How I Prepared to Take the Google Cloud Digital Leader certification Exam and Tips.
Check out Here â Google Cloud Digital Leader â Practice Tests
How I studied for the Google Cloud Digital Leader Exam
Google Cloud Digital Leader Synopsis
Hello đ, in this article I will provide a summary of resources I used to prepare for the Google Cloud Digital Leader exam and the study plan I created. I will also give some feedback on my experience of the exam and what to expect!
As a recent Data Science graduate, cloud computing is something that Iâve been aware of but never used in a practical setting. However, my current role as an Analytics Engineer at hive3 requires me to have a theoretical and practical understanding of cloud computing to add value to my team and clients. As the Cloud Digital Leader course required no prerequisites, I thought it would be the best place to start with learning the theory.
Cloud Digital Leader
The course is designed in a way to give you an overall understanding of how organizations can leverage the data they capture to generate business value and how this can all be possible with cloud computing. The course provides an introduction to the industry without having any practical experience or previous knowledge. On successful completion you will become a Cloud Digital Leader who will be able to do the following:
âď¸Distinguish and evaluate the various capabilities of Google Cloud core products and services.
âď¸Understand how Google Cloud products can be used to achieve desired business goals.
âď¸Well-versed in fundamental cloud concepts.
âď¸Demonstrate a broad application of cloud computing knowledge
âď¸Describe common business use cases and how cloud solutions support an enterprise.
In short, you will be able to champion all the capabilities of Google Cloud Platform without every having used it!
Course Structure
Google Cloud Digital Leader Course Structure
The course is split into four knowledge areas:
- General cloud knowledge (~ 10% )
- Innovating with data and Google Cloud (~30% )
- Modernizing infrastructure and applications with Google Cloud (~ 30% )
- Understanding Google Cloud security and operations (~ 30% )
Key Resources
There is an abundance of resources available, both free and paid for, to study for this certification. I have found information from various locations and providers to help me prepare for the exam and I have listed these resources below:
Google Cloud Skills Boost
An online learning platform that provides learning paths, videos, documents, guided demos, and labs on Google Cloud products. The Cloud Digital Leader Learning Path is free to follow and you obtain badges on the completion of each module. The learning path provides a structured learning plan with quizzes at the end of each module to assess your learning. There are alternative providers such as Coursera and Udemy that offer free or paid learning paths.
Cloud Digital Leader Study Guide
The study guide provides a summary of the content covered in each section of the learning path. The documents contain definitions of key terms and core Google Cloud products. In addition, there are links to additional reading that I would recommend looking at to give you a broader understanding of the topics.
Certification Exam Guide
The exam guide breaks down each section of the course into smaller learning objectives that you should be able to achieve once going through all resource material. I would highly recommend using this guide as a checklist to ensure you have covered all topics or as a method of testing your understanding. This exam guide also reflects the changes to the certification that came into effect on 26áľĘ° Aug 2022.
Customer Case Studies
Google has listed several customer case studies on their webpage that give a realistic review of real business issues and what Google cloud solutions were used to solve them.
Flashcards
A very effective self-testing approach is the use of flashcards. You can choose to make some yourself or find some that already have been made on Quizlet by searching the term â Google Digital Leaderâ. They are incredibly useful to learn the functions of each Google Product. Alternatively, Google has an interactive cheatsheet wall of all the publicly available Google products.
Video of Google interactive cheat sheet
Diagrams
Creating diagrams provided a way to consolidate complex concepts but also gave me a break from reading or watching videos. I found that diagrams helped me to memorize processes, comparisons, and key facts more quicker.
Practice Questions
Some sample questions are provided by Google and they are a great way to familiarise yourself with the format of the exam. However, the number of questions is limited and they will become repetitive. So if you would like more practice questions, Exam Pro has 3 timed practice exams consisting of 50 questions. These questions are included in their Google Digital Leader study path which is priced at $24.
YouTube
If you are a visual and auditory learner like myself, then you will find YouTube videos to be an extremely helpful resource during your learning process. Some of the content will be outdated due to the course update, so be sure to focus on the relevant information and refer to the certification exam guide:
- freeCodeCamp: Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification Course â Pass the Exam!
- Joe Techcommanders: Google Cloud Digital Leader Free Mini Course
- Cloud Guru: Digital Cloud Leader Questions
Study Plan
It was vital that I created a study plan that allowed me to balance studying and working full-time. Whilst some advised that the course can be completed in 2 weeks with 4â5 hours of study a week, I chose to book the test 6 weeks in advance and structured my study plan to fit that timeline. This provided me with enough flexibility to manage my workload and to gauge if I felt confident enough to take the test. If not, I could always push the exam back as long as I gave 24-hour notice( for remote exams, 72 hours for onsite exams).
I designed a study plan that focused on visualization, consolidation, repetition, and testing. Firstly, video resources such as Google Learning Path and YouTube provided the main source of visual information. Secondly, writing articles and creating diagrams were used to consolidate my learning. Lastly, flashcards and practice questions would work for hand in hand to provide opportunities for repetition and testing. I chose to split studying into weekly tasks rather than the allotted time during the day to give more flexibility around my workload. There was no fixed time allocation to complete a task as one week I may have wanted to spend more time studying flashcards rather than watching videos. Overall I dedicated 3â4 hours a week to studying for the exam.
The Exam
I chose to take the exam remotely as I wanted to feel comfortable in my own environment. This meant that prior to the exam I had to download a secure browser on a personal computer and set up a biometric profile on the webassessor portal. On the day of the exam, I would advise that you log in ~20 minutes before the exam as there will be a queue to connect with a proctor who will confirm your identity and check that your surroundings are clear of items before you can sit the exam. As expected, the exams question were scenario based which required you to understand which products fit the requirements of the question.
Ready for the next steps?
Read the following synopsis articles from my Google Digital Leader Synopsis series:
đSection 1: Digital Transformation
đSection 2: Innovation with Data
đSection 3: Infrastructure & Application Modernisation
đSection 4: Cloud Storage & Operations
Exam pattern:
Questions: 40
Exam duration:
a. 90 minutes [Actual Exam time ] [ I could complete all 40 questions in 30 mins and kind of revisited some âmarked for reviewâ again for some more mins and submitted ]
b. Procedural time [ 15â30 mins â Depending on proctor availability and pre-checks it may vary, Account for it and keep your family informed :)]
Registration fee: $99 [ Some companies provision vouchers- check for their availability]
Language: English
Exam format: Multiple choice and multiple select [ No negative marking, donât leave anything unanswered]
Result
Soon after the exam, I got the result as PASS. After a few days, I got the certificate from Google Cloud.
Hereâs my certificate:
Notes from each of my exams
For those appearing for the various certification exams, here is a list of sanitized notes (no direct questions, only general topics) about the exam.
CloudGirl- Priyankaâs SketchNotes
Notes from the Associate Cloud Engineer exam
Notes from the Professional Cloud Architect exam
If you Want to Connect with Me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanamali-matha-811035232/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vanamalimatha32
GitHub Repo: awesome-GCP-certifications
A collection of posts, videos, courses, qwiklabs, and other exam details for all exams: GitHub
If this post was helpful, please click the clap đ button below đ, Stay tuned till the next blog
I hope this helps you in your preparation and to pass your exam. Thank you for reading. Perform well and all the best!
