas to help #SnowPros stay current, please reach out to Educational Services. We have full intentions to continue to improve SnowPro certification accessibility, so keep the feedback coming!
Originally posted on November 15, 2022 @ 12:02 am
