Snowflake University Frequently Asked Questions

ACCOUNT QUESTIONS

How do I sign up for Snowflake University?

Please visit Getting Started with Snowflake University

How do I login to Snowflake University?

Once you have created an account you can sign in here on the learn.snowflake.com page using the Sign In button in the upper right corner of the screen.

How do I reset the password I use for Snowflake University?

Snowflake Customers: Try to reset your password yourself on the Community https://community.snowflake.com/s/login/ login page. If you experience an issue trying to reset your password, please submit a case.

Snowflake Partners: Try to reset your password yourself on the Snowflake Partner Network login page. If you experience an issue trying to reset your password, please reach out to: [email protected]

Snowflake Employees:

Community Manual Login:Try to reset your password yourself on the Community login page. If you experience an issue trying to reset your account password to login to Snowflake University, please submit a case

Community through OKTA:  If you are trying to sign into Community through OKTA and experiencing an issue, please submit a ticket with IT via The Lift.

How do I change the email I use to login to Snowflake University?

Please submit a case  to request an email change to your training account. (If you try to change your email in the Snowflake University settings, it will break your SSO login and you will no longer be able to access Snowflake University.)

Did Snowflake change badging vendors to Accredible?

Yes! Effective October 31, 2023, Snowflake will be partnering with Accredible as our new badge provider for all Snowflake badge, accreditation and certification programs. All active badges, accreditations and certifications from Credly will be migrated over to Accredible.  Learn More

LAB ENVIRONMENT/TRIAL ACCOUNT QUESTIONS

How do I access the Lab Environment?

Depending on which course you take, the lab environment may change. Please check the course requirements for instructions on lab environment set up for each course.

For example, if you are taking the free, on demand Hands On Essentials Workshop courses, you will be using a trial account and the cloud and region may be specified. Many paid-for on demand courses come with a provisioned account that is assigned to you during the course.

How Long Does a Snowflake Trial Last?

It’s either up to $400 worth of usage or 30 days - whichever comes first. Therefore, if you use up the $400 or 30 days have passed, you will have to enter a credit card to continue.

My Snowflake Trial is expiring soon, can you please extend it?

The Education team cannot extend Snowflake trials.

I Ran Out of Usage and I’m Not Sure What To Do Next?

We typically see this if very large warehouses are being used and the auto-suspend is not turned on. It is rather hard to use up all the free usage unless something like this is accidentally in place. It can also happen if a task or pipe is left running. If your account ran out quickly, check the settings of your COMPUTE_WH. Is it sized XS? Is it set to Auto-suspend? We cannot issue badges on work done across more than trial account. Our courses are free and we process a high volume of daily learners. Because of this, learners must overcome special situations by their own gumption. If you are very close to finishing, we recommend entering your credit and setting up a resource monitor. If you are less than half way through, we recommend getting a new trial account and starting the course over again.

Refer to the question How Do I Start a Course Over Again with a New Trial below, to understand what would need to be done.

What Guidance is Available if I Decide to Enter a Credit Credit to Continue in an Expired Trial Account?

This is not a requirement to finish the workshop, it is only an option to continue in your existing Snowflake (trial) account that has expired. If you would prefer not to enter a credit card, you can sign up for another Snowflake Trial Account and the same email address can be used. Please note, you will however have to redo any lost work and re-run all DORA checks under the new Account Locator ID. Refer to the question How Do I Start a Course Over Again with a New Trial below, to understand what would need to be done.

So how much does a credit cost?

Not very much. Visit How Snowflake Pricing Works to register for the Pricing Guide for your location. The Pricing Guide has a widget available to choose the region of your Trial Account and look at which Snowflake Edition it is. Per the Pricing Guide, it is estimated most users are typically charged between $2 and $5 USD per hour - if they have set up their Snowflake Trial account following the instructions within the workshop. We recommend creating a daily resource monitor with a 1 credit daily limit 1 credit is roughly one hour of an extra small warehouse. Make sure your COMPUTE_WH is sized XS, and the resource monitor will limit your use to 1 hour a day. Credit hours cost about $5 each (with some variation). You could follow similar steps and create another Resource Monitor that limits your use to 5 hours a month. In short, make as many resource monitors as you need to feel protected from unexpected costs. You can learn more about Resource Monitors and how to create one in this documentation: Resource Monitors. Kindly note, Educational Services cannot guarantee cost estimates, but we can provide the tools that are in place for how to monitor costs in a Snowflake account and understand how Snowflake costs work after a Trial has expired.

How Do I Start a Course Over Again with a New Trial?

When we recommend “starting a course over again” we are only referring to the lab portions. Check to see if your expired trial allows you to access your worksheets so you can copy and paste the code out to local files. If you copy out your code you can likely re-use a lot of your previous work. You will sign up for a new Snowflake trial at signup.snowflake.com (you can use the same email as before, or a different one, it does not matter). Set up your new trial using the email instructions sent by Snowflake.

Your coursework on learn.snowflake.com is still valid. To progress through the course a second time, simply go back to the first page of the course. Re-read the course pages (you can skim). You will not need to re-answer course questions. When you reach the DORA is Listening page of the course YOU MUST enter your new Account Locator (please click both SAVE and SUBMIT) on that page.

From there, proceed through the labs. Things are likely to go much more quickly a second time through and your learning retention will improve significantly because you’ll need to think critically about how to carry out the steps given the special circumstances.

I had a Snowflake Trial Account in the past that has expired. Is it okay to get another one?

Yes. You can sign up for a new trial and you can often use the same email address as the one you used before. Some of our courses require trial accounts with a specific configuration so be certain that you check the requirements section of the course page before signing up for a trial you plan to use for a Uni course.

I tried to get a new trial and something went wrong. What should I do?

Email didn't arrive? Error message appeared? Submit a Support Case to Snowflake Support. This support team manages all Snowflake Trial Accounts. Please DO NOT mention training or Snowflake University, simply explain that you are trying to sign up for a trial and the problem you are experiencing. If you mention training or Snowflake University, tickets will often get routed to the Ed Services team and we cannot help you get a trial account.

If you suspect there is an issue with your email address, use a different email address. We do not require that your Snowflake University Lab work and your Snowflake University Learning Account use the same email. If badges are issued, they will be issued to the email address in your Snowflake University account (Community or Partner Network login) not the email associated with your Snowflake trial.

I have access to my employer's Snowflake Account, can I just do the lab work there?

For Level Up courses, this may be fine. For the Hands On Essentials Badge series, this is not allowed. With a trial account you will have the ACCOUNTADMIN role and will be able to experiment without fear of causing issues with your employer's configuration or data so some courses MUST be done in a trial account. This also allows us to be able to identify individual learners to issue earned badges.

Some labs are designed to show you advanced Snowflake capabilities and these are not always possible in your work account. With a trial account you have permissions to use every possible capability and this enables you to learn more. Please check the course requirements to see if a trial is required or if the course comes with a lab environment. Due to this, Educational Services does not manage or have access to control the costs that are associated with Snowflake accounts and Trial accounts. While the Hands-On Essential courses are free, the Snowflake Trial accounts will need to be used as any other Snowflake Trial with the limited usage available.

Can I Use More Than 1 Snowflake Trial Account to Complete the Course?

DORA, the automatic grader in the course, can only view a single trial account at a time when deciding to award badges. Therefore you unfortunately cannot split up the work in separate Snowflake (Trial) accounts. All lab work for a single course will need to be completed in the same Snowflake Trial Account. You can start with a new trial for each separate course as the lab work does not carry over from one course to another.

I have a personal trial account that I set up with a personal credit card in the past. Can I just do the lab work there?

Yes, in some cases, you can. If the region and cloud match the workshop requirements, you can use a personal Snowflake account for the workshop work, but only one person can get a badge per workshop, per Snowflake account. We track Account Locators. A single person can use the same Account Locator for multiple workshops but multiple people cannot use the same Account Locator for the same workshop.

I have a personal trial account that I set up with a personal credit card in the past. Can I just do the lab work there?

Yes, in some cases, you can. If the region and cloud match the workshop requirements, you can use a personal Snowflake account for the workshop work, but only one person can get a badge per workshop, per Snowflake account. We track Account Locators. A single person can use the same Account Locator for multiple workshops but multiple people cannot use the same Account Locator for the same workshop.

What Can I Do If I Receive Unexpected Charges?

Snowflake Trial accounts have their own Terms and Conditions that are not managed by the Educational Services team. For questions related to the Snowflake account and credits purchased, please contact our Snowflake Support team by submitting a support case.

I filled out the Snowflake Trial Account Signup form. Now what?

You should receive an automated response email that contains an activation link. Please read that email carefully and follow the directions. If more than two hours pass and you do not receive the email, Submit a Support Case. The Snowflake Support team manages all Snowflake Trial Accounts. You can say something like this:

"Hi, I signed up for a trial account over two hours ago and did not receive an email telling me how to activate my account. I checked my spam folder and nothing is there either. Can you please send me an activation link for my new trial account?"

COURSE CONTENT

I have a question about the content in a course. Where can I get answers?

If you can't seem to get something to work that seems specific to your machine or your employer's set up, search on or post on the Stack Overflow message boards.

You can also search the docs. Not-A-Pro-Yet Tip: Scroll to the bottom of any docs page to see the example code (and maybe copy it) and then go back to the top to learn more if you need to. The docs are available at docs.snowflake.com

f you think you have identified a bug in the Snowflake or would like to discuss Snowflake's design or implementation, go to the Community discussion boards.

If you want to discuss best practices or the pros and cons of different implementation choices in Snowflake, go to the Community discussion boards.

I think there is an error or typo in the course and the Snowflake Education team will need to update the content. How can I notify them?

Please just post on the nearest message board within the course itself and we will update as needed.

There is a screenshot that is out of date and the Snowflake Education team needs to update it, how can I notify them?

In this new cloud-app world, UIs change so often that we can almost guarantee you are going to see some out-of-date screenshots in our courses. Please just do your best to find the new place on the screen where you can carry out the same task that was intended in the original. If you find something you think will work, please try that and then include a note for future learners that will help them find it, too.

I need a clarification based on the content I have read. How can I get more info?

Please read the questions and replies on the message board at the bottom of each page. When you are certain your question has NOT already been answered, post your request for clarification in a new thread with a title to help others find the question. The Uni staff will respond within 2 working days unless the answer already exists in another thread or in the course content. We do not answer deep dive questions about Snowflake on our message boards - these are better left to the docs and the Community forums. We do not discuss Snowflake product design ideas or complaints about Snowflake functionality, those are also better done in the Community groups

I followed directions and I got an error or something doesn't look right. How can I get someone to provide me the exact instructions to overcome my particular problem?

If you are new to data development work, you may not realize that people who do this kind of work SEE, and READ error messages ALL THE TIME. We see error messages and we look at them and we try to figure out what they might mean. We search and search the error message to see if we can just find any three words in a row that might make sense.

Many times there will be a lot of intimidating gobbledy-gook but we'll find just a few words that we can make some sense of and we'll run with it! We may paste it into Stack Overflow or rephrase it for a Google search. We'll look to see if anyone else has solved a similar problem. Then we'll try to solve the issue. What most data professionals (or people who aspire to work as data professionals) don't do, is copy and paste the exact error message into the message board and tag \"Please help\" onto the end. Look, we know these courses can lull you into thinking everything with Snowflake should easy-easy-peasy -- and you start to expect Snowflake can tie your shoes and cook your breakfast, too, but the fact is, you will still need to think from time to time.

I got a \"Does Not Exist or Is Not Authorized\" Error. What should I do?

Watch this video.

COURSE MECHANICS

Are there different kinds of green checks? What do they mean?

Yes. There are 3. Two matter a little, one matters a LOT.

1. 1
   White checks in green circles appear in the course outline. They are harmless and are there to make you feel good about progressing through the course.
2. 2
   White checks in green SQUARES :white_check_mark: appear in the Results Pane of Snowflake Worksheets after you run DORA tests. They are very important. Without them, you cannot get a badge.
3. 3
   Green checks :heavy_check_mark: appear on some page names or as part of question titles in the courses. These are there to alert you that it is important to know the answers to these particular questions.

I am not seeing white checks inside green circles. I am alarmed. How can I get some reassurance?

Green checks in the course outline mean that you have completed a page of the course. In courses where we lock down progress these will often appear immediately, in courses where we do not lock down progress, their appearance may be delayed. In either case, there is no need to be alarmed. You can try refreshing the page to get them to appear but if their appearance is not keeping you from moving forward, just keep moving forward. These symbols, appearing in the learn.snowflake.com course outline are for your guidance only. They do not affect your badge status.

I had all the green circle checks a week ago but now I am looking at the course and some of them have disappeared! I am alarmed. How can I get some reassurance?

If we change a question or add one, your check may be removed. If we update a video or edit text on a page, your check may be removed. This does not affect your badge status. If you want to go back and see what has changed on the page, you can do so. You are not required to go back and check. The longer the amount of time that has passed, the more likely you are to see missing checks. If the Snowflake product changes significantly, there may be a lot of course pages that require updates. Again, you may revisit those pages or you may ignore them.

The Next button is grey and when I look at the course outline I can see that I am on the last page of the course or module. Why can't I get to the next page?

There is no next page if the course outline shows your current page as the last page in the list. We understand this is somewhat confusing. The platform we use for learn.snowflake.com is a bit odd because it was designed by MIT for college courses. In college courses, courses end based on the end of a semester and you receive notice of a grade when the professor submits that grade to the university. Because of this college-focused design the course does not end in the way you might be accustomed to with online courses. We are working on some improvements that might give a more satisfying completion. In the meantime, if you reach the last page of a course in the outline, that is the last page and the next button will not ever enable.

I reached the last page of a course or workshop, and I am sure I completed all the course work but when I revisit the My Courses page of learn.snowflake.com, it still says \"Resume Course.\" How can I get the system to stop saying \"Resume Course?\"

This is a quirk of our learn.snowflake.com platform. Please see the answer above this one about the Next button to understand the course design a little more. We are working on some improvements that might give a more satisfying completion. Right now, there is nothing you can do to keep the course from saying \"Resume Course.\"

Did some work in Mindtickle and now when I try to visit that page, it gives me a message that snowflakeuniversity.mindtickle.com no longer exists. I had some points in that system and I earned some symbols that were displayed in my profile in the Community, how can I get my symbols and points from Mindtickle?

The Mindtickle version of Snowflake University was retired in October of 2021. That system had a points tracking system that could be enabled for your profile in Community. We no longer use that system and our new system does not have a points system. In our new system, only the Credly badges can prove your satisfactory completion of end user courses. If you earned Credly badges while using the Mindtickle version of the Uni, those Credly badges still exist on Credly. They do not expire. The points and symbols system used by Mindtickle was not transferred over but that system created and managed by Mindtickle was somewhat arbitrary so we did not make an effort to replicate them in our new platform.

I use a Mac, prefer Linux, or have a Chromebook, how do I follow step-by-step instructions that were provided with Mac/Linux/Chromebook users in mind?

Because our courses are free, we chose to develop them using the Windows OS. Windows OS is the cheapest OS (given the prevalence of Windows based machines worldwide) and has the widest user base. We cannot develop free courses for all possible learner hardware and software configurations and continue to offer free courses. If you use a different OS feel free to ask questions and share tips in the message boards or each course regarding how the same tasks can be accomplished using different OSs. If you would like to develop a guide on an external website and then post a link to it in the message boards, we cannot endorse it, but we will also not remove it (as long as there are no other issues). Many of our instructors have experience in different OSs and various software configurations including firewall and security settings common in some corporate workplaces. Instructor-led courses are a much better fit for any learners requiring additional, on-the-spot help with issues and questions.

How long do your courses take to complete?

We design our badge courses to take between 8 and 12 hours for beginner users. We design our Level Up modules to take less than one hour. Partner (SPN) courses vary in duration and estimated time to complete can be provided by the Partner team. Some time-to-completion details may be found on the \"About\" page of each course.

BADGE QUESTIONS

Where is my Badge?

First, it's important to make sure you are speaking of a Badge and not a Certification. We award \"Badges\" for Hands-On Essentials Workshops. We award \"Certifications\" for taking an paid-for exam using a testing provider like Pearson.

Oops, I am actually wondering about my Certification! Where is that?

If you are looking for information on SnowPro Certifications, please visit this page: SnowPro Certifications. Badges and Certifications are handled by two completely different teams. There are some Cert Prep materials on the Uni site, but for test scheduling and most Cert related questions, see the Certification Team's materials.

I am definitely asking about a Badge (not a Certification). Where is it?

Our Hands On Essentials Badge Courses (DWW, DABW, SMEW, DKLW, DNGW) are graded by DORA and are also issued by DORA. When you have met the requirements for the badge, your badge will be issued automatically. The Badge will be associated with the email used in your Uni Account which you can view (but not change) here learn.snowflake.com/account/settings. DORA sends a note to Accredible and then Accredible awards the badge and sends you an email. Check your SPAM folder to see if your Accredible notification was caught by a filter.

I changed jobs and want to change the email associated with my badges, how do I do that?

Accredible is designed to help you keep a full record of your achievements through job changes, name changes, and much more. They allow you to add a number of personal and other email addresses to your profile there and make changes to how your name is displayed, merge accounts, and more.

I have passed every DORA check for a Workshop! Why haven't I received my Badge for the Workshop I passed?

We provide step-by-step instructions in each course and allow you to submit a message board request for help. Please follow the instructions provided. 

Checked all my DORA tests and my Account Locator Submission and I still haven't received my Badge! What should I do?

We provide step-by-step instructions in each course and allow you to submit a message board request for help. Please follow the instructions provided.

I posted my NOTE From DORA and asked about my badge but it got deleted. What should I do?

We specify the Post Title we want you to use and the screenshot we want you to include. This format makes it easy for us to do the check very quickly. If you can't follow those simple instructions, we just delete the post so you can try again. We consider the deletion of your post a service. It allows you to start over. You are allowed to include information on troubles you are having but you MUST include a screenshot of your NOTE From DORA and you MUST use the correct post title.

HELP WITH ERRORS

I am getting a Does Not Exist Error or Unknown Grader Function message. What should I do?

Watch this 8 minute video.

Can someone Zoom with me and walk me through my issue?

No. Individualized case-based support is not available for the Badge Workshops.

Because the workshops are free, and we have a very high volume of learners, we answer most queries using the in-course message boards. If you have issues that require more privacy you can submit a case but should consider first whether the query could be answered on a message board as these are answered within 24 hours in most situations.