Which Google Cloud (GCP) certification is best for me

The Cloud Engineer cert is considered an “Associate” certification. This is the ideal starting point for those going on to pursue Professional ... Shareonfacebook Shareontwitter ShareonlinkedinHomeEngineeringWhichGoogleCloudcertificationisbestforme?Architect,CareerAdvice,Certification,DataEngineering,Developer,Devops,GCP,MachineLearning,Security MattiasAnderssonMar30,202268MinuteReadConsideringyouroptionswhenitcomestoGoogleCloud(GCP)certificationpaths?ThispostwilltalkaboutthevariousGCPcloudcertifications,whateachcertcovers,whatitcouldmeanforyourcareer,andhowyoucanset(andachieve)yourownpersonalgoals.Besuretocheckouthttps://acloudguru.com/resources/forafulllistofwebinars,livestreams,inforgraphics,ebooks,casestudies,andmorethatcouldbepromotedinthisfashion.AccelerateyourcareerGetstartedwithACG andtransformyourcareerwithcoursesandrealhands-onlabsinAWS,MicrosoftAzure,GoogleCloud,andbeyond.StartaFreeTrialWe’llstartwithsomebasiccommonquestionsaroundcertificationsandthendigintoeachcertonebyone.Ready?Let’sdivein!TableofcontentsAccelerateyourcareerWhatdoGoogleCloudcertificationsmean?HowmuchexperiencedoyouneedtogetGoogleCloudcertified? WhatarethedifferentGoogleCloudcertificationroles?WhatarethedifferentGCPcertificationlevels?FoundationalAssociateProfessionalWhatdoIneedtoknowtogetGoogleCloudcertified?WhatarethedifferentGoogleCloudcertifications?AssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)ProfessionalCloudArchitect(PCA)ProfessionalCloudDeveloper(PCD)ProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineer(PCDOE)ProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineer(PCSE)AsidenoteaboutGoogle’sDeveloperPerspectiveProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineer(PCNE)ProfessionalDataEngineer(PDE)ProfessionalMachineLearningEngineer(PMLE)CloudDigitalLeaderGoogleCloudCertificationPathsGettingstartedArchitectDeveloperDevOpsSecurityData/MachineLearningNextstepsRelatedlinksWhatdoGoogleCloudcertificationsmean?Google’sCloudcertificationsaresomeofthestrongestcertsoutthere.ButlikeAmazonWebServices(AWS)certificationsorMicrosoftAzurecerts,aGoogleCloudcertificationisn’tamagicalgoldenticketthatwillguaranteeyousuccessinyourcloudcareer. However,ifyouwanttobeeffectiveatusingGoogleCloudPlatform(GCP)inareal-worldrole,thenthesecertificationscanhelpyoudothat.Ifyou’resmartaboutit.HowmuchexperiencedoyouneedtogetGoogleCloudcertified? Attheveryhighestlevel,allofGoogle’scertificationshaveonepurpose.Thatis,accordingtoGoogle,to“validateyourexpertiseandshowyourability.”Googlesortofassumesyourinterestincertificationsstartsafteryou’vealreadygottenalltheskills.Butthevastmajorityofpeoplewouldlikelyfailtheexamsbecausethey’rejustnotready—evenoneswhohavebeenusingtheplatformforyears! Thesecertificationsaremuchbroader,deeper,andmorevariedthanalmostanyone’sreal-worldexperience.Sopeople—and,assumingyou’reaperson,thisincludesyou—willusuallyusecertificationsasaguidetolearnwhateverskillsthey’remissingfromtheirownbackgrounds.Somepeoplestartwithatonofgreatexperience,andsothegapisfairlysmall.Butmostpeoplehaveafairamountofstufftheyneedtostudytobewell-roundedenoughtopasstheexamandgetthecert.RegardlessofwhatGooglemighthaveintended,that’sfine!Inmyopinion,thisisactuallytheprimaryvalueofcertifications.Getmorethancertified.JoinACloudGuruandgetaccesstocourses,hands-onlabs,quizzes,andlearningpaths,whichtakeyoustep-by-stepfromnovicetoguruinyourchosenareaofthecloud.CheckoutACG’scurrent freecloudcourses ortestyourknowledgewithourcloudskillsassessment.StartaFreeTrialWhatarethedifferentGoogleCloudcertificationroles?WhenGooglewentaboutcreatingeachcertification,thatincludedthehardworkofdoingaJobTaskAnalysistodiscoverandcatalogthemostimportantthingsthataffectpeopleinthosedifferentreal-worldroles. RoleslikeCloudEngineer,DataEngineer,DevOpsEngineer,NetworkEngineer,SecurityEngineer,MachineLearningEngineer—well,lotsofengineers,obviously.ButalsoCloudDeveloper(whichI’mnotsurewhytheydidn’tjustcallthatCloudSoftwareEngineer).Andalsothemuch-desiredandparticularlyprofitablecloudsalaryofCloudArchitect.WhatarethedifferentGCPcertificationlevels?Googlebucketscertificationsintothreelevels: FoundationalCurrently,onlytheDigitalCloudLeaderis“Foundational.”Thislevelofcert“validatesbroadknowledgeofcloudconceptsandGoogleCloudproducts,services,tools,features,benefits,andusecases.”Thiscertisidealforpeopleintechnicalroleswhocanbenefitfromunderstandingthebasicsofcloud.AssociateTheCloudEngineercertisconsideredan“Associate”certification.ThisistheidealstartingpointforthosegoingontopursueProfessionalcertsandcoversthe” fundamentalskillsofdeploying,monitoring,andmaintainingprojectsonGoogleCloud.”ProfessionalEachProfessional-levelcertificationisaboutaspecificadvancedrole.AllofGoogle’scertificationshavefairlybroadscope,buttheProfessionalcertsallgomuchdeeperthantheAssociateonedoes—intoboththetechnologyandthebusinessrealitiessurroundingthoseroles.ACloudGurualsooffersaseveral GCPlearningpaths thatareperfectforbeginnersandthosewhoarelookingtotaketheirskillstothenextlevel:GoogleCloudArchitectLearningPathGoogleCloudDataandMachineLearningPathGoogleCloudDevOpsLearningPathGoogleCloudDeveloperLearningPathGoogleCloudSecurityLearningPathWhatdoIneedtoknowtogetGoogleCloudcertified?Beforewemoveon,IwanttocalloutonemoreimportantthingaboutGoogle’sCloudcertifications,andit’sthis:Google’scertificationsalsorequireyoutoknownon-Googlestuff.WhatImeanisthatyou’llverylikelygetexamquestionsthathavenothingtodowithGoogle,specifically.Andeventheonesthatdowillstillalsoincludenon-Googlethings.Andit’sbecause,remember,eachcertificationisbasedonareal-worldJobTaskAnalysis.Andnoreal-worldjobis100%Google-specific. Tosucceedinanyrole,youneedtobeabletoworkwiththerelevantgeneralindustrytechnologyandbestpractices.Andyouneedtobeabletodealwithpre-existingtechnology,too—whetherformigrationorsomehybridsetup.WhatarethedifferentGoogleCloudcertifications?Solet’stakealookateachcertandhopefullygiveyouabettersenseforitandhoweachmightbevaluabletoyou.AssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)We’llstartoffbylookingattheACE—TheAssociateCloudEngineercertification.Bothbecausethisisdefinitelywhereyoushouldstart,too,butalsobecausethisisarguablyGoogle’smostimportantcertification.(I’llexplainwhyinabit.)WhatdoesanAssociateCloudEngineerdo?GoogledefinesanAssociateCloudEngineerassomeonewho“deploysapplications,monitorsoperationsofmultipleprojects,andmaintainsenterprisesolutionstoensurethattheymeettargetperformancemetrics.Thisindividualhasexperienceworkingwithpubliccloudsandon-premisessolutions.TheyareabletouseGoogleCloudConsoleandthecommand-lineinterfacetoperformcommonplatform-basedtaskstomaintainoneormoredeployedsolutionsthatleverageGoogle-managedorself-managedservicesonGoogleCloud.”HowtopasstheAssociateCloudEngineercertificationTheACEisallaboutbeingabletousetheGoogleCloudPlatform—boththroughthewebUIandthecommandline. ThiscertfocusesonthemostimportantfoundationofGCP.Itincludesallthecriticalbuildingblocksforsystems:processing,remembering,andmovingdataaround.Processing—Whenitcomestohowyoursystemdoesitsprocessing,thatmeansthingslikeComputeEngineforrunningandmanagingasmanyVirtualMachinesasyouneed.AndKubernetesEngineforrunningandmanagingyourownclusters.AndAppEnginetoenjoyalowerongoingoperationsburden.Remembering—Ofcourse,yoursystemalsoneedstorememberdata,sothatmeansgettingagoodhandleonGoogleCloudStorageforyourobjectsandPersistentDisksforyourVMs’blockstorage.ButthisalsoincludesusingCloudSQLtohandoffdatabasemanagementtoGoogle.OrgoingforbrokeonBigDatabyhavingBigQuerystoreandprocessallyourTerabytes,Petabytes,orExabytesof...catvideos?Meow.(DISCLAIMER:WedonotrecommendstoringyourcatvideosinBigQuery.TreatthosecatvideosrightandputtheminCloudStorage.)Moving—ButwhatgoodarecatvideosthatjuststayonGoogle’sservers,right?Youneedtomovethemaroundtheworldtowhereveryouandyourbillionsofuserswanttowatchthem!Soyou’llneedtounderstandtheVPC(theVirtualPrivateCloud)andhowitconnectsupthepartsofyoursystemgloballyandletsyoumakethemsecurelyavailabletoyourusers.Security—Now,speakingofGooglecloudsecurity,thatalsoverymuchappliestohowyousetupandmanageyoursystem,internally.You’llneedtounderstandhowProjectsandIAM(IdentityandAccessManagement)canhelpyoukeepeverythingorganizedandaccessibletoexactlytherightpeople.Management—And,ofcourse,youalsoneedtomanagethings—bothintermsofmakingsurethatallofthepiecesofyoursystemareworkingproperly—usingCloudMonitoring,CloudAlerting,andotheroperationsstuffthatoriginallycamefromStackdriver.Andalsoyouneedtowatchandanalyzespendingtomanagecostsovertime,withbillingalertsandexports.Phew!ButallofwhatI’vejustlistedisstillonlyscratchingthesurface!TheACEreallyisawell-roundedfoundation!AndnotonlyforusingGCP,Imean,butalsoforanyoftheProfessionalcertifications.TheProcertsareallratherchallenging,soit’simportantthatyouhaveastrongfoundationbeforeyoutakeanyofthemon.WhyistheGoogle’sAssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)certificationthemostimportantGCPcertification?ThisiswhyIfeelsostronglythatGoogle’sACEcertificationisthemostimportantGCPcertification.It’sthecombinationofthesetwothings:ItguidespeopletocompetentabilitytouseGCP,day-to-day.Thiscertificationisachievable.Imean,youcanlearnyourwaytothiscertification.AndIdon’tjustsaythisasahypothetical,becauseIhavetaughtthisstufftotensofthousandsoflearnersfromallsortsofdifferentbackgrounds.Ofcourse,it’seasierforsomepeoplethanforothers,butit’spossibleifyousetyourmindtoit.Iftheycandoit,thenyoucan,too!GettheCloudDictionaryofPainSpeakingclouddoesn’thavetobehard.WeanalyzedmillionsofresponsestoIDtheconceptsthattrippeopleup.Grabthis cloudguide forsuccinctdefinitionsofthemostpainfultermsforGoogleCloudandbeyond.GettheGoodsProfessionalCloudArchitect(PCA)ThefirstProfessionalrolewe’regoingtocoveristheProfessionalCloudArchitectGoogleCloudcertification—partlybecauseit’sthemostgeneralone,partlybecauseit’ssohighlysought-after,andpartlybecauseit’sagoodwaytogivecontexttoalltherestofthecertsandroles.WhatdoesaProfessionalCloudArchitectdo?Everythingwe’retalkingabout—thestuffwebuildinGCP—isasoftwaresystem.Itmanagestheflowofsomedatatoserveapurpose.Andarchitectingthatsystemisallaboutoptimizingthatsystemacrossawholebunchoftradeoffs,toincreasevaluewhilereducingcostandrisk.Wanttogetbetteratdoingthat?WellthenthisProfessionalCloudArchitectcertisrightupyouralley. ThewayGoogleputsitthisindividual“candesign,develop,andmanagerobust,secure,scalable,highlyavailable,anddynamicsolutionstodrivebusinessobjectives.”HowtopasstheProfessionalCloudArchitectcertification?Google’sProfessionalCloudArchitectexamwilltrytodeterminewhetheryoucouldactuallybeasuccessfulCloudArchitect...AndthatisamassivelydifferentthingfromdeterminingwhetheryoujustunderstandGCP.Thisisnotatestaboutthetools,primarily;it’satestabouttherole.Andthathasalotofimpact.Forone,itmakesthiscertificationmorevaluable.Achievingitmeansyouactuallyknowwhatyou’redoing,andIwouldgosofarastosaythatitwouldevenbeagoodindicatorofwhetheryou’dbeagoodCloudArchitectinAmazon’sAWSorMicrosoft’sAzure! Notthatyoureallyknowthosetools,butthatyouunderstandhowtousethecloudinaprofessionalsetting—balancingtradeoffs,managingGCPcosts,keepingitsecure,makingitmaintainable,yadda,yadda,yadda.Thethoughtprocessapplieseverywhere,eventhoughGoogle,ofcourse,hopesyou’lluseGCP!So,thismightbeastrangethingtoreadinablogpostallaboutGoogleCloudcertifications,butIthinkthiscouldbeaprettyvaluablecerttogetevenifyouneveruseGCP.Googledescribesthisbysaying: “ThroughanunderstandingofcloudarchitectureandGoogletechnology,thisindividualdesigns,develops,andmanagesrobust,secure,scalable,highlyavailable,anddynamicsolutionstodrivebusinessobjectives.TheCloudArchitectshouldbeproficientinallaspectsofenterprisecloudstrategy,solutiondesign,andarchitecturalbestpractices.TheCloudArchitectshouldalsobeexperiencedinsoftwaredevelopmentmethodologiesandapproachesincludingmulti-tiereddistributedapplicationswhichspanmulti-cloudorhybridenvironments.”ProfessionalCloudArchitectcertificationexampro-tipsTheexamforthiswillincludeabunchofquestionsaboutrealisticcasestudies.Now,youshoulddefinitelyreadandstudythesedescriptionsofthefictionalcompaniesandtheircloudprojects—andyoushoulddothatinadvanceofyourexam,sothatyoudon’twasteyourlimitedtestingtimetryingtodothat.Asfarasthescopeisconcerned,thiscertincludeseveryproductandserviceinGCP!But,thankfully,itdoesn’trequireyoutoknoweverylastdetailabouteveryoneofthem.ThetechnicaldepthisnotablyshallowerthanalltheotherProfessionalcertsbecausePCA’srealfocusisonthebusinessandarchitecture.ProfessionalCloudDeveloper(PCD)Speakingofallthoseothercerts,let’smoveontotheProfessionalCloudDevelopercertification,whichIconsidertobethelastofGoogle’sgeneralcerts;theothersareallrathermorefocused. Now,apartofwhyIsaythatthisProfessionalCloudDevelopercertisgeneralisbecauseGoogle,asacompany,isverydeveloper-focused.FromGoogle’spointofview,prettymucheveryonewhoworksintechnologyisadeveloper—justsomepeopledealmorewithprogramcodethanothersdo.IwillacknowledgethattheyhavestartedtorealizethatnoteveryorganizationstructuresthemselvesinthesamewayasGoogledoes,butGooglestillseesdevelopmentasthecoretoeverything.InGoogle’smind,architectsareleaddeveloperswhodon’twriteasmuchofthecodethemselves.Peopleinoperations—includingDevOpsEngineersandSiteReliabilityEngineers—aredeveloperswhowritesoftwaretomanagetheoperationsactivities.DataEngineersaredeveloperswho—well,I’mgettingaheadofmyself,here.Let’sfocusbackontheProfessionalCloudDevelopercert.WhatdoesaProfessionalCloudDeveloperdo?Here’swhatGooglehastosayaboutthePCD: “AProfessionalCloudDeveloperbuildsscalableandhighlyavailableapplicationsusingGoogle-recommendedpracticesandtools.Thisindividualhasexperiencewithcloud-nativeapplications,developertools,managedservices,andnext-generationdatabases.AProfessionalCloudDeveloperalsohasproficiencywithatleastonegeneral-purposeprogramminglanguageandisskilledatproducingmeaningfulmetricsandlogstodebugandtracecode.”HowtopasstheProfessionalCloudDevelopercertificationThere’salottounpackinthebitabove,butIthinkthesimplesthigh-levelsummaryisthataPCDmakesstuff—buildingtheactualsystemsthatpeopleuse.That’sdefinitelygoingtoincludewritingsomeprogramcodeinsomeprogramminglanguage—andoneofthedomainsinthiscertisallaboutthat:callingserviceAPIssecurely,writingyourownserviceAPIs,andstufflikethat.ButIthinkoneofthemostimportantcalloutshereisthepointaboutmanagedservices.Justlikehowapowerfulprogramminglanguagemeansyouhavetowriteverylittleactualcodetogetthejobdone,managedservicestakethattothenextlevel—thenextlevelofabstraction,Imean.Effectiveuseofmanagedservices—thingslikeCloudStorage,CloudPub/Sub,andCloudRun,forexample—canmakeanenormousdifferencetoasoftwareproject. Indeed,asFredBrookswroteinhisinfluentialwork,NoSilverBullet: “Themostradicalpossiblesolutionforconstructingsoftwareisnottoconstructitatall.Everydaythisbecomeseasier…Thedevelopmentofthemassmarketis,Ibelieve,themostprofoundlong-runtrendinsoftwareengineering.” GiventhattheverynextsectionsofhispapercorrectlypredictedtheneedforwhatwenowcallAgilesoftwaredevelopmentmethodologies,there’sverygoodreasontoconsiderhisadvice.Nowthatwehavepubliccloudwithsuchamazingservices,whathepredictedgoeswaybeyondpackageswithinoneapplicationandextendstohugepartsoftheentiresystem.Inthisway,theProfessionalCloudDeveloperroleoverlapswiththeProfessionalCloudArchitectrole.Developersdonotonlyneedtobeabletounderstandcloud-nativearchitectures;theyalsoneedtobeabletocreatethosesystemdesigns,themselves—atleasttosomeextent.ButProfessionalCloudDeveloperalsoincludesproficiencywiththetoolsofthetrade.Toolstobuildandtesttheapplicationsinyoursystem.Toolstocontinuouslydeploythem—CIandCD.Andtoolstomanagetheirperformance,longer-term.Now,allofthesethingsalsoincludetherelatedbestpractices,notjustthetoolsinisolation,andfunctioninginaDevOpsteamenvironment.So,thisProfessionalCloudDeveloperisexpectedtounderstandmostofthethingsthataProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineerdoes,too—justatamoregenerallevelthanwhatwe’llcoverbelowfortheDevOpscert.Getamoredetailedbreakdownofwhat’sontheProfessionalCloudDevelopercertificationexam.ProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineer(PCDOE)WhatdoesaProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineerdo?Here’stheofficialblurbfortheProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercert: “AProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineerisresponsibleforefficientdevelopmentoperationsthatcanbalanceservicereliabilityanddeliveryspeed.TheyareskilledatusingGoogleCloudPlatformtobuildsoftwaredeliverypipelines,deployandmonitorservices,andmanageandlearnfromincidents.”Manypeopleheartheword“operations”andthenjusttuneoutalltherest.Badidea!Thisrole—whichisalsocalledSiteReliabilityEngineer,especiallyinGoogle’sworld—doeswaymorethanjustthat.Andithandlestheoperationsstuffquitedifferently,too.Atitscore,thiswholeSREroleisaboutenablingtheentireteamtomakebettersoftwarefaster.Andifyouspendallyourtimejustputtingoutfiresandchasingyourtail,that’snotgoingtohappen.Soitusesthepowerofsoftwaredevelopmenttomagnifytheimpactofyourtime. ItusedtobethecasethatOperationspeoplewouldunboxhardwareandsetitupandconfigureitandsetuptheapplicationdependenciesandinstalltheappstheygotfromthedevs.Notanymore.Instead,SREswritedeclarativemanifestfilesandproceduralscriptstodoallofthatstuff—completewitherrorhandlingandloggingandversioncontrolandalltheotherthingsthatsoftwareengineersusetocontrolchaos.BecauseSREsaresoftwareengineers—justinternalonesthatenabletheentiredevelopmentteamtomakebettersoftwarefaster.Butitalsogoesbeyondthestuffthatdevsuse,becauseitalsoincludesintentionalriskmanagement.NoticethatIdidn’tsayriskavoidance.Thisroledoesnotfearrisk,itembracesit!Yes,bewillingtocauseerrorssometimes,becausetheriskisworththereward:youmakethesoftwarebetter,andtheoveralleffortactuallywindsuptakinglesstime,too,intheend.Peoplecanbeskepticalaboutthis,butit’sabsolutelytrue.HowtopasstheProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercertificationIntermsofGCPproductsthatthisroleandcertfocuson,theyincludealltheobservabilitystuffthatusedtobecalledStackdriver:stufflikeCloudMonitoring,CloudLogging,CloudTrace,CloudDebugger,andCloudProfiler.Also,CI/CDstufflikeCloudSourceRepositories,ArtifactRegistry,andCloudBuild.AndInfrastructureasCodestufflikeGoogleCloudDeploymentManagerandTerraForm.Thisroleisoftenreallymisunderstood,butitcandefinitelybeanincrediblepartofateamwhenit’sactuallyempoweredtosucceed.Ifyouwanttodigdeeperintothisandhowitcouldbenefityouandyourteam,youmightwanttogothroughthecourseImadeonthetopic:GoogleProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineerCertificationPathIntroduction.It’saquickcoursethatgoesthroughboththeroleitself,inmoredetail,andalsothecontextfortherole.AnditalsohappenstobeagreatfirststeptowardsthisProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercertification,ifthatinterestsyou. Post-COVIDDevOps:AcceleratingtheFutureHowhasCOVIDaffected—orevenaccelerated—DevOpsbestpracticesforengineeringteams?Watchthisfree,on-demandwebinarpaneldiscussionwithDevOpsleadersasweexploreDevOpsinapost-COVIDworld.WatchNowProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineer(PCSE)Weallknowthateveryoneisresponsibleforsecurityandmustdotheirpart,right?(RIGHT?)Whilethat’strue,theProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineerrolespendsallday,everydaydealingwithsecuritystuff—justdifferentflavoursofsecurity,fromtasktotask.WhatdoesaProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineerdo?WhatGooglesaysaboutthiscertification:“Throughanunderstandingofsecuritybestpracticesandindustrysecurityrequirements,thisindividualdesigns,develops,andmanagesasecureinfrastructureleveragingGooglesecuritytechnologies.TheCloudSecurityProfessionalshouldbeproficientinallaspectsofCloudSecurityincludingmanagingidentityandaccessmanagement,definingorganizationalstructureandpolicies,usingGoogletechnologiestoprovidedataprotection,configuringnetworksecuritydefenses,collectingandanalyzingGoogleCloudPlatformlogs,managingincidentresponses,andanunderstandingofregulatoryconcerns.”Mmm…“regulatoryconcerns.”Everyone’sfavorite,right?Maybenot.Butitcanbeimportant,andthereisanamountofsatisfactiontobehadfromdoingimportantjobs.Regardless,that’sonlyonepartofthismuchlargerrole.Thekeyisthatthisperson“designs,develops,andmanagesasecureinfrastructure”—like,thewholething.But,again,theyarestillnotworkingalone,becausethisSecurityProfessionalleadstheteamonsecuritythings.Therestofthedescriptionisalljusttogivemorespecifics.HowtopasstheProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineercertificationIntermsoffocusareas,thisGoogleCloudcertificationhasaheavyemphasisonIAM,ofcourse,andusingtheresourcehierarchytoputprojectsintofoldersandorganizations.AndalsoServiceAccounts,CloudIdentity,Groups,andDirectorySyncgetinvolved.Fornetworking,GoogleisverybigontheBeyondCorpzero-trustnetworkmodelandusingIdentity-AwareProxytoachievethat.Butit’sstillquitereasonabletousenetwork-basedsecurityasanadditionallayerofprotection.Defenseindepth,right?SoVPCstructureslikefirewalls,peering,andCloudInterconnectneedtobesetupinawaythatenablessafeconnectivity.Acrossallofthis,everythingandeveryonemusthavetheleastprivilegetheyneed.Asforthedatayoustore,youshouldn’tneedanyregulationtotellyouthatit’sabadideatocollectunnecessarilydetailedinformationonyourcustomers,storeitinsecurely,andthenletthatdatafallintothewronghands.Right?Databreachesdestroytrustandoftenkillcompanies—soit’sjustbadbusiness,too.SoyouredactsensitiveinfowiththeDLPAPI;youtokenizestuff;youencryptandmanagekeyswithCloudKeyManagement;andyouexpiredatawithObjectLifecyclePolicies.Etcetera.Finally,there’snotjustthepassiveorpreparatorysecuritystuff.Yousometimesalsoneedtotakeactiontorespondtosecurityevents,likeaDDoSorZero-Day.Icouldgoon,butIhopeyounowfeelsecureinyourunderstandingofthisrole.AsidenoteaboutGoogle’sDeveloperPerspectiveSohere’safunfact:Google’sfirstversionoftheirProfessionalCloudArchitectcertificationwasprettymuchamash-upofalloftheothercertsthatwe’vecoveredabove.(Well,abitoftheonesthatwe’llcoverafterthispoint,too,butmostlytheonesbeforeit.) Forexample,thefirsttimeIsatthePCAexam,onequestionhadmedebugasnippetofprogramcode—Ican’trememberifitwasPythonorJava—anditdidn’tevenhavetodowithGoogle! That’sthetypeofthingthathassincebeenmovedintotheProfessionalCloudDeveloperexam,andthePCAnowfocusesmoreonthearchitecture.ButIthinkitshowsyouhowGoogle’soriginalmindsetreallyhasbeenthattechnicalprofessionalsshouldallhaveafoundationinsoftwaredevelopment—atleasttosomeextent. Now,Idon’twantthistoscareyouoff,though!IjustwantyoutounderstandGoogle’sinterestingviewonmanyreal-worldrolessothatyou’renotthrownoffbystuffthatseemsirrelevanttoyoubasedonyourownbackground.I’msurethatyoucanalsolearnthefewextrathingstheyexpect,sodon’tstress!And,tobehonest,Ithinkyouwillfindmostofthosethingsquitevaluable,afterthefact.ProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineer(PCNE)Next,let’sdiveintooneofthetruestspecialtyroles:theProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineer.WhatdoesaProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineerdo?Googlesaysthatthisperson“implementsandmanagesnetworkarchitecturesinGoogleCloudPlatform…[and]mayworkonnetworkingorcloudteamswitharchitectswhodesigntheinfrastructure.ByleveragingexperienceimplementingVPCs,hybridconnectivity,networkservices,andsecurityforestablishednetworkarchitectures,thisindividualensuressuccessfulcloudimplementationsusingthecommandlineinterfaceortheGoogleCloudPlatformConsole.”Beforewemoveontotherestofthestuff,Iwanttomakeonecommentaboutthatverylastphrase.Sure,it’simportanttonotethattheroleandexamexpecttheabilitytoworkviaboththecommand-lineandthewebconsoleUI.ButthethingIwanttopointoutiswhat’smissing:Unlikenetworkingspecialistrolesofthepast,thisoneneverinteractswithanyhardware.Thisisallaboutsoftware-definednetworking.CloudNetworkEngineer,right?HowtopasstheProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineerEventhoughtheoveralldescriptionofthisGoogleCloudcertificationreadsmuchmorelikethe“getyourhandsdirtyanddoit”sortofapersoninsteadofthe“sitbackandfigureitout”kind,thisroledefinitelydoesincludedesigning,planning,andprototypingnetworksinGCP.Infact,that’sthefirstdomainlistedintheexamguide.Butalltheotherdomainsareverymuchmoreabouttheday-to-dayimplementationandmanagementstuff: ConfiguringandmanagingtheVirtualPrivateCloud(orVPC)networkthatconnectseverythingtogether. DoingthesameforthenetworkaspectsofmanyofthethingsthatconnectintothatVPC—liketheVMs,GKEclusters,corporatedatacenters,andwhatnot. WetalkedabitaboutthenetworkingstuffinvolvedintheCloudSecurityEngineerrole,andthoseareallincludedhere,too—butthisCloudNetworkEngineerturnsituptoeleven.DNS,BGP,TCP/IP,SSL,HTTPS,GKEIPs,NAT,VLAN,IPSec,VPN,SSH,CDN,BBQ,LOL.(OK,Iaddedthoselasttwo.Butseriously,therearealotofdetailstohandle.)CreatingavirtualprivatenetworkandsubnetworksisthefoundationofusingresourcesoranyinfrastructurewithinGCP. Tryourhands-onlabtolearnhowtouseTerraformtocreatea TerraformVPC andpublicsubnet.LearntocreateaVPCandsubnetthroughInfrastructureasCodesoyoucantestandlaunchGCPresourcesasnecessary.Andthosedetailsextendbeyondthenetwork-onlyservices,becausethisrolegetsinvolvedinsomeoftheIAMstuff,too.Remember,it’sallsoftware-definednetworking,soallaccesscontrolismanagedcentrally.Thisisverypowerful,andmanyold-guardnetworkingpeoplewhomovetotheGoogleCloudfinditajoytoworkwiththesecoolnewtoysthatmagnifytheirimpact.ProfessionalDataEngineer(PDE)Next,we’lldiveintowhatmakesaProfessionalDataEngineer,orPDE.WhatdoesaProfessionalDataEngineerdo?Well,tostartwith,data,right?That’sclearlythefocus,butthequestiontoaskis“Why?”Whydowecaresomuchaboutallthatdata?Let’shearfromGoogle,again:“AProfessionalDataEngineerenablesdata-drivendecisionmakingbycollecting,transforming,andpublishingdata.” Thereitis:“data-drivendecisionmaking.”Asanindustry,we’velearnedthatthereisatonofbusinessvaluelockedupindata,andthisroleisallaboutcoaxingitoutandintroducingittothewholeorganization.Theycontinueon:“ADataEngineershouldbeabletodesign,build,operationalize,secure,andmonitordataprocessingsystemswithaparticularemphasisonsecurityandcompliance;scalabilityandefficiency;reliabilityandfidelity;andflexibilityandportability.” That’salotof“ilities.”BecausetradeoffsareatthecoreofeveryITrole,anddefinitelyincludingthisone. Ifyou’redealingwithdata,youobviouslyhavetorespecttheprivacyandsecurityconcernsthatitrepresents,sothatoverlapsabitwiththeSecurityEngineerrole.ButlikeImentioned,securitytrulyiseveryone’sresponsibility.Andthere’splentyofoverlapwiththeArchitecturerole,too,sincethisProfessionalDataEngineerverymuchincludesarchitectingallBigDatasystemsfortheentiredatalifecycle:ingesting,storing,processing,analyzing,exploring,andvisualizing.HowtopasstheProfessionalDataEngineercertificationIntermsofGCPproductsthatarecoretothisroleandtherelatedGoogleCloudcertification,Iwouldsaythatafewreallystandout:DataFlow,DataProc,BigTable,andBigQuery.Butthat’snottosaythattheothersaren’timportant,too:thingslikeDataPrep,DataLab,DataStudio,CloudStorage,CloudSQL,andCloudPub/Sub.Anythingthatstoresandprocessesdata,really.Butit’snotjustaboutsettingthesethingsup.Thisrolealsoinvolvesmonitoring,maintaining,debugging,andovertimeenhancingthesepipelines.Oneadditionalcall-out,here,isthatthisrolewillalsoneedtobeabletouseindustrystandardnon-Googlestuff—thingslikeHadoopforMapReduce-processinglargedatasetsandSQLforwritingallsortsofdataqueries.Now,thefinalsentenceGoogleusestodescribethisroleis:“ADataEngineershouldalsobeabletoleverage,deploy,andcontinuouslytrainpre-existingmachinelearningmodels.”Soeventhoughthere’saspecialcertjustforMachineLearning,thisonedefinitelyincludesit,too.ThismeansyouneedtounderstandGCP’spre-trainedmodels,likeVisionAPIandTranslationAPI.ButalsobecomfortablewithtrainingyourownmodelsthroughsomethinglikeAIPlatform.Andthenthere’salsothe“middleoftheroad”“Auto”APIs—likeAutoMLVisionandAutoMLTables—whereGoogledoesmostoftheheavyliftingbutyoustillgettobeinvolvedinthetraining. Notablymissingfromthescope,here,though,isdesigningyourowncustommodelsfromscratchtosolvenewproblems;that’smoretherealmofthespecialistMachineLearningEngineer.ProfessionalMachineLearningEngineer(PMLE)SpeakingofthatMLEngineer...TheProfessionalMachineLearningEngineermaybeoneofGoogle’snewestcertifications,butIthinkitmaybecomeoneoftheirmostvaluableones—potentiallyevenattractinginterestfrompeoplewhohavenoplanstouseGCP.(Well,notyet,anyway.)TheProfessionalMachineLearningEngineerroledefinitelyincludesalloftheMachineLearningstufffromtheDataEngineerrole,plusawholelotmore.Solet’stakeacloserlookatwhatmore.WhatdoesaProfessionalMachineLearningEngineerdo?Google’swrite-upsays: “AProfessionalMachineLearningEngineerdesigns,builds,andproductionizesMLmodelstosolvebusinesschallengesusingGoogleCloudtechnologiesandknowledgeofprovenMLmodelsandtechniques.TheMLEngineerisproficientinallaspectsofmodelarchitecture,datapipelineinteraction,andmetricsinterpretationandneedsfamiliaritywithapplicationdevelopment,infrastructuremanagement,dataengineering,andsecurity.”“Productionizes”isafunword,butthekeythinghereistheinclusionofdesigningandbuildingtheMLmodels,notjusttrainingandusingthemlikethePDE.And,asitcallsout,thisProfessionalMLEngineeris“proficientinallaspectsof”MachineLearning.Allaspects.NotjustwhatrelatestoGoogleCloud.That’stheverybiggestthingtoknowaboutthiscert.Sure,itisaGoogleCloudcertification—anditdoesrequireafairbitofGCPability.ButthiswillalsotestyouonwaymorethanjusttheGoogleCloud–specificstuff.IthinkthisMachineLearningEngineerisprobablytheGooglecertwiththemostnon-Googlecontent.AndthatalsogivesitexcellentreachbeyondGCP,shouldyoueverneedtoworkmulti-cloudorhybrid.HowtopasstheProfessionalMachineLearningEngineercertificationThefirstsectionoftheexamguideisallaboutframingbusinessproblemsanddatainawaythatcouldbeservedbyML,sothatdoesn’thaveanythingtodowithGoogleasidefromtheirAIprinciplesandpracticesyoushouldfollow.Interestingly,youalsoneedtobeabletorecognizesituationsthatshouldnotuseML.WhenitcomestodesigningtheMachineLearningsolution,youhavetoconsidersomemoreGoogle-ythings,likehowtobuildsecurityandprivacyintoyourpipelineusingthingslikeIAMandKeyManagement. YoualsoneedtoknowwhenyoushoulduseVMs,containers,GPUs,and/orTPUsfortraining. YoualsoneedtobeabletoleverageAIPlatformtogoodeffect,includingwaysitcandodistributedtraining,thealgorithmsithasbuilt-in,anditsfeatureslikeExplainableAIandContinuousEvaluation. It’salsoimportanttoknowwhentherightdecisionistousefullyautomaticpretrainedmodelslikeSpeech-to-TextorRecommendationsAI—orseewhentheAutoMLversionsofferthebestsetoftradeoffs.ArchitectingyourMLsolutionsisabigpartoftheexambecauseit’sanimportantpartoftherole.Movingforward,it’simportanttobeabletouseCloudDatapreptoexploreandcleanyourdata,andthenalsoalltheDataEngineeringtoolswecoveredtoprocessit—ofcourse,withlessdepthandemphasisherethantherewasintheProfessionalDataEngineercert.Justtobeclear,thatmeansthingslikeBigQuery,CloudDataflow,andDataStudio.Finally,makingallyourMachineLearningdreamsarealityinvolvesputtingeverythingintopractice.Andthismeansimplementingyourarchitecture,butitalsoincludesautomatingandmonitoringthings.Inanidealworld,notonlyareyounotdoinganymanualtrainingtoupdateyourmodel,youevenhaveaCI/CDsysteminplace—MLOps—toautomaticallytestanddeploynewmodels.SotheDevOpstools(likeCloudBuildandCloudMonitoring)areallinteresting,here,too.ThroughoutallofthestuffI’vementioned,everythingissoakedinagenerousservingoftheopen-sourceTensorFlow.TensorFlowALLtheThings!CloudDigitalLeaderThisfoundational-levelcertificationmaybethemostsignificantthingthatGooglehaseverdonetobringpeopleintotheGCPecosystem. YouprobablythinkI’mexaggerating,butI’mnot.AzurehastheAZ-900MicrosoftAzureFundamentals,AWShastheCertifiedCloudPractitioner(CCP),andnowGoogleCloudhastheCloudDigitalLeader,whichiscurrentlyinbeta.Extremelyfewpeopleusecertificationslikethisonetoprovetheirability. Instead,almosteveryoneusesthemtoguidetheirlearning. Peoplehaveaninteresttolearn—whetherbecausetheyneeditfortheirjoborbecausethey’rejustcurious—andanon-technicalentry-levelcertificationlikethisisaperfectwaytostart! It’sattainable,focused,valuable,andnon-threatening.It’spuregoodness!Ifyou’reanon-technicalperson,thenacertificationlikethiscanbuildareallyvaluableframeworkforunderstandinghowthecloudworks—boththepubliccloud,ingeneral,andtheGoogleCloud,specifically.You’llneedtounderstandhowitcansimultaneouslyreducetotalcostsanddramaticallyincreasebusinessagility.  WhatdoesaCloudDigitalLeaderdo?AsGoogleputsit,“ACloudDigitalLeadercanarticulatethecapabilitiesofGoogleCloudcoreproductsandservicesandhowtheybenefitorganizations.TheCloudDigitalLeadercanalsodescribecommonbusinessusecasesandhowcloudsolutionssupportanenterprise.”Googlealsopointsoutintheexamguidethatthispersonneedstounderstandsomekeytradeoffs,includingtheones“betweencostsversusresponsibility”and“betweenlevelofmanagementversusflexibilitywhencomparingcloudservices.”ItalsogetsintotheSharedResponsibilitybetweenGoogleandustomanagesecurityandotheraspectsofthesystemswebuild.Ifyou’retechnical,whyshouldyoucareaboutthiscertification?Imagineifeverypersonatyourwork—everyone—actuallyunderstoodthebasicsofcloud.Youcouldspendlesstimeandenergyre-explainingthesamethingsandcorrectingmisunderstandingsbasedonassumptionsofhowtechnologyusedtowork.Beingabletospeak“thesamelanguage”letsteamsunderstandtechnologyandcommunicateintelligentlyaboutit.NoneedtoruninterrorfromTerraform.DownloadourUltimateTerraformCheatsheetforahandyguidetohelpfulsyntax.GoogleCloudCertificationPathsThismightallseemlikealottotakein,butdon’tworryabouttryingtoremembereverything.Whatmattersmoreisthatyoucanusethisunderstandingtoshapeyourownpathforward.Remember,thepointhereistohelpyousucceedinyourwork.Thecertsareonlytoolsyoucanusetohelpyouachievethatmoreeasilyandquickly.So,then,what’syourgoal?Whatareyoudrivingat?GettingstartedIknownothingaboutcloudortech.Don’tevenunderstandwhatthecloudis?Everyonehastostartsomewhere,andACGhasyoucoveredwithyourfirststepsintotheworldoftech.WrapyourheadaroundthebasicsandconceptsofcloudandGCPwithcourseslikeIntroductiontoCloudComputingandGoogleCloudConcepts.Thesecoursesareshortenoughtowatchoveralunchbreak(andthey’retotallyfreecloudtraining).Fromthere,youshouldbereadytodigintotheCloudDigitalLeaderandthentheGCPAssociateCloudEngineercourse.I’mjustbreakingin.Ifyou’rejusttryingtobreakintothecloud,youshouldstartwiththeCloudDigitalLeaderandthentheAssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)cert.Targetingthiswillforceyoutogetareallywell-roundedfoundationinhowthecloudworks,ingeneral,andhowGCPworks,specifically.Itwon’tbeeasy,butitwillbepossible—andrewarding. I’mstartingwithsometechexperience.Ifyoualreadyhavesomeexperience—beitGCP,AWS,Azure,orjustITingeneral—youshouldstartwiththeAssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)cert.ItwillidentifyandfilltheholesinyourfoundationforallofthisGCPstuff.Andifyou’realreadyagoodbitofthewaythere,it’llgomorequicklyforyouthanforsomeonewithoutyourbackground.ButitreallyisstillworthyourtimeandenergytotakecareofthisbeforemovingontoanyProfessional-levelrole.Tonsofwell-meaningandsuper-smartpeoplehaveblindspots(unknownunknowns)thatreallysabotagetheireffectivenessuntiltheyaddressthem.Don’tletpridetakeyoudown.I’mreadytomoveupinmycloudcareer.AlreadyknowGCPandreadytomoveupinyourcareerordownaspecificcareerpath?Checkoutthecertificationpathscoveredbelow.(Butitalsowouldn’thurttojustsittheAssociateCloudEngineer(ACE)certificationexam.Youcaneventakecloudcertificationexamsremotely,sothere’snoneedtogointoatestingcenter.)ArchitectWhetherit’sbecausethey’veseensalaryreports,becausetheywanttheprestige,orbecausetheyjustlovecreatingawesomesystems,manypeoplewanttobecomeaProfessionalCloudArchitect.SotheobviousnexttargethereistheProfessionalCloudArchitect,right?Well,maybe.PCAwithmoreexperienceIfyoualreadyhaveastrongbackgroundindesigningandbuildingsoftwaresystems,thiscouldworkfine.BecausethePCAissobroadandgeneric,anon-GCParchitecturebackgroundstillhelpsaton.I’veheardpeopleinthisgroupreportthattheGoogle’sPCAexamfelteasiertothemthansomeotherclouds’equivalentsbecauseitwaslessabouttechnicaldetails.PCAwithlessexperienceWithoutabackground,goingstraightfromACEtoPCAcouldbearatherroughride.AndmanypeopleinthisgroupreportthatthePCAisthehardestexamthey’veeverseen.There’ssomuchstufftolearn,here,thatyoucoulduseasteppingstonetohelpyoubridgethatgap.Inparticular,I’dsuggestthatyouconsidergoingfortheProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercertnext,betweenACEandPCA.It’sstillseriousbusiness,butI’dsayit’sprettyaccessibleincomparisonandbuildsupyourabilitiesinanarrowerbutoverlappingscope.GoingbeyondPCAEitherway,onceyou’veactuallygottenyourProfessionalCloudArchitectcertification,there’sagoodargumenttocontinuedevelopingyourGCPskills—especiallyby(1)followingupwiththeProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineer,tomakesureyourobustlycoverthatcriticalskillset,and(2)lookingattheProfessionalDataEngineersothatyouarereallysolidonhowbusinessescanbestleveragealltheirdata.DeveloperNext,let’sconsidertheroleofadeveloper.LikeI’vementioned,youreallyshouldstartwithACE,butwhatnext? Well,themostvaluablenextcertforadeveloperisgoingtobetheProfessionalCloudDeveloperone,orPCD.Surprise,surprise,right? Ifyouwantto,youcoulddotheProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercertbeforePCD,butit’sjustfineifyou’dratherdoitafter.ButIdefinitelydorecommendthateverydeveloperlearnandreallyunderstandDevOpsandSiteReliabilityEngineering.Seriously,inthisdayandage,adeveloperwhodoesn’tgrokDevOpsandSREiscompletelylimitingtheircareer.Now,afterthesemorecoredevelopercerts,youcandefinitelystillgetvaluefromcontinuingforward.AgoodnextoptionistheProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineerGoogleCloudcertification,becauseaninsufficientappreciationofsecurityisoneofthebiggestandriskiestproblemsfordevelopers.Afterthat,becausetheroleofadeveloper,inparticular,getsmagnifiedbyaddingnewtoolstothetoolbox,IwouldsuggestlookingattheProfessionalDataEngineerandProfessionalCloudArchitectcerts.Atminimum,abetterunderstandingofthosebroadsetsoftoolswouldmeanthatyoucouldconfidentlybringthemtothetableinteamcollaboration. Butthetrulyamazingthingaboutthedeveloperroleisthatitisbecomingmoreindependent!Becauseofthemagnifyingeffectofthishigher-abstractiontechnology,asingledevelopercannowoftenaccomplishwhatusedtorequireawholeteamofpeople.Andifyoumanagetogetyourselftothatposition,you’reset.OfalltherolesI’mmentioning,Ibelievethisisthemostfuture-lookingone.DevOpsOneofthethingsI’vebeenharpingonisabouthowimportantDevOpsis.Right?Andthere’sareasonforthis. Softwaredevelopment,asanindustry,haslearnedthroughthedecadeshowtoandhownottodothings.Andoneofthesuper-importantlessonsisAgile.Ifyou’veneverreadtheManifestoforAgileSoftwareDevelopment,youshould.(Seriously,it’lltakeyoulessthanoneminute—andthat’sevenifyou’reaslowreader.)Butthekeyisthatsuccessfulsoftwaredevelopmentrequiresashortfeedbackloop,andthatiswhatDevOpsisallabout! AsoftwaredevelopmentteamwithoutanyDevOpsexpertiseislikeahockeyteamplayingwithoutagoalie:sure,youcandoit,butyou’replayingatasignificantdisadvantage.(Sidenoteforhockeyfans:That’splayingwithoutagoalie,notpullingthegoalie.)So,todrivetowardtheDevOpsEngineerrole,startwithACE—asalways—andthendivestraightintotheProfessionalCloudDevOpsEngineercert.Justthis,byitself,isawesome.But…Afterthat,togodeeper,Ithinkyou’dgetalotofvaluebydiggingintothedevsideofyourDevOpsandtargetingtheProfessionalCloudDeveloper.Someofitmayfeellikeastretch,atfirst,especiallyifyouhaven’tdoneanyprogramming,before,butI’msureyoucandoit.Andit’sveryvaluabletoelevatethedevelopmentthatyoudefinitelywilldoasaDevOpsEngineer.Afterthat,theProfessionalCloudArchitectisagreatwaytoopenupthewholerestofthecloudworld.DevOpsandSiteReliabilityEngineeringareallaboutmanagingrisk,soabetterunderstandingofhowthecloudsystemsallworkisverybeneficial.SecurityTargetingaSecurityroleisanotherusefuloption.Unsurprisingly,here,myrecommendationistostartwithACEandthenbeelineforProfessionalCloudSecurityEngineer.Doneanddusted,right?Well,maybenot.Sure,thisisabsolutelyasolidachievement!Noquestion!ButSecurityrolescanalsohaveareasofspecialization!OneoptionforgoingdeeperthanPCSEistodigintotheProfessionalCloudNetworkEngineer.ThisisacertthatIwouldabsolutelyrecommendassituational.Ifyoueitherhaveapre-existingnetworkingbackgroundorareworkinginanorganizationthatmakesheavyuseofnetwork-basedsecurity,thenthiscouldbeanexcellentadd.EitheryouleverageyourbackgroundtomakeyourselfmorevaluableasaSecurityEngineer,ingeneral,oryoufleshoutahighly-relevantskillset.AnothergoodadditionforaSecurityEngineeristheProfessionalCloudArchitect.Securitycomesfromapplyingyourbrainbasedongoodunderstanding,notfromdoingcertainactivitiesorcheckingboxes(right?)sodrivingtowardthePCAisareallygreatwaytomakesureyouproperlyunderstandthebreadthofproductsandservicesthatwillshowupinthesystemsyouneedtohelpsecure.Data/MachineLearningIfyouwanttofocusondata—andI’mnottalkingaboutBrentSpiner—thenyouwillberightathomeintheGoogleCloud.DataiswhereGCPreallyshines.Now,ifyouthoughtthatIwasgoingtoonceagainstartwithACE,thenyou’dbewro–right!Ofcourse!ACEisalwaysthecriticalfoundation.Butfordata,IthinkyournextstepshouldbetheProfessionalDataEngineer.Thenafterthat,theProfessionalMachineLearningEngineer. Now,ifyou’reinasituationwhereyoudoalmostexclusivelyMachineLearningorabsolutelynoneatall,thenyoumightwellwanttotweakthat.Butifyou’renotreallysureaboutsomebetterplan—ormaybeevenifyouare—thenthisisaveryreasonableone.PDEmakessurethatyouhaveaverysolidhandleonthebroaderdatalifecycleandhowtotakeadvantageofit,andthePMLEdeepensthatinwhatisundoubtedlythemostimportantwayofleveragingdata,goingforward.Afteryoutakecareofthedata-focusedstuff,itcouldbeagoodideatoeitherfocusonroundingoutyourdevelopersidewiththeProfessionalCloudDeveloper,orgobroaderintoarchitecturewiththeProfessionalCloudArchitect.Witheitherchoice,you’lllearnalotmoreabouthowtomakegoodtradeoffsintwocriticalarmsofdataengineering:designingthesystemsandimplementingthem.NextstepsNow,whatkindofguidewouldIbeifIstoppedbeforeofferingyousomeideasforhowyou,personally,canmoveforwardwithallofthisinfoaroundGoogleCloudcertifications? ACloudGuruhasputtogetheratonoftrainingmaterialandsupportsystemstohelpyou.It’sourmissiontoteachtheworldtocloud!Andinparticular,we’dliketoteachyou!Wehavetrainingcoursesforcertifications,plusothercourses,standalonevideos,practiceexams,guides,anACGofficialDiscordserver,discussionforums,yadda,yada,yadda.ButthethingthatIthinkcanbethemostusefultoyouiswhattiesallofthesethingstogether:LearningPaths. Foreachofmostoftherolesdescribedabove,ourplatformshowsyouanorderedpathofallthedifferentstuffyoucanusetolearnit,includingcourses,certifications,andlotsofoptionalstuff,too. Oh,andbecauseit’scriticalthatyougetyourhandsdirtyandactuallyusethecloud,anACloudGurumembershipincludestonsofhands-onlabs,whichletyoucandivestraightintothecloudanddorealstuffwithoutrealrisks.Theselabsshowupincoursesandtheselearningpaths,oryoucouldgothroughthemindependently. RelatedlinksHowmanycertificationsdoIneedtogetacloudjob?Thebestwaytofindacloudjob7waystojump-startyourcloudcareerHowcloudcertsleveltheplayingfieldWhichAmazonWebServicescertificationisrightforme?What’sthebestMicrosoftAzurecertificationpathforme?Ihopethatthisposthelpsyoufindsuccessinthecloud,butIalsohopethatI’llgettointeractwithyouagainasyougothroughyourcloudlearningjourney.Maybeyou’lltakeoneofmycourses.Maybeyou’llconnectwithmeonLinkedIn.Maybewe’llwindupchattingonDiscord.Reachoutifyouhaveanyquestionsorcomments.Takecareofyourself—andkeepbeingawesome!SubscribetoACloudGuruonYouTubeforweeklyGoogleCloudnews(plusnewsfromthoseothercloudproviderstoo).YoucanalsolikeusonFacebook,followusonTwitter,orjointheconversationonDiscord!RecommendedGetmoreinsights,news,andassortedawesomenessaroundallthingscloudlearning.Engineering7jobsyoucangetwithaGoogleCloudcertification ACGTechnicalEditorsTeam Oct11,2022 14MinuteRead ForBusinessHowtousecloudcertificationstoresolvetheskillsgap ACGTechnicalEditorsTeam Oct11,2022 11MinuteRead SignInWelcomeBack!Psst…thisoneifyou’vebeenmovedtoACG!ACloudGuruLinuxAcademyDon'thaveanaccount?GetStartedWho’sgoingtobelearning?MyselfMyOrganization