Google-Associate-Cloud-Engineer-A-Complete-Guide

Google Associate Cloud Engineer – A Complete Guide

As cloud technology is booming in this age, the urge to seek a career in this field is quite demanding. Google entered this sector back in 2012 and is today one of the most popular cloud platforms. With this demand, Google Cloud Certifications came into play to help the aspirants enjoy fruitful careers.

One such certification is Google Associate Cloud Engineer, which educates an individual about application deployment, enterprise management, and operation monitoring aspects. It improves the overall capability of individuals upon using Google Cloud Console and Command-Line Interface.

There are endless perks to it that you will know and experience by taking up this certification. Therefore, this article intends to give you clarity on the important attributes of this certification.

Google Associate Cloud Engineer Exam Overview

The Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification intends to improve your select abilities for dedicated cloud operations within an enterprise. Some of the abilities or skills that you will learn and improve over this certification exam are setting up, planning, configuring, and deploying a cloud solution. Apart from that, this certification also assesses your skills upon operating the cloud solution and configure security for it.

The exam length is of 2 hours, and the pricing for the registration is $125. You get to appear for this exam in Spanish, Japanese, and English language. The exam is available in an MCQ format and can be taken either remotely or at a center. You will be allowed to pick your nearby test centers for appearing in the exam.

There are two methods by which you can deliver the exam. One is to take an online exam that will be proctored at a remote location. There are certain requirements that you need to check before taking up the online exam delivery option. The second method is to take up an in-person examination at a test center in the presence of a proctor.

There are no prerequisites to appear for this certification exam. But you are recommended to possess at least six months of hands-on experience with the operations of Google Cloud. Along with that, it is better to have a brief understanding of the concepts such as containers, networking, and virtual machines. Hence, it is important for you to acquire an overview of the exam, to know your options before approaching for the same.

Any person who is into the IT industry and is keen on learning Cloud Computing and its associated technologies can take up this certification. It doesn’t matter whether you are data engineers, developers, or data architects; you can enhance your skills with this Google Cloud Certification. It is a beginner-level certification, for which any individual with an intention to start a career in the world of Cloud Technologies can turn up for this exam.

Objectives of Google Associate Cloud Engineer Certification

This Google Cloud certification aims to help people get a beginner’s knowledge of how the Cloud solutions are executed. It helps people learn the utilization of GCP services and resources for operating a cloud solution.

Candidates passing the examination will get the authorized certification from Google. Even though it is an amateur-level examination, it still tests your skills in different areas of cloud computing. For an efficient preparation to clear the examination in one attempt, a candidate needs to master specified areas and concepts that include:

  • Learning to set up the entire cloud solution environment within an enterprise.
  • Planning to execute and configure the required cloud solutions.
  • Implementation and deployment of an efficient cloud solution. 
  • Executing the attributes essential for cloud solutions to operate seamlessly. 
  • Detailed configuration aspects on security and accessibility.

Each of these learning paths has some core internal concepts that you must learn and adapt to clear the examination in the first attempt. Here are those concepts within the specified learning paths, stated above:

  1. Set-up the Environment Embedded with Cloud Solution:

Under this learning path, you must prepare for topics as in:

  • Creating & configuring the cloud accounts and cloud projects.
  • Billing configuration and its management aspects. 
  • Install & Configure the command-line interface.
  1. Plan & Configure the Cloud Solution

Under this learning path, you must prepare for concepts as follows:

  • Plan & configure the computing resources, network resources, and data storage alternatives. 
  • Use of price calculator to plan & determine an estimation of GCP product use. 
  1. Implement and Deploy Cloud Solution

Under this learning path, you must prepare for the concepts as follows:

  • Deploying & implementation of the compute engine resources, Google Kubernetes Engine resources, cloud functions resources, app engine resources, data solutions, and networking resources. 
  • Use of cloud launcher and deployment manager for solution deployment and application deployment, respectively.
  1. Executing Operations of Diverse Cloud Solutions

Under this learning path, you must prepare for the resource management concepts of:

  • Compute Engine
  • Data Solutions
  • App Engine
  • Google Kubernetes
  • Network Resource 
  • Logging and Monitoring management.
  1. Accessibility and Security Configuration

Under this learning path, you need to prepare for the concepts such as:

  • Service account management
  • Access and identity management
  • Evaluating the audit logs for managed services and cloud projects.

These are the brief exam objectives that you will learn and master in the pursuit of obtaining this certification. These are the areas where your preparation should focus on to clear this certification exam in one attempt.

Read More: Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer Hands-on Labs 

Step-By-Step Preparation Guide for Clearing Google Associate Cloud Engineer Certification Exam

As you have now understood the areas of focus, it is time for you to put the pedal on the accelerator and commence with the preparation. Moreover, for that, you need a proper guide and schedule to perfect your approach for this examination. Therefore, here is a step-by-step preparation guide for you to correct your study approach for this certification.

Step 1: Gain Experience on Google Cloud

Even though there are no prerequisites for the Google Associate Cloud Engineer examination, you must still experience different Google Cloud solutions and products. Google Cloud is offering a GCP free tier to let you learn how to build solutions on different cloud products. There are monthly limits to it, but it is quite productive to give you hands-on experience with cloud products. Take up the free tier, and you will eventually be preparing yourself for the Google ACE examination.

Step 2: Understand the Exam Guidelines

Once you are ready with the basic experience on Google Cloud products, you can go ahead and take on the examination. The ACE examination comprises questions based on selected fundamental areas. You need to go through the above-mentioned elaborations and other detailed instructions about the exam. Therefore, check out the exam guide for ACE certification.

Step 3: Practice the Sample Questions

You need to practice the sample questions thoroughly to check the level of your preparation. The sample questions will be in exam format, and it will prepare you to face the difficult level in the main examination.

Step 4: Take Appropriate Training to Master the Fundamentals

Google Cloud is offering ideal training in the form of modules, learning paths, webinars, and other such resources. The learning path of Google Cloud consists of detailed modules and steps to explain to you the core concepts associated with the preparation of ACE certification.

Moreover, you can also plan out to take a webinar over the official site of Google Cloud. You will have to sign-up for the webinar, and the scheduling details will be given to you then. Apart from that, there are additional resources in the form of study guides and other preparatory modules to help candidates prepare for this certification with utmost excellence.

Step 5: Take up the Specified Preparatory Course for ACE Examination

The candidates are requested to take up the on-demand course for familiarizing themselves with the materials of the Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam. Along with that, this course will help you to check whether you are ready for the exam or not. If you find yourself ready, then go ahead and schedule your exam.

Expert Tips for Clearing the Google Associate Cloud Engineer Examination

To help you clear this examination in the first-ever attempt, here are some of the expert tips for you to follow:

  • Prepare for 2 to 3 hours every day with at least two months’ time in hand for the examination. 
  • Use the legit and informative resources for gaining correct knowledge of the examination attributes. It is better to use official resources or materials of Google Cloud! 
  • Make a custom learning plan and follow it strictly to complete the topics on priority. 
  • Some of the important topics that you need to cover in your preparation are app engine, IAM, VPC-Networking, Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, Bigdata Tools, and Stackdriver.

Salary of a Google Associate Cloud Engineer

This certification has a great weightage across international MNCs. Therefore, the Google Associate Cloud Engineer salary, on average, is Rs.3,27,000/year in India. It is a good package to start with, and with experience over time, this package would increase. The highest salary for a cloud engineer, recorded so far, is Rs.30,61,000/year.

Bottom Line

Hence, this guide is all about explaining to you the right ways of preparing for the ACE examination. You need to have the right qualification and certifications to build your career in the field of cloud technology. When you are ready with the preparation mindset and have started with it, go ahead and schedule your exam date.

Take the appropriate time to prepare well for your exam. The exam page, official docs, hands-on experience,  online course, and practice tests are the tools for the Google cloud certification preparation. We recommend you enroll in the Whizlabs online course and practice tests for the Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer exam. Get started with the Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Free Test now!

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

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