How to start learning GCP: Certifications for beginners

Whether you’re completely new to cloud or have experience with other vendors, learning GCP is a great way to support your organization’s cloud transformation, shift into a cloud professional role, or learn valuable skills for personal development.

In this article, you’ll learn how to build Google Cloud skills fast and kickstart your (or your team’s) learning journey with GCP certifications for beginners.

Google Cloud is one of the top three cloud providers alongside Azure and AWS. Learning Google Cloud fundamentals and earning certifications is well worth it if your organization uses GCP environments in any capacity or you want to get your foot in the door for cloud roles.

In general, the best GCP certifications for beginners are the Google Cloud Digital Leader, Generative AI Leader, and Associate Cloud Engineer certs. 

If you’re a non-technical professional or a tech professional who’s completely new to GCP, take the Cloud Digital Leader certification first. It will give you an overview of Google cloud services and provide a solid foundation for deeper GCP knowledge.

If you’re looking to adopt generative AI in your organization, opt for the Generative AI Leader certification. It will help you identify AI use cases in your organization and accelerate innovative adoption.

If you’re a tech professional who already has cloud experience under your belt, then start with the Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification. It will give you the knowledge you need to deploy, maintain, and monitor cloud solutions with GCP.

Before you learn Google Cloud, take a skill assessment to benchmark your knowledge. 

If you have previous cloud experience, assessments will identify your strengths and weaknesses so you know where to direct your learning efforts and which GCP training courses to take.

If you’re completely new to Google Cloud, an initial assessment will give you an idea of what to expect in your learning journey. Retaking the assessment after you learn new skills can also be a great way to chart your growth and show how far you’ve come.

Start your GCP learning journey with these skill assessments: 

• Google Cloud Foundations skill assessment

• Cloud Engineer (Google Cloud) skill assessment

• Performing Foundational Tasks in Google Cloud Platform skill assessment

Once you dive into more specialized Google Cloud knowledge, you can explore:

• Professional Cloud Data Engineer on Google Cloud Platform skill assessment

• Google Cloud Big Data - Foundations skill assessment

• Architecting with Google Cloud Platform Infrastructures skill assessment

• Performing Smart Analytics and AI on Google Cloud Platform skill assessment

Note: You’ll need to make a Pluralsight account to check these out, but don’t worry—there’s a free trial option for individuals and teams of up to 20.

After you’ve identified your starting point with skill assessments, the next step is to choose the right learning path based on your certification goals.

In general, there are three GCP certifications for beginners:

1. Cloud Digital Leader

2. Generative AI Leader

3. Associate Cloud Engineer

Let’s take a look at each one so you know which one is right for you.

The Google Cloud Digital Leader is a foundational certification that covers cloud computing basics, alongside core Google Cloud products and services.

People who earn this certification or understand the related skills can support their organization’s cloud transformation and identify the right GCP solutions for their business use cases and goals.

Consider the Cloud Digital Leader certification if you want to learn GCP and:

• You’re a non-technical professional who frequently collaborates with tech professionals

• You’re a cloud or IT professional with no prior GCP experience

The Cloud Digital Leader certification covers six key sections: 

• Digital transformation: The basics of cloud computing and how it works, including core cloud concepts, the benefits and challenges of digital transformation, and the shared responsibility model

• Data transformation: Why data matters for cloud transformation, an overview of Google’s data management solutions, and how to use analytics and business intelligence tools for various use cases

• AI: AI/ML concepts, as well as an overview of pre-trained and custom Google Cloud AI and ML solutions

• Modernizing infrastructure and applications: Cloud concepts, including virtual machines, serverless computing, APIs, containers, and hybrid vs. multicloud 

• Trust and security: Cloud security concepts, defense-in-depth in GCP, and Google’s trust and compliance principles

• Operational excellence and reliability at scale: Cloud operations terms, including reliability, resilience, and sustainability in the cloud

Learn all of these skills in the Google Certified Cloud Digital Leader Pluralsight learning path (with a practice exam!).

The Google Generative AI Leader is a foundational certification that covers basic AI/ML concepts, as well as Google Cloud’s genAI services.

People who earn this certification influence generative AI decisions and accelerate adoption and innovation with AI tools.

Consider earning the Google Generative AI Leader certification if:

• You’re a leader responsible for driving your organization’s generative AI initiatives

• You’re a non-technical professional who wants a foundational understanding of genAI

• You’re a technical professional who wants an overview of genAI within GCP environments

You’ll need these skills to pass the Generative AI Leader certification exam:

• Fundamentals of generative AI: You’ll learn core genAI concepts (such as the machine learning lifecycle, data quality, and natural language processing), data types used in genAI, and Google’s foundation models

• Google’s genAI offerings: Understand GCP’s approach to AI, including genAI tools for the customer experience, offerings like Vertex AI and RAG to help developers build with AI, and use of AI agents within GCP

• Techniques to improve genAI model output: Learn how to overcome foundation model limitations, apply prompt engineering best practices, and use grounding techniques for LLMs

• Business strategies for a successful genAI solution: Understand how to implement a genAI solution, protect AI systems from attacks and misuse, and use responsible AI

Learn all of these skills in the Google Certified Generative AI Leader Pluralsight learning path and practice exam.

The Google Cloud Engineer is an Associate certification that covers the technical skills needed to work with GCP or cloud environments.

People who earn this certification are able to plan, deploy, secure, and maintain cloud solutions on Google Cloud.

Consider earning the Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification if:

• You’re a tech professional who already has experience working with public clouds or on-premises solutions (Google recommends at least six months)

• You’re a cloud or tech professional who will be setting up or managing your organization’s cloud solution

The Associate Cloud Engineer certification covers four key skill areas:

• Setting up a cloud solution environment: Setting up cloud projects and accounts (such as creating a resource hierarchy, granting roles, and enabling APIs) and managing billing configurations

• Planning and implementing cloud solutions: Choosing, configuring, and deploying compute, networking, and IaC resources, as well as storage and data solutions

• Successfully operating cloud solutions: Managing compute resources such as Compute Engine and Kubernetes, storage and data solutions like Cloud Storage buckets, networking resources, and monitoring and logging with tools like Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, and Cloud Trace

• Configuring access and security: Manage identity and access management (IAM) and service accounts

Learn all of these skills in the Google Associate Cloud Engineer Pluralsight learning path and practice exam.

After completing a learning path, retake the skill assessment and evaluate your skills. How do your results now compare to your initial assessment?

Celebrate everything you’ve learned since starting your journey, and revisit topics you might have missed. 

Brush up on those skills with hands-on labs and practice exams until you feel confident to sit the exam. You can take GCP certification exams remotely or at an in-person testing center near you.

Certifications are the #1 way IT professionals earn raises or promotions. GCP certifications for beginners—and the related skills you develop along the way—are often just the first step towards greater career development opportunities.

Ace your exams with GCP training courses, hands-on labs, and certification prep. Learn more.

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