Google Cloud Certification: 2025 Guide

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on

Learn about the cost and types of Google Cloud certifications and explore tips on exam prep.

[Featured Image] A smiling cloud computing professional who has earned Google Cloud Certification works at her computer in a server room.

Becoming Google Cloud certified means you’re proficient in Google Cloud technologies. The Google Cloud learning path is free for 30 days, and you can use it to earn Google Cloud Badges. Becoming certified shows prospective employers you can maintain and implement Google Cloud technology into a company’s workflow. 

Discover what a Google Cloud certification involves, the types of Google Cloud certification, and tips for preparing for certification. 

What is Google Cloud certification?

This professional certification shows you have completed Google Cloud training and are proficient in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Google cloud computing services include cloud storage and backup, database management, developer tools, networking, machine learning, and analytics. 

Companies that use Google Cloud services instead of Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure may seek employees with a Google Cloud certification, which can save them the time and expense of training. 

Is Google Cloud certification worth it?

Becoming certified in Google's Cloud solutions shows you are a strong candidate for a company that uses the GCP, which may help you land or advance to the job you want. It also demonstrates a wide range of technical skills and a solid understanding of cloud architecture, which can help you appeal to other companies.

Demand for Google Cloud professionals

According to Flexera’s State of the Cloud Report 2024 [1], Google Cloud Platform is among the top three cloud vendors. The other two cloud providers in the top three are Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Since many enterprises have a hybrid cloud environment, learning about multiple cloud providers can be beneficial.

Are Google Cloud certifications free?

Each certification costs between 99 USD and 200 USD. Consider checking with your employer to see if they will cover the cost, especially if the company benefits from increasing your skill levels. 

Does Google Cloud Certification expire?

Your Professional Google Cloud certifications are valid for two years from the date you received them. The Cloud Digital Leader and Associate Cloud Engineer certifications are valid for three years. You must retake and pass the exam after this time to maintain your certification.

Types of Google Cloud certifications (with costs)

The type of certification you pursue depends on your career goals, your budget, and your current learning stage.

Foundational

A Google Cloud Foundational certification demonstrates your broad knowledge of cloud concepts and Google Cloud’s products, services, tools, features, benefits, and use cases. 

For this certification, you should have experience working in a collaborative role with other technical professionals, but you don’t need to meet any technical requirements to enroll. The Foundational certification is called Cloud Digital Leader, and the exam costs USD 99 [2].

Associate certification

A Google Cloud Associate certification demonstrates that you have the fundamental skills to deploy and maintain Google Cloud projects. You’ll likely benefit from having at least six months of experience building on Google Cloud to gain the knowledge to pass the exam. The Associate certification is called Cloud Engineer, and the exam fee is USD 125 [3].

Professional certification

A Google Cloud Professional certification shows you can perform critical technical job functions and advanced skills in designing, implementing, and managing Google Cloud products. Google recommends having at least three years of cloud industry experience and one year working on Google Cloud. All Google Cloud Professional Certificate exams cost USD 200 [4].  

The Google Cloud Professional Certificates are:

  • Cloud Architect

  • Cloud Database Engineer

  • Cloud Developer

  • Data Engineer

  • Cloud DevOps Engineer

  • Cloud Security Engineer

  • Cloud Network Engineer

  • Google Workspace Administrator

  • Machine Learning Engineer

How to choose the proper certification for you

It’s important to keep your career goals in mind when choosing the proper Google Cloud certification. If you want to work in a cloud role at a major company that employs the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), you’ll typically benefit from earning a certification. Some major companies using the GCP include PayPal, Home Depot, Twitter, Equifax, Etsy, and UPS. 

Holding various cloud certifications helps you be a more attractive candidate and provides more options when seeking new job opportunities. They demonstrate your ability to switch between different cloud platforms. And with many companies now using multiple clouds, this can help you stand out among other candidates. 

Follow these tips on choosing the right Google Cloud certification for you.

What is your current role?

When choosing the best Google Cloud certification, start with your current role or what role you’d like to gain. Then, select the certification programme that most closely aligns with that role. For example, if you are a cloud developer looking to hone your skills, a cloud developer certification is the way to go. An aspiring professional cloud DevOps engineer may begin with the Foundational certification, advance to an Associate certification, and then enroll in the Cloud DevOps Engineer Professional certification.

Do you meet the certification type prerequisites? 

You also want to take the certification programme designed for your skill level. If you’re a newcomer to GCP, the Foundational certification is the best option because it requires no experience in GCP. With six months of GCP experience, you’re ready for an Associate certification. Finally, to prepare for a Professional certification, you'll likely need over three years of cloud experience and one year of GCP experience. 

What is your end goal with certification?

Consider whether you are looking to make a career switch to cloud management or want to advance your current career. A certification related to your current role can help you show your skills and provide a competitive advantage. However, suppose you plan to move to a different job within the cloud. In that case, a certification in your target role may show your employer or prospective employer you’re ready for the transition.

Tips for how to prepare for the certification exam

Online courses and practice exams can help you feel better prepared for the Google Cloud certification exams. Online groups and free videos can also help you prepare.

Online courses 

Google offers you the ability to choose a cloud path, hone your skills, and confirm your learnings in one spot, the Google Cloud Skills Boost. Here, you can study everything about Google Cloud, from a basic introduction and tour to preparing for the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer exam. 

Google also offers many Cloud Professional Certificates and Specialisations on Coursera. The programmes you can choose from include the following:

Foundational certification

  • Google Cloud Digital Leader Training Professional Certificate: With this course, you can gain a general understanding of the cloud and Google Cloud Platform, including the terminology and use cases. You’ll also learn data, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and IT infrastructure. The course intends to help you prepare for the Foundational Cloud Digital Leader certification from Google Cloud.

Associate certification

Professional certification

  • Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Data Engineer Professional Certificate: This course aims to help you prepare for Google Cloud’s Cloud Data Engineer Professional Certificate exam. You'll be able to learn how to use BigQuery to analyse interactive data. You will also use Cloud SQL and Dataproc to migrate existing MySQL and Hadoop/Pig/Spark/Hive workloads to Google Cloud and choose between different data processing products on Google Cloud.

Practice exams and exam guides 

You can check your knowledge before taking the exam through the online practice questions Google Cloud offers on each certification exam’s registration page. When you click on each certification, it launches sample questions via Google Forms. 

For example, if you are pursuing the Professional Data Engineer certification, you can visit the Data Engineer certification exam page and click “Review Sample Questions” on the right. It will then launch the Google Forms practice test, where you can see if you’re ready for the actual exam. 

Online groups

You can also meet peers in your respective Google Cloud concentration by visiting the Google Cloud Community. Here, you can ask questions, find answers to your questions, answer others’ questions, and connect with other members working in or aspiring to work in Google Cloud. Google Cloud Communities has forums where you can ask questions, get news about the cloud, and discover events you can attend. 

You can also find Google Cloud groups to join on LinkedIn. Here, you can network with others in the field and ask questions.

Free videos online or on Google’s website 

Find free videos about the Google Cloud Platform on the Google Cloud Tech YouTube channel. You can use these videos as resources while studying for your certification exam. The videos are suitable for people of all skill levels. 

The Google Cloud Skills Boost website offers free cloud training where you complete a role-based Google Cloud learning path at no cost. You can choose a learning path that best aligns with your preferred career path and complete a series of hands-on labs and courses to earn Google Cloud badges. While badges aren’t the same as certifications, they can help you start down the path towards certification.

Prepare for your Google Cloud certification with Coursera

A Google Cloud certification can be a gateway to many careers, allowing you to hone your relevant skills for the job you plan to apply for. 

Online courses are a great way to help prepare for your Google Cloud certification. On Coursera, you can find many Google Cloud certification prep courses, including the Preparing for Google Cloud Digital Leader Training Professional Certificate, where you can learn about cloud and digital transformation basics.

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Article sources

1. 

Flexera. "2024 State of the Cloud Report (Report Highlights), https://info.flexera.com/CM-REPORT-State-of-the-Cloud?." Accessed 15 July 2024.

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Updated on
Written by:
Coursera Staff

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