Guy Hummel

June 27, 2023

Google Cloud Certifications: Which is Right for You and Your Team?

In the rapidly evolving world of cloud computing, certifications can validate your skills and keep you ahead of the curve.

Google Cloud Platform, a leading service in the industry, offers a suite of certifications designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and expertise needed to leverage Google’s cloud technology.

This blog post is aimed at businesses and professionals seeking to understand the various Google Cloud Certifications available today. We’ll outline each certification, its purpose, and who it’s best suited for, providing a comprehensive guide to navigate your cloud career.

But as a tech leader, how do you know which certifications to guide your team towards, and how do you assess their skill level/efficiency? Fill out the form and request a free demo! Our tech skill assessments let you save time by identifying the exact skills your team needs.

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Is a Google Cloud certification worth it?

A Google Cloud certification is definitely worth it for professionals seeking to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in cloud architecture and Google Cloud technologies. The certification can open up new job opportunities, enhance your credibility in the field, and potentially increase your salary. As more companies continue to adopt cloud technologies, the demand for certified professionals is growing. Having a Google Cloud certification can give you a competitive advantage in the job market.

Why is getting a Google Cloud certification important?

Getting a Google Cloud certification is important for several reasons:

Knowledge and skills: The process of preparing for the certification exams helps you gain a comprehensive understanding of Google Cloud technologies. This can greatly improve your ability to effectively design, develop, and manage cloud solutions.

Credibility: Having a certification from a well-known organization like Google can enhance your credibility as a cloud professional. It demonstrates to employers that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform tasks associated with Google Cloud technologies.

Career advancement: Many employers prefer or require certifications for certain job roles. By obtaining a Google Cloud certification, you can open up new job opportunities and potentially increase your earning potential.

Industry recognition: A Google Cloud certification is widely recognized in the IT industry. It can help you stand out from the crowd and get noticed by potential employers.

How long does it take to get a Google Cloud certification?

The time it takes to get a Google Cloud certification can vary depending on the specific certification and your level of experience and familiarity with Google Cloud technologies. The process involves self-study or formal training, followed by an exam. Preparation can take several weeks to several months, depending on the amount of time you can dedicate to studying.

Why should I get Google Cloud certified?

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has evolved from being a niche player to a serious competitor to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

In 2022, research firm Gartner placed Google for the third consecutive year in the Leaders quadrant in its Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud AI Developer Services report. In the report, Gartner recommended the platform for its language, vision, and AutoML products for developers, offering a comprehensive platform that is ready for enterprise-level execution.

With more and more companies using GCP for at least some of their cloud requirements, there is an increased demand for Google Cloud Platform certification training. Google now has 10 certification exams that IT professionals can use to validate their GCP skills.

Bringing your team up to speed on GCP can take time you may not have. But with our Cloud Certification Fast-track program, you can crush your certification goals with direct support from our team of cloud experts. Custom training, visibility into progress, and end-to-end program management are just some of the features. Contact our team today to find out how the program works.

What are the Google Cloud certifications?

As of today, Google Cloud Platform offers 10 certifications. Let’s go through all of them and find the best one for your cloud career:

Google Cloud Digital Leader;
Google Associate Cloud Engineer;
Google Professional Cloud Architect;
Google Professional Data Engineer;
Google Professional Cloud Developer;
Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer;
Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer;
Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer;
Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer;
Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer.

Google Cloud Digital Leader

If you are wondering which Google Cloud certification is for beginners, here we are! This foundational-level certification is intended for people who want to prove they have an understanding of GCP fundamentals, cloud computing basics, and how Google cloud services can be used to achieve an organization’s goals.
Specifically, the Google Cloud Digital Leader exam covers these subject areas:

Digital transformation with Google Cloud
Innovating with data and Google Cloud
Infrastructure and application modernization
Google Cloud security and operations

The only prerequisite needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud Digital Leader certification is a general knowledge of computers and the internet. If you’re interested in getting certified, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Digital Leader Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Digital Leader Exam.

Google Associate Cloud Engineer

This role-based Associate-level certification is intended for people who deploy applications, monitor operations, and manage enterprise solutions. Specifically, the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam covers these subject areas:

Setting up a cloud solution environment
Planning and configuring a cloud solution
Deploying and implementing a cloud solution
Ensuring the successful operation of a cloud solution
Configuring access and security

The prerequisites needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification are:

Basic understanding of Google Cloud Platform products and services
Basic understanding of cloud concepts, such as virtual machines, containers, and networking

If you’re interested in getting certified, go through Cloud Academy’s Google Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Associate Cloud Engineer Exam.

Google Professional Cloud Architect

This is one of Google’s professional certifications, so it is intended to prove you have advanced design and implementation skills. Professional exams expect you to have practical, hands-on knowledge related to your particular job. This certification is intended for IT professionals who know how to build solutions on Google Cloud Platform. Specifically, the Google Cloud Architect exam covers these six subjects:

Designing and planning a cloud solution architecture
Managing and provisioning a solution infrastructure
Designing for security and compliance
Analyzing and optimizing technical and business processes
Managing implementation
Ensuring solution and operations reliability

The prerequisite needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud Architect certification is general knowledge of IT concepts. If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a professional cloud architect, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Architect Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Architect Exam.

Google Professional Data Engineer

This professional Google Cloud certification is intended for data professionals who enable data-driven decision-making by collecting, transforming, and publishing data. Specifically, the Google Cloud Data Engineer exam covers these areas:

Designing data processing systems
Building and operationalizing data processing systems
Operationalizing machine learning models
Ensuring solution quality

The prerequisite needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Data Engineer certification is basic database knowledge. If you’re interested in getting certified and becoming a professional data engineer, go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Data Engineer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Data Engineer Exam.

Google Professional Cloud Developer

If you are wondering which Google Cloud certification is best for developers, you are in the right place. This role-based professional certification is intended for software developers who build applications on Google Cloud Platform. Specifically, the Google Cloud Developer exam covers five areas:

Designing highly scalable, available, and reliable cloud-native applications
Building and testing applications
Deploying applications
Integrating Google Cloud services
Managing deployed applications

The prerequisites needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud Developer certification are:

General knowledge of IT architecture
Software development experience

If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a professional cloud developer, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Developer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Developer Exam.

Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer

This role-based professional certification is intended for people who have mastered cloud security, including identity and access management, data protection, network security defenses, and more. Specifically, the Google Cloud Security Engineer exam covers these areas:

Configuring access within a cloud solution environment
Configuring network security
Ensuring data protection
Managing operations in a cloud solution environment
Ensuring compliance

The prerequisite needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud Security Engineer certification is a basic understanding of cloud concepts such as virtual machines, containers, and networking. If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a professional cloud security engineer, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Security Engineer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Security Engineer Exam.

If you’re a tech manager, you know best that security is one of the most significant issues holding back cloud adoption. Cloud Academy’s training library focuses deeply on IT Security, allowing your team to stay up to date with new security breaches and ways to resolve them.
If you’re interested in understanding how to keep your cloud environment secure with Cloud Academy, contact us and request a free demo!

Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer

This role-based professional certification is intended for people who are responsible for efficient development operations in an organization and can balance service reliability and delivery speed. Specifically, the Google Cloud DevOps Engineer exam covers these areas:

Applying site reliability engineering principles to a service
Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines for a service
Implementing service monitoring strategies
Optimizing service performance
Managing service incidents

The prerequisites needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud DevOps Engineer certification are:

Basic understanding of cloud concepts (virtual machines, containers, networking, etc.)
General knowledge of IT architecture
Familiarity with DevOps practices and principles

If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a professional DevOps engineer, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud DevOps Engineer Exam Preparation.

Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer

This role-based professional certification is intended for people who design, build and deploy machine learning models to solve business challenges using Google Cloud technologies. Specifically, the Google Cloud Machine Learning Engineer exam covers six subject areas:

Framing machine learning problems
Architecting machine learning solutions
Designing data preparation and processing systems
Developing machine learning models
Automating and orchestrating machine learning pipelines
Monitoring, optimizing, and maintaining machine learning solutions

The prerequisites needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Machine Learning Engineer certification are:

Basic understanding of cloud concepts
Experience writing Python code

If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a Google Cloud professional ML engineer, you should check out Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Machine Learning Engineer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Machine Learning Engineer Exam.

Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer

This role-based professional certification is intended for people who implement and manage network architectures in GCP. Specifically, the Google Cloud Network Engineer exam covers these subject areas:

Designing, planning, and prototyping a Google Cloud network
Implementing Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) instances
Configuring network services
Implementing hybrid interconnectivity
Managing, monitoring, and optimizing network operations

The prerequisite needed to enroll in the learning path and then get the Google Cloud Network Engineer certification is a basic understanding of cloud concepts such as virtual machines, containers, and networking. If you are interested in getting certified and becoming a professional cloud network engineer, you should go through Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Network Engineer Exam Preparation and then take the practice exam. But if you feel ready, you can go directly to Cloud Academy’s Google Cloud Network Engineer Exam.

Google Professional Cloud Database Engineer

This role-based professional certification is intended for people who want to learn to design, create, manage, and troubleshoot Google Cloud databases used by applications to store and retrieve data. Specifically, the Google Cloud Database Engineer exam covers four subject areas:

Design scalable and highly available cloud database solutions
Manage a solution that can span multiple database solutions
Migrate data solutions
Deploy scalable and highly available databases in Google Cloud

If you’re interested in getting certified, you should check out the Google Cloud Database Engineer certification.

What are some differences between these roles?

As you’ve seen, these Google Cloud Platform certifications are very role-specific, helping demonstrate a high level of ability in each area. With some of these job roles, the differences are more obvious, such as between a developer (someone who creates applications) and a security engineer (someone who secures data and infrastructure). Other ones need a little bit more explanation.

Cloud Architect vs. Data Engineer

One of the biggest reasons organizations choose Google Cloud Platform is for its robust data services, such as BigQuery, Cloud Dataflow, and Vertex AI. How these services are used helps explain the different roles within Google Cloud certification. While a Cloud Architect knows how to design solutions using the above services and how to speak to other departmental stakeholders about big picture ideas, a Data Engineer has a much more in-depth understanding of how to build, maintain, and troubleshoot data processing systems on a daily basis. For example, a Data Engineer needs to have experience with cutting-edge concepts like neural networks and streaming analytics, and how to ingest data and prepare it for others, such as data scientists, to use.

Developer vs. DevOps Engineer

A Google Cloud Platform Developer understands how to create applications that are optimized for the deployment of Google’s infrastructure while also being comfortable with the development tools available on GCP. In contrast, a DevOps Engineer is responsible for designing and implementing the development infrastructure itself, particularly to automate the software development lifecycle. For example, a DevOps Engineer would build continuous integration / continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

How can I prepare for a Google Cloud certification exam?

Google Cloud certification exams are known for their difficulty and breadth of topics, so the importance of preparation and training beforehand cannot be overstated. Surprisingly, Google doesn’t provide a score at the end of an exam. Instead, it simply issues a “Pass” or “Fail” result, which doesn’t provide much help in terms of knowing what to study if you fail. This is why it’s important to thoroughly prepare for the exam, and this is where certification training with Cloud Academy can help.

Here are 5 steps to take before taking a Google Cloud certification exam:

Take the relevant learning path on Cloud Academy. We offer many learning paths covering all you need to know in each Google Cloud Platform certification area. These learning paths include courses, hands-on labs, and exams for each certification.
Get hands-on practice on GCP. Hands-on Labs and Lab Challenges provide easy ways for you to quickly get practical experience in real cloud environments without deploying your own infrastructure and running up extra costs.
Review the outline in Google’s official exam guide and check for any knowledge gaps.
The Cloud Architect exam includes questions about lengthy case studies. You can find these case studies in the exam guides. Make sure you read them thoroughly before writing the exam.
Take one of Google’s own practice exams (such as the “sample questions” link on the Cloud Architect home page).

Each exam is two hours long (except for Cloud Digital Leader, which is 90 minutes long) and must be taken either as an online proctored exam (OLP) or at a Kryterion testing center. Kryterion has over 1,000 testing centers in 120 countries, so you should be able to find one in your area.

What’s the next step after taking the exam?

As I mentioned earlier, the result shown after an exam is simply “Pass” or “Fail.” If you don’t pass, you’re allowed to take the exam again after 14 days. If you fail on the second attempt, then you have to wait 60 days before the next attempt.

If you pass the exam, you’ll receive an online certification badge that can be displayed on sites like LinkedIn, and more importantly, a Google Cloud certification hoodie.

Once you’re certified, you’ll want to stay up to date on Google Cloud Platform as it continues to evolve. You can learn everything about Google Cloud in our Google Cloud content library.

Good luck and happy learning!

FAQs

Which Google Cloud certification is best?

The ‘best’ Google Cloud certification largely depends on your career goals, current skills, and future plans. For those starting their journey in cloud technologies, the Associate Cloud Engineer certification can be a good starting point. If you have a significant amount of experience with Google Cloud technologies and are interested in designing cloud architecture, the Professional Cloud Architect certification is a great choice. For professionals focused on managing Google Workspace within an organization, the Google Professional Workspace Administrator certification would be best.

Which is the easiest Google Cloud certification to get?

The Associate Cloud Engineer certification is often considered the ‘easiest’ Google Cloud certification to get, mainly because it is geared towards individuals who are just starting their journey in cloud technologies. However, ‘easiest’ can be subjective and largely depends on your background, experience, and familiarity with Google Cloud technologies.

Which certification is better, Google Cloud or AWS?

The choice between Google Cloud and AWS certifications depends on your career goals, the specific technologies you work with, and the needs of your employer or prospective employers. Both certifications have their merits and are widely recognized in the industry. AWS certifications might be a better choice if you’re working primarily with AWS technologies or aiming to work in an AWS-dominant environment. On the other hand, Google Cloud certifications would be more beneficial if you’re focusing on Google Cloud technologies or seeking opportunities with companies that heavily use Google Cloud. Both platforms are popular and have large market shares, so either certification can be beneficial for your career.

How much does a Google Cloud certification cost?

The cost of Google Cloud certifications varies depending on the specific certification exam. Generally, you can expect to pay a registration fee for the exam.

How long does it take to study for a Google Cloud certification?

The time it takes to study for a Google Cloud certification can vary widely depending on the specific certification and your level of experience with Google Cloud technologies. Generally, you should expect to spend several weeks to a few months preparing for the exam. It’s important to take enough time to thoroughly understand the exam content and feel confident in your ability to pass the exam.

Want to understand how Cloud Academy can help your team get GCP certified and always stay up to date?

With our Cloud Certification Fast-track program, you can crush your certification goals with direct support from our team of cloud experts. Custom training, visibility into progress, and end-to-end program management are just some of the features. Fill out the form to get a free demo and find out how the program works.