How I became Google Cloud Certified?
It’s been 4 months since I started my journey toward the cloud. Out of curiosity, I enrolled in a free Coursera program offered by our college. I did a few courses and noticed Google Cloud courses. Being attracted to the brand, I enrolled in it. Thus, I got exposed to the Cloud and GCP. I have never looked back ever since. There was a strong feeling in me that this will get me somewhere.
“And, I followed what my heart said.”
I had completed the Coursera specializations and had been working on Qwiklabs to get exposure to GCP two months back. Though I used it occasionally, it gave me a vague idea about the platform. At that point, I heard about Google Career Readiness Program offered by Google. I applied for it and was fortunate enough to be a part of it. I received a 50% discount voucher that I could use for my exam.
Then, I went through extensive preparation. I made a plan and stuck to it and successfully executed it. I started learning with the official study guide and completed a set of portions every day, and do a review of what I’ve covered so far. I used the official documentation as a reference while I went through the study guide. I worked on Qwiklabs in parallel but I would suggest you finish the books and then get into Qwiklabs. I completed the book in 15 days and went on to Coursera courses. After completing Coursera, I switched back to Qwiklabs and resumed my practice.
It took me 25 days to prepare for the exam. I was still not confident and felt empty even after following my strategy(maybe because I was so involved in it and was nervous as I wanted to clear the certification). My exam was scheduled for October 30 since the last date I could use my discount voucher was October 31 and that day was fully reserved. I went through the notes I prepared one last time before I signed in to the exam portal. I was quite tense. Then, I signed in and completed the formalities instructed by the proctor. The entire room has to be scanned and they will ensure that no materials or entities are near me, except the computer system I’m using. This includes keeping our devices away from us while all these actions must be performed in front of the camera. Finally, the proctor informed me that I’m ready to start the exam and wished me luck.
50 questions. 120 minutes.
After finishing the test, the result will be PASS or FAIL.
I started the exam. The questions were confusing and seemed complex since I expected the questions similar to the review questions of the study guide. At that moment, my heart started pumping high. I was worried that if I would be able to clear the exam. Then, I took a deep breath and started reading the questions carefully. Slowly, I came to understand each situation and applied my knowledge to find the answers. I managed to answer all the questions in 100 minutes and then, spend another 10 or 12 minutes reviewing the flagged questions. I clicked “Submit”.
At this stage, my heart was pumping like anything.
I thought the result was going to appear. Suddenly, a page appeared that mentioned the exam survey. I completed the survey quickly and clicked the submit button.
The result screen appeared and my result showed as “PASS”.
All the feelings and expressions I had kept inside burst out at that moment and I jumped out of my chair.
YES!!!!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
I am finally a Google Cloud Certified Associate Cloud Engineer along with nearly 7000 other people on this planet. 6 days later, I received the official confirmation from Google Cloud and received the certificate.
I feel proud to be the owner of an extraordinary achievement. This is one of the milestones in my cloud journey. I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
For other certification study guides: Click here!
Towards more learning. Thus, towards more achievements! All the best!
