Over the years, Google certifications have immensely grown ― to the delight of developing specialists. This tech giant knows the importance of getting certified, hence the continuous expansion of their training program. Accordingly, they have introduced the Grow with Google campaign, which focuses on providing free tools to support your career advancement and business growth. Since its establishment, this has helped millions of individuals around the world. And, if you want to polish your digital skills, check out Google's wide range of training options catering to different individuals.

Outline of Google Certification Path

From IT support to data analytics to cloud computing, Google has everything set for your professional development. Initially, this vendor offers Cloud certificates of three levels, namely the Foundational, Associate, and Professional. In particular, the Foundational & Associate categories hold one certificate each while the Professional tier comprises 8 distinct certifications. What’s more, the Google Cloud designations are designed to meet the demand for a certain job role and can be followed by those who want to gain expertise in cloud architecture, cloud engineering, security engineering, ML engineering, etc. Apart from these, there are also free product Google designations like the Google Ads endorsements, Google Analytics, and Google Marketing Platform. In common, all these areas are designed to supply you with in-demand skills to help fast-track your chosen career. And of course, Google certifications make your resume stand out and easily connect with the demands of top employers. To guide you, here are three of the best Google certification routes you can follow:

• Google Professional Cloud Developer

Cloud computing has emerged to be one of the most practical ways to deliver computing services. With its renowned agility and tractability features, this has become a pivotal way in improving businesses’ methods and operations. And Google Cloud, in particular, proves to be a top contender in terms of flexibility and price, allowing businesses to create apps faster, connect people easier, and make smarter decisions. And through the Google Professional Cloud Developer, you become highly adept with cloud industry practices and tools, providing you an edge in designing, testing, deploying, and managing cloud-native applications. Note that the certification is awarded to those who have successfully completed the 2-hour exam with questions in multiple-choice and multiple-select format.

Recommended Learning Materials

Before you kick off with your training, be it known that this particular designation is suitable for those with at least 3 years of work experience, including a minimum of 1-year background in GCP design and management. Also, it’s advisable that you follow the Cloud Developer learning path and avail of its suggested courses. Thus, the first one is the “Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure”, which serves as an introduction to Google Cloud. This 1-day lecture is a great refresher of the pertinent Google Cloud features such as Compute Engine, App Engine, Google Kubernetes, Cloud SQL, and Cloud Bigtable, among others. It also reinforces your knowledge of different policy management tools and resources. The next training class is “Developing Applications with Google Cloud Platform”. Within 3 days, you’ll learn the ways in designing, developing, and deploying apps and how these are integrated into the Google Cloud environment. And for the last track, you have the 1-day “Getting started with Google Kubernetes Engine” course. Completing this proves that you are skillful in containerizing workloads and specific Kubernetes clusters. And if you want extra insights, you can continue with the Skill Badge options ― “Build and Manage APIs with Apigee”, “Serverless Firebase Development”, and “Deploy to Kubernetes in Google Cloud”.

• Google Professional Collaboration Engineer

Another exceptional certification on offer is the Google Professional Collaboration Engineer. This is intended for IT systems administrators, enterprise collaboration engineers, and cloud solutions engineers who want to acquire mastery of Google workspace, from implementing access to configuring services. Pursuing this path also furnishes you with key information in managing Shared Drive, configuring endpoint access, handling mail, and monitoring organizational operations. With your proven skills, this validation allows you to transform business goals into efficient & effective configurations, practices, and policies. You can get this notable certificate by passing its 2-hour exam, either online or on-site.

Recommended Learning Materials

The best way to study for the official exam is to keep track of the Collaboration Engineer learning path that begins with “Getting Started with Google Workspace”. This 4-day course takes you to an in-depth dive of the Google Workspace platform, highlighting its core applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Sheets, and Google Docs, among others. Once you’re done, carry on with the “Google Workspace Administration”, an accelerated class that runs for 5 days. This unlocks the technical side of Google Workspace, helping you understand the proper way to administer and establish the most pertinent practices needed by businesses and organizations. It also accentuates the important features of Admin Console so you can expertly manage users, configure security settings, and control service access. The main modules expound further on the vital aspects of G Suite, including its core services, security functions, management, and deployment. Aside from these comprehensive courses, you can also make use of the hands-on labs prepared by Google specifically for this certification path. These are “Google Workspace Essentials” and “Google Workspace Integrations”.

• Google Analytics

Of course, the list would not be complete without the Google Analytics certification, a reputable demonstration of your expertise in Google Analytics. This is a highly practical path if you want to be more proficient in analyzing business data, evaluating marketing performance, and using Google’s unique insights. Through the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ) exam, you’ll acquire the right set of skills in handling the relevant features of Google Analytics. Then, such a test also proves your knowledge of digital analytics, which is an excellent tool in collecting, measuring, and evaluating data. Since there’s no specific guideline for the number of questions as well as the exam format and the test duration, you have to study hard and use the latest training resources to nail the official GAIQ test.

Recommended Learning Materials

In all, there are two official courses for the actual GAIQ exam. The first one is the “Google Analytics for Beginners”, a suggested material for those who are yet to understand the fundamental features and functionalities of this tool. The virtual discussion in this training commences with an introduction to Google Analytics and then wades through its key interface and basic reports. Eventually, it wraps up with the process of how to use campaigns and conversion tracking. On the other hand, there’s the “Advanced Google Analytics”, which is created for individuals who are already familiar with the platform. The lectures covered here focus on more technical aspects, including data collection, processing, and configuration. It also provides you with a detailed understanding of advanced analysis techniques and marketing tools to help you generate different kinds of reports such as channel, custom, and audience reports.

Conclusion

You can see for yourself that Google as a certification vendor has a lot to offer you. Thus, you can opt for their Cloud or product certificates like the Google Professional Cloud Developer or Google Analytics. And if you want to have more certifications under your belt, check the vendor’s website for more alternatives. Even though, initially, preparing for the affiliated exams may appear impossible, don’t fret as the vendor has backed you up by availing the related learning paths consisting of several comprehensive training courses to imbue you with all the necessary skills and knowledge.