Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer
Today I got the email from Google saying that I passed the Google Cloud Associate Engineer certification. Last Friday I took the exam at a Kryterion test center and got the pass score but had to wait till the final approval from Google.
At my current job I don't work with Google Cloud but more with Microsoft Azure, AWS and data center environments. Google certification was on my list of certifications I wanted to look into. When A Cloud Guru also started with the offering of course around Google Cloud I bought it. I already knew them from the AWS courses and I really like their approach. I started also with the training but didn't finish it.
In the end of June I read about the Google certification challenge and saw this as an opportunity in achieving my first Google certification. In this challenge you have to pass the certification within 3 months. So I started the challenge. Google has an recommended learning in which they offer some Qwiklab quests, and Coursera training, and a practice exam.
The Qwiklab quests are really useful to get a first experience with Google Cloud. The Cloud Architecture Quests were a bit more challenging as you have to use the knowledge which you acquired in the GCP Essentials Quest. I did these is the first two weeks. I also started reading the Associate Cloud Engineer Study Guide eBook. This eBook was important parts in passing my exam. The eBook has also practice questions but even better they offer an online bank with test questions which you get access to if you have bought the book. These question are not a brain dump or exam dump but help you get familiar with choosing the right solutions that Google Cloud offers. I also watched parts of the training I bought from a Cloud Guru. I also used parts the training from Google that are offered on Coursera.
With all IT based exams hands-on experience is very useful and the Google Cloud Certification is no exception. Of course you have the labs offered to by Qwiklabs, but you also make use of the free trial offered by Google where you can $300,00 credits which you can use within Google cloud.
The exam consist of 50 questions. The exam is not really difficult in my opinion but it is very important to take your time to read the questions very carefully. Look for the answer that is the best practice from Google and choose the answer that is the best solution for what was stated in the question. So don't choose the question that might be a case of 'over engineering'.
Good luck with the exam!