Google Developers Certification: What, Why, How and is it worth your attention

New article on our App Developers Blog covering Google Developers Certification: What, Why, How and is it worth your attention.

Source: Techie Toby

As a client or a company, you must have heard of Google Developers Certifications while hiring developers, while choosing a developer for a project. Some companies boast about their developers being Google-certified while some clients ask for it as an essentiality. On the other side, developers keep hearing about it from their employers and colleagues from time to time.

Though there is no confusion about its reliability, because of ‘Google’. But one thing must have made you think, which is — How good can it do to your career (as a developer) and how essential is it for an employer/client. So in this post, we will be discussing Google’s developer certifications comprehensively; it will help many, we guess.

What is Google Developers Certification?

It’s a globally recognized certificate, awarded on clearing a performance-oriented exam. Apart from developers benefiting from these certification programs, the Android Associate Android Developer certificate was said to support potential Android developer employers too. People looking to pursue it, should have a pre-knowledge of data persistence, Android application components and managing notifications and widgets.

The certification consists of programming phase and the interview phase and Google offers a study guide for self-preparation.

Upon nailing the certification examination, Google stores your certificate, badge and other digital marks in a central verifiable location. The digital marks offered by Google can be included in your email signature and can be embedded on social sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

Google’s Gamut of Certifications

Google certification is a gamut of specialized certifications that attest and exhibits your level of skill and proficiency as a developer.

Source: Google Developers

Some major certifications, as offered by Google are:

• Associate Android Developer
• This certification exam is a performance-based exam that attests a certain skill set than an entry-level Android developer must possess as they initiate their career.
• On passing this exam and grabbing the Associate Android Developer Certification, your competence, and skill in developer-oriented tasks become authentic.
• Mobile Web Specialist
• This is one of the newest certifications that put your developing skills to test for the mobile web domain.
• You will be asked to write a code to prove that you have what it takes to create offline-first experience, audit an app’s performance and debug asynchronous functions.
• Upon earning this certification, you will have a cutting edge that will set you apart from fellow web developers. You will be in a position to exhibit your skills that will enable you to create responsive and flexible web applications irrespective of the platform.
• Google Cloud certified- Professional Cloud Architect
• This certificate checks your proficiency on the Google Cloud platforms in multiple areas such as, designing, building, and managing solutions. This certificate from Google cloud allows companies to utilize Google Cloud technologies.
• Google Cloud certified — Professional Data Engineer
• This certification attests to your proficiency in the domains of designing and building data- processing systems as well as your skill and abilities to create a machine learning models on its Google Cloud platform. It facilitates data-driven decision- making by collecting, transforming, and visualizing data.

How important is the Google Developers Certification?

• From the Perspective of a Developer
• Android dominates the digital app market and its ecosystem might seem very overwhelming with its gamut of stakeholders, apps and its hardware compatibility. But credible training certificate in Android development will provide a developer with a commanding position to take advantage of this surge.
• From the Perspective of a Client
• Mobile app development is a booming industry and since Android is an open source software, certified developers can work their magic and get their hands on every OS version (KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow) and get the client’s apps to work on multiple devices and on all platforms. The vast ecosystem of Android allows developers to tap into vibrant user bases, which is a client’s requirement.
• From the Perspective of an Employer
• As other mobile operating systems are fixed and closed systems with a much smaller user base, Android has better product differentiation and segmentation abilities. Employers/entrepreneurs can reach several devices and can set their prices in the market accordingly. They can work on a plethora of apps pertaining to both mobile and tablet platforms targeting regular or first-time users.
• Business ventures may or may not need an army but at the very least a bunch of certified android developers who can handle, manage and develop required apps for a loyal set of app users. The companies can successfully run their various apps on Android and make money the way they feel it’s right for them at a lower price and decent revenue generating user base compared to other platforms.
• Android OS allows you to deploy an app prototype very rapidly, assess user demand, demographics and metrics. Companies can monetize their apps for fixed prices or similar apps at different price ranges in the diverse geographical regions.

Should a Google Certified Developer be the Priority?

In this competition stricken world, Google certified Developers can put themselves ahead and separate themselves from others in terms of proficiency and skill set.

The Google certification gives them more authenticity and credibility and makes them look better knowledgeable to the recruiters.

A Google certification also guarantees and testifies that the person at least moderate skill set in the basics of Android development and Web development.

Some perks when you hire a Google certified Developer:

• They are experts in developing efficient programming code for Android development projects.
• They can customize your application design as per your requirements
• The developers are highly productive so product/app delivery is always on time on or before deadlines.
• The quality of apps is of high quality that delivers desired business outcomes.
• Communication with clients is smooth and seamless.
• Business information is secured
• They help in developing user-centric Mobile apps.
• They are experts in coming up with Cross-platform solutions

How to Rightly Screen the Certification of an Android Developer?

Upon clearing the certification exam, the applicant will be given a “digital badges and digital marks” that can include in his/her resume, email signature or social media like Twitter and LinkedIn.

Recruiters can always look out for these digitals marks when fishing for certified developers.

Final thoughts

Google certification is a credible certification that highlights developers’ in-demand skills as Android developers. But most of the times customized courses may blur the line between certification and continued learning.

No matter how many certifications a developer has on a resume, prospective employers will give them a green card only on passing the “whiteboard” or “pair coding” portion of the job interview phase.

Bottom line the Employer wants to make sure that you have the most up to date knowledge about your chosen area of interest. Instead of jumping into a formal course program, developers should opt for continually educating themselves via framework documentation, blog posts. Some sites such as, HackerEarth allows companies to create special customized coding challenges for prospective developers to give them the taste of real work-life environments.

Google certificates might look fancy on the resume but failing in a technical interview is not desirable.

In the end, we cannot reject a developer just because he never tried to conquer this certification test; it cannot be the only criteria for judging someone’s expertise. The main idea of the Google is to put the developers in the spotlight and highlight their skills to potential employees.

Originally published at www.appfutura.com.