I just passed the exam with a score of 860. (Pass mark is 750/1000)

My Snowflake Skill Level

Intermediate - Before preparing for the exam, I’d used it on 3 projects.

Snowflake is massive and any project will only use a fraction of its capability, meaning there were some big gaps in my overall knowledge.

Booking the Exam 

I booked it BEFORE I even started studying.

Having a target exam date, is motivational and gave something to aim for.

I booked it 6 weeks in advance, remember you can change the date a few times at no charge. (but not within 24 hours of the exam)

Exam cost: $175 USD
https://learn.snowflake.com/en/certifications/snowpro-core/

Test Preparation

I did these 2 Udemy Courses:

Snowflake – The Complete Masterclass – Overall was good, although he can be repetitive. I watched this at 150% speed and gave it 4 stars. It covers the whole platform and is not specific to the exam. https://www.udemy.com/course/snowflake-masterclass/ 

Ultimate Snowflake SnowPro Core Certification Course & Exam – I gave this 5 stars. Very concise and tailor made for the exam. He has a good practice exam included.
https://www.udemy.com/course/ultimate-snowpro-core-certification-course-exam/ 

Both courses have been updated recently.

Unlike Microsoft exams, there isn’t a big industry around buying Test Prep Questions.

So, I spent a lot of time collecting sets of free practice questions. I didn’t pay for anything, I just put my own set together.

You can download my Test Prep questions in PDF format below. (Free of course)
https://www.analystlaunch.com/c/testprep-snowprocore-landing 

Through this whole process, I’m practicing on the real Snowflake. You can create a free trial account, with full access for 1 month. https://signup.snowflake.com/ 

The snowflake documentation is good – you’ll need to refer to it a lot, to go deeper into the tech. https://docs.snowflake.com/ 

I actually didn’t do any of the Snowflake free training, the style and pacing, didn’t suite me. (DYOR, it may suite you.)

With my Test Prep questions, I wanted to be scoring 100% before the exam.

• 1st time I did the test prep after the Udemy courses, I got 70%.

I took screen shots of all questions I got wrong. Then I only studied them.

• 2nd time, I got 97%. This was good enough for me.

Over 6 weeks, I averaged over 1 hour per day of study – Approx. 60 hours in total.

The Day of the Exam

All my previous Microsoft Cert exams were done at home. The Pearson Vue testing software is notoriously unstable.

Read the reddit comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/14lss6u/pearson_vue_online_testing_is_an_absolute_joke/

For the first time I booked it at a testing centre in the city (Sydney). The day of the test ran smoothly.

• Arrive 15 min before the exam.

• I showed 2 forms of ID.

• They put my bag in a locker.

• Took me to the testing room.

• I brought my own ear plugs, but the room was quiet anyway. There were 3 other dudes doing tests.

• The Testing Centres run a different (stable) version of the Pearson Vue exam.

• At the end, the software will give you the final result.

Doing the Exam

You have 115 minutes to do 100 questions. Don’t get paranoid but keep an eye on the clock to make sure you’re on track. I actually finished with 8 minutes left over.

If I really didn’t know an answer, I guessed quickly and moved on. Don’t waste time on questions you clearly don’t know.

Questions where multiple choice, either one or two answers, and bizarrely the final question was a drag and drop type question.

I didn’t use the “Marking questions for review” option.

Make sure to fill in all the answer options, as you don’t lose marks for wrong answers.

Before clicking the final button to receive my results, I honestly wasn’t sure that I had passed. I got 86%, with the pass mark being 75%, so that’s pretty close.

Final Tips:

• Aim for 100% correct on the test preps before you attempt the real exam.

• Have Snowflake open with the test prep questions - to practice.

• If you’re not ready – don’t do it - re-schedule the exam, which is free and can be done online.

• I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it - but understand your own psychology and what could be motivational for you.

• Organise your time, I needed 60 hours to prepare. The time you’ll need depends on your current skill level and experience.

I’m glad I did it – The preparation forced me to go deep into the platform!

All the best, Cheers Shano.