A Guide to Google Cloud Certifications List

If you have been wondering about the best and reliable option for setting up a career in cloud computing, then certifications are credible alternatives. The role of certifications in the modern IT landscape is highly significant and unquestionable. Candidates should know about the certifications of notable public cloud computing platforms such as Google Cloud certifications. Awareness of the different certifications on Google Cloud Platform could help you identify the suitable certifications for your career path.

There are many categories of certifications on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that are ideal for different levels of expertise and experience. Most of the candidates are not able to find the ideal Google cloud certification for their career aspirations. However, exploring the basic information about each Google cloud certification exam can help candidates in making the right choice effortlessly.

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The following discussion would present an outline of the different Google Cloud certifications that are available now. The discussion would help you uncover crucial details such as target audience for the exam, abilities tested in the exam and recommended prerequisites for the different certifications.

In addition, candidates can also learn about other details such as the exam format, supported languages and registration cost. However, the most important information outlined for each certification exam would be the illustration of subtopics in each exam objective. Furthermore, the description of each Google cloud certification exam would also contain references to the estimated average salary for each certification.

Why are Google Cloud Certifications Important?

Prior to an outline of the Google cloud certifications list, it is important to reflect on the necessity of Google cloud certification. GCP certifications help you showcase proof of expertise and ability for the transformation of businesses with Google Cloud technology. Apart from the validation for your cloud expertise, GCP certification can also provide the following advantages for qualified professionals.

• Almost 87% of Google Cloud certified professionals express better confidence and command over cloud skills.
• According to the 2019 IT Skills and Salary Report of Global Knowledge, the Professional Cloud Architect certification fetched the highest salary in 2019.
• The findings from an independent survey of Google Cloud certified candidates in May 2019 reveal that 30% of Google Cloud certified candidates assumed leadership roles or more responsibility at the workplace.

Types of Google Cloud Certifications

You can clearly notice the career prospects associated with Google Cloud certifications. However, it is also important to find the right GCP certification to navigate through your desired career path effortlessly. So, readers should know about the different categories of GCP certifications before reviewing information about the individual exams. Generally, candidates can find the following three categories of certification on Google Cloud Platform.

• Associate Certification.
• Professional Certification.
• User Certification.

Before we start our discussion on each certification exam on Google Cloud Platform, let us reflect briefly on each certification category as follows.

Google Cloud – Associate Certification 

Associate level certification on GCP aim at validating the fundamental cloud skills of candidates. The fundamental skills include deployment, monitoring and maintenance of projects on Google Cloud. The best thing about associate-level certification is that it is suitable for candidates who are new to the cloud. You can consider the associate level Google cloud certification exam as a gateway to the professional level certifications.

Google Cloud – Professional Certification 

Professional-level certifications on Google Cloud Platform differ from associate-level certification considerably. The objective of professional-level Google Cloud certifications focuses on significant technical job functions. Professional certifications on GCP evaluate the advanced skills of a candidate in the areas of designing, implementation and management. Individuals with industry experience and considerable awareness of Google Cloud products and solutions are the ideal candidates for professional certifications.

Google Cloud – User Certification 

The User certification on GCP largely aims at individuals having experience in using G Suite. The certification exam tests the skills of a candidate in utilizing core collaboration tools.

After reflecting on the reasons to go for GCP certification exams and the different categories of the exam, readers must be eager for the Google certifications list. Without any delay, here are the prominent entries that you can find among Google Cloud Platform certifications.

1. Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer

The first entrant among Google Cloud certifications in this list is the Associate Cloud Engineer certification. Readers should note that this is the only associate-level certification exam on Google Cloud Platform. As the name implies, the certification is ideal for aspiring cloud engineers. The roles of a certified associate cloud engineer would involve the deployment of applications, operations monitoring and management of enterprise solutions.

The exam tests the skills of candidates for using Google Cloud Console and command-line interface for performing common platform-based tasks. In addition, the exam reviews the capabilities of candidates in the maintenance of one or more deployed solutions that utilize self-managed or Google-managed services on Google Cloud.

Prerequisites for the Exam 

Candidates should note the important basic information to understand a GCP certification exam thoroughly. One of the first pieces of information about a certification exam refers to its prerequisites. In the case of Associate Cloud Engineer certification, candidates don’t have to fulfil any prerequisite. On the other hand, GCP recommends at least six months of hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform.

Basic Information about the Exam 

The GCP Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam would consist of multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can appear for the Associate Cloud Engineer exam in four languages such as English, Spanish, Indonesian and Japanese.

The registration cost for the exam is $125 USD alongside applicable taxes. Candidates have to register for the exam and choose between options of taking the certification exam remotely or at a test center. Readers should note that candidates can select the testing center and exam time when registering for the exam.

Domains Covered in the Exam

The next important piece of information about the exam refers directly to the exam objectives. Outlining the objectives of each entry in Google Cloud certifications list can help candidates in simplifying their preparation. How? When you know about the topics that would form the basis of questions in the exam, you can prepare according to them.

As a result, candidates can have better chances of qualifying the exam as they would prepare for actual questions in the exam without focusing on unnecessary topics. Therefore, an outline of the exam objectives for GCP certifications is mandatory. The domains covered in the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam are as follows.

• Setting up a cloud solution environment.
• Planning and configuration of a cloud solution.
• Deployment and implementation of a cloud solution.
• Ensuring the successful operations of a cloud solution.
• Configuration of access and security.

Salary of Associate Cloud Engineer

The final piece of information that every candidate wants about a particular certification is the salary estimate. The Google cloud certification salary estimate is one of the notable driving factors for candidates to approach different certification exams. The average annual salary estimate for a GCP Certified Associate Cloud Engineer is $109,415 USD.

2. Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Architect

The first entry among professional Google Cloud certifications is the GCP Professional Cloud Architect certification. The Google cloud certification is ideal for aspiring cloud architects with a knack for helping enterprises leverage optimal functionality of Google Cloud technologies. The role of certified professional cloud architects would involve depending on thorough knowledge and understanding of cloud architecture and Google technologies.

Using their knowledge in these areas, certified candidates will take on roles for designing, development and management of GCP solutions according to business objectives. In addition, certified candidates have to ensure that the GCP solutions have higher scalability, dynamism and availability.

Prerequisites for the Exam 

Google Cloud Platform does not have any hardbound prerequisites for this certification exam. However, here are the important recommended knowledge and experience requirements that can help candidates in ensuring better results.

• Over three years of industry experience in cloud architecture.
• More than one year of hands-on experience in design and management of solutions by leveraging GCP.
• Proficiency in all aspects of solution design, architectural best practices and enterprise cloud strategy.
• Experience in software development methodologies and methods such as multi-tiered distributed applications that span hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

Basic Information about the Exam

Candidates should note that the Professional Cloud Architect certification in Google Cloud certification list would include multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. The total duration of the exam will be around 2 hours. Candidates can register for the exam at the cost of $200 USD alongside the applicable taxes. The exam is available only in English and Japanese languages.

Domains Covered in the Exam 

The Professional Cloud Architect Google Cloud Certification would test the abilities of candidates in the following domains.

• Designing and planning a cloud solution architecture.
• Management and provisioning of the cloud solution infrastructure.
• Designing for security and compliance.
• Analysis and optimization of technical and business processes.
• Management of implementations of cloud architecture.
• Ensuring the reliability of solution and operations.

Salary of Professional Cloud Architect

The annual salary estimate for a professional Google certified cloud architect is $164,000 on an average. Experience of the professional helps in finding a suitable salary estimate in the role of a Google certified cloud architect. The salary estimate for Google Cloud certified professional cloud architects could range from $129,000 to $200,000 annually.

3. Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Developer

The next prominent addition in Google Cloud certifications is the Professional Cloud Developer certifications. As the name suggests, the exam is suitable for aspiring cloud solution developers. Certified candidates have to take on job roles that involve the development of highly scalable and available applications. Professional cloud solutions developers have to utilize their comprehensive knowledge and experience regarding cloud-native applications, next-generation databases, developer tools and runtime environments.

Candidates should note an important detail about this entry in Google certifications list. Google is retiring the current exam for Professional Cloud Developer certification. As a replacement, Google Cloud Platform has brought forward a new Professional Cloud Developer beta exam. However, for now, Google has closed registrations for the Professional Cloud Developer beta certification exam. Candidates should stay updated with the official certification page to find out the new date for opening registrations.

Prerequisites for the Exam  

The important requirements that candidates should follow for this exam among Google Cloud certifications are as follows.

• More than three years of industry experience in solution development.
• At least more than one year of experience in designing and managing solutions by utilizing GCP.
• Fluency in at least one high-level programming language supported on Google Cloud Platforms such as Python, C, C# or Node.js.
• Skills for developing meaningful and relevant metrics and logs for debugging and tracing code.

Basic Information about the Exam

Candidates can register for the GCP Professional Cloud Developer certification at the cost of $120 USD along with applicable taxes. The total duration of the beta exam will be 4 hours. The exam will consist of multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. Candidates can appear for the Professional Cloud Developer beta exam only in the English language.

Domains Covered in this Exam 

The important domains covered in this entry among Google Cloud certifications are as follows,

• Designing cloud-native applications with high scalability, reliability and availability.
• Building and testing applications.
• Deployment of applications.
• Integration of Google Cloud Platform services.
• Management of application performance monitoring.

Salary of Professional Cloud Developer

The average annual salary of a Google certified cloud developer is almost $130,909. Just like any other job role, the Google cloud certification salary for a certified cloud developer depends on experience. Therefore, the average salary estimate for a Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud Developer ranges between $86,500 and $207,500 per annum.

Google Certified Professional Data Engineer

As you might have guessed already, this entry among Google cloud certifications is suitable for aspiring cloud data professionals. Certified professional data engineers will have to work in data-driven job roles focused on the collection, transformation and publication of data for supporting informed decision making. The job role of certified data engineers would involve designing, developing, enabling operations, securing and monitoring data processing systems.

The primary concerns of data engineers should, however, align with security, compliance, scalability, portability, fidelity, flexibility, efficiency and reliability. In addition, the job of certified data engineers would also involve utilizing, deployment and continuous training of pre-existing machine learning models.

Prerequisites for the Exam 

Just like other GCP certification exams, candidates don’t have to follow any hardbound prerequisites for this exam. However, Google recommends that candidates should have at least three years of experience in data engineering or in any data-based job role. In addition, GCP also recommends that candidates should have at least more than one year of experience in the design and management of solutions by utilizing GCP.

Basic Information about the Exam 

Candidates will find multiple-choice and multiple-select questions in the Professional data engineer exam among Google Cloud certifications. The registration cost for the exam is $200 USD along with the applicable taxes. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can appear for the exam in two languages such as English and Japanese.

Domains Covered in the Exam  

The important domains covered in the Professional Data Engineer exam in Google Cloud certifications list are as follows.

• Designing data processing systems.
• Development and enabling operations of data processing systems.
• Enabling operations of machine learning models.
• Ensuring solution quality.

Salary of Professional Cloud Data Engineer

The average annual salary estimate for a certified Google Professional Cloud Data Engineer is $132,900 USD. Candidates should note that the GCP certifications are not easy tickets to high-paying jobs. You have to earn the experience to advance the prospects of landing up with high-paying jobs.

5. Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer

The rising popularity of DevOps in the IT labour market is the primary reason for many aspiring candidates trying for GCP DevOps certification. Google has recently introduced the Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer exam among Google cloud certifications. The exam is ideal for aspiring to cloud DevOps Engineers with expectations for high-responsibility jobs in the cloud computing landscape.

The job role of a professional cloud DevOps engineer would involve accountability for efficient coordination between development and operations. Professional Cloud DevOps Engineers are responsible for maintaining the perfect balance of delivery speed and service reliability. The exam would test the candidate’s abilities in leveraging GCP for development of software delivery pipelines, deployment and monitoring of services and managing and learning from incidents.

Prerequisites for the Exam 

Candidates don’t have to worry about any prerequisite with the Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer exam like other Google Cloud Certifications. However, candidates need to follow the recommended prerequisites, i.e. knowledge and experience requirements. Candidates should have more than three years of industry experience. In addition, candidates should have more than one year of hands-on experience in the management of cloud solutions by using GCP.

Basic Information about the Exam

The exam format for Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer certification exam would include multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. The registration cost for the exam is $200 USD along with applicable taxes, and the total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can appear for the exam only in the English language. Readers should note that they can appear for this exam in person at a test centre only, and you can choose the test centre while registering for the exam.

Domains Covered in the Exam

The important domains covered in the new addition among Google Cloud certifications are as follows.

• Application of site reliability engineering principles to a service.
• Optimization of service performance.
• Implementation of service monitoring strategies.
• Develop and implement CI/CD pipelines for a service.
• Management of service incidents.

Salary of Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer

The average salary estimate for a Google Cloud Certified Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer is between $137,000 and $180,000 per annum. Candidates can find high-paying jobs with subsequent development of skills and experience.

6. Google Certified Professional Cloud Security Engineer

The addition of security-based Google Cloud certifications is also promising news for aspiring cloud professionals. As you can notice, the exam is ideal for aspiring cloud security professionals with a commitment to pursuing their career on Google cloud platform. The role of certified candidates would involve enabling organizations for designing and implementation of secure infrastructures on GCP.

Certified cloud security engineers have to utilize their comprehensive understanding of different industry security requirements and the security best practices. The role of certified cloud security engineers would involve designing, development and management of secure infrastructures that utilize Google security technologies.

Prerequisites for the Exam

The next critical information about the Google Cloud certifications refers to prerequisites for the exam. As you all know, GCP does not have any hardbound prerequisites that candidates should follow. However, here are the recommended prerequisites that can help candidates improve their readiness for the exam.

• Over three years of industry experience in cloud security.
• At least more than one year of experience in designing and management of security solutions by using GCP.
• Proficiency in different aspect of cloud security such as identity and access management.
• Skills for leveraging Google technologies to enable data protection and configuration of network security defenses.
• Fluency in collection and analysis of Google Cloud Platform logs, understanding of regulatory concerns and management of incident responses.

Basic Information about the Exam

Candidates can find multiple-choice and multiple-select questions in the Professional Cloud security engineer certification exam. The registration cost for the exam is almost $200 USD, and the exam will be available only in English. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can take the exam only in person at a test center which they can select when scheduling for the exam.

Domains Covered in the Exam

The important domains covered in this entry among Google cloud certifications are as follows,

• Configuration of access within a cloud solution environment.
• Configuration of network security.
• Ensuring data protection.
• Management of operations within a cloud solution environment.
• Ensuring compliance.

Salary of Professional Cloud Security Engineers

The average estimate of Google cloud certification salary for cloud security engineers is $136,485 USD per annum. Certified candidates also get additional benefits along with the remuneration in their role as a Google Certified Professional Cloud Security Engineer. As you gain professional experience, the salary estimate also increases gradually.

7. Google Certified Professional Cloud Network Engineer

The Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer is one of the notable Google Cloud certifications dealing with a notable cloud specialization. As the name implies, this certification is ideal for aspiring cloud network engineers. The role of certified candidates would involve the implementation and network architectures on Google Cloud Platform.

The job of certified cloud network engineers would also involve working in collaboration with networking or cloud teams having architects designing the infrastructure. Most important of all, the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Network Engineer certification exam tests the abilities of candidates for ensuring successful cloud implementations by leveraging the Google Cloud Platform Console or the command-line interface.

Prerequisites for the Exam 

The important prerequisites for the Google Cloud Certifications exam for aspiring cloud network engineers are as follows,

• At least three years of industry experience in cloud network engineering.
• Minimum of one year of hands-on experience in working with Google Cloud Platform.
• Experience and knowledge in implementation of VPCs, network services, security for existing network architectures and hybrid connectivity.
• Comprehensive fluency in using the Google Cloud Platform Console and the command-line interface.

Basic Information about the Exam

Candidates can appear for this GCP certification exam in person at a test center. The exam’s format would include multiple-choice and multiple-select questions that cover different professional tasks under the responsibility of professional cloud network engineers. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can register for the exam by paying a fee of $200 USD alongside the applicable taxes. It is also important to remember that this certification exam is available only in the English language.

Domains Covered in the Exam

The important domains covered in the Google Professional Cloud Network Engineer certification exam are as follows,

• Designing, planning and prototyping a GCP network.
• Implementation of a GCP Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
• Configuration of network services.
• Implementation of hybrid interconnectivity.
• Implementation of network security.

Salary of Professional Cloud Network Engineer

Candidates should note that the average annual salary for a certified Professional Cloud Network Engineer is around $203,393. The salary estimate for certified cloud network engineers ranges between $157,764 and $237,005. Candidates can achieve additional professional experience for improving their salary.

8. Google Certified Professional Collaboration Engineer

The ideal target audience for another specialization-centric Google cloud certifications exam includes aspiring collaboration engineers. The role of certified cloud collaboration engineers generally involves the transformation of business objectives into various tangible configurations, security practices and policies.

In addition, the certified professional will also have to consider the needs of users, content and integrations while addressing their professional responsibilities. The Professional Collaboration engineer certification exam tests the abilities of candidates for leveraging their knowledge of an organization’s identity management and mail routing infrastructure.

The exam also verifies the candidate’s capabilities for enabling secure and highly efficient communication and data access. Furthermore, certified collaboration engineers also identify the opportunities for educating end-users and work in improving operational efficiency. Simultaneously, the certified professionals can also ensure advocacy for G Suite and the Google toolset.

Prerequisites for the Exam

The recommended prerequisites for this entry among Google Cloud certifications are as follows,

• Minimum of three years of industry experience.
• At least one year of hands-on experience with the Google Cloud Platform.
• Ability to work with an engineering and solutions mindset.
• Fluency in using tools, APIs and programming languages for automation of workflows.

Basic Information about the Exam

The exam format for the Professional Collaboration Engineer certification exam would include multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. Candidates can register for the exam with a fee of $200 USD along with applicable taxes. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. You can appear for the exam only in English and Japanese languages.

Domains Covered in the Exam

The important domains covered in the Professional Collaboration Engineer certification are as follows,

• Planning and implementation of G Suite authorization and access.
• Management of user, resource and Team Drive lifecycles.
• Management of mail.
• Controlling and configuration of G Suite services.
• Configuration and management of endpoint access.
• Monitoring of organizational operations.
• Advocating the adoption of G Suite and collaboration.

Salary of Professional Collaboration Engineer

The average salary estimate for Google Certified Professional Collaboration engineer is $76,340 USD per annum. In addition, certified candidates can also receive additional benefits with the role. Subsequently, candidates can get better pay packages when they progress their skills and professional experience.

9. Google Certified G Suite Certification

The final addition among Google Cloud certifications is the G Suite certification. Readers should note that this certification exam comes under the User certification category among Google Cloud certifications. The ideal target audience for this exam is aspiring cloud professionals who want to prove their skills in working productively in collaboration with others in a professional environment.

The G Suite certification helps candidates prove their skills for addressing common workplace activities by leveraging cloud-based tools. For example, the exam tests abilities for using cloud-based tools for creating and sharing spreadsheets, files, documents and presentations. In addition, the exam also validates the candidate’s abilities for communicating effectively through email and online conferencing solutions.

Prerequisites for the Exam

Candidates should note that there are no specific prerequisites for the Google Cloud Professional G Suite certification exam. However, here are the recommended prerequisites for the exam.

• Complete coverage of Applied Digital Skills training course.
• Completion of G Suite Essentials quest.
• Over one month of hands-on experience with G Suite.

Basic Information about the Exam

Candidates can register for the G Suite certification exam with a registration cost of $75 USD alongside applicable taxes. The total duration of the exam will be 2 hours. Candidates can appear for the exam only in the English language. The format of the exam would include two distinct parts focused on multiple-choice and performance-based questions. Candidates have the option of taking the exam either at a testing center or in a remote proctored environment.

Domains Covered in the Exam 

The important domains covered in the G Suite Certification exam are as follows,

• Using Drive.
• Using Gmail.
• Utilizing Hangouts Meet.
• Working with Docs.
• Working in Sheets.
• Working with Slides.

Salary of G Suite Engineer

The average annual salary for certified G Suite Engineers is almost $115,571. In addition, certified candidates can explore a wide range of job roles with a G Suite certification.

Bottom Line

Now that you know about different Google Cloud certifications, you can take your pick and start preparing now. The information you find here is only a fraction of the massive repository of data about the certification exams. Apart from the basic information about the exam, candidates have to work hard for ensuring successful preparation for the exams.

Candidates should use the above-mentioned information about the certification exams to craft reliable preparation schedules. In addition, candidates can also reflect on the various learning resources and preparation materials available presently. As the candidate advances on their path of preparation for different certification exams, they gain new skills and abilities.

So, all you need to do is start the journey, and it shall take you into its stead effortlessly! Enroll now in our Google Cloud certifications training courses and take a step ahead for the bright career!