All you need to know about Google Cloud Professional Data Engineering Certification Exam.
TL;DR: This post covers questions related to Google Cloud Professional Data Engineering Certification. I have tried to include all question that would be relevant specifically to someone who is beginner to GCP and might be planning to prepare for this exam. The list of questions covered in this post is not exhaustive; I will update as required/suggested. Lets dive in…
Background: How do others know you know the stuff ?
Like any other exam, the certifications offered by all major Cloud Service providers — Azure, AWS and Google Cloud — test, validate and acknowledge that you know the stuff. Focusing about Google Cloud, it offers three levels of certifications -
- Foundational — In this category Google Cloud offers only one certification — Cloud Digital Leader . This certification validate your knowledge on cloud concepts, product, services, tools etc. This certifications is basically a starter.
- Associate — This category, also, has only one certification — Associate Cloud Engineer. This certification assess your ability to deploy and maintain cloud projects.
- Professional — In this category, Google Cloud offers various certifications that assess key job functions and advance skills in designing, implementing, and managing Google Cloud products. Here is the list of the professional certifications offered by Google Cloud.:
- Professional Cloud Architect
- Professional Cloud Database Engineer
- Professional Cloud Developer
- Professional Data Engineer
- Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer
- Professional Cloud Security Engineer
- Professional Cloud Network Engineer
- Professional Google Workspace Administrator
- Professional Machine Learning Engineer
Depending on your requirements, such as a company’s desire for certification or your own desire to upskill, as well as your readiness and previous exposure to cloud technologies, you can choose one of the Google certifications. In this post, I will specifically focus on one of these certifications: Professional Data Engineer.
Should I attempt GCP Data Engineering Certification exam ?
If you are in a role as an Analyst, Data Engineer, or Data Scientist and are using Google Cloud services for projects, you should definitely consider taking this exam. If you are a student and still interested, my advice would be to go through the preparation content for this exam, but there is no need to spend $200 to get certified as it won’t necessarily help you get a job. Remember, certification(s) are a cherry on the cake and not the cake itself.
What are the prerequisites to attempt this exam ?
Recommended experience: 3+ years of industry experience including 1+ years designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud. source.
Having this recommended experience is beneficial, but in my view, even beginners to the cloud would require six months to prepare for and pass the exam. Note that the more experience you have, the less effort you will need.
How much time I would require for prepration to pass the exam ?
If you are serious about upskilling yourself and not just interested in getting a certification or other goodies from Google Cloud (which you receive upon passing), I believe that as a complete beginner to cloud computing, you would require 3–6 months to prepare (depending on how much time you have each day). I have seen people clear certifications by memorizing questions and answers in just one month.
What Strategy Can I follow for preparation ?
Obviously, there can not be a one for all strategy, and different professional would have different view. In my experience the most effective strategy could be the following:
1. Complete the Data Engineer Learning Path curated by google cloud. Link
2. Once completed go through Official Google Cloud certified Professional Data Engineer Study Guide.
3. Practice questions — Exam Topics is one of the place which has extensive set of questions.
- You can get many questions for free here.
- Remember to go through the discussion on the questions, often the answer may vary.
4. Attempt the practice test to get a first hand experience of what you could expect on exam day. I have not gone through various platforms but I found the Wizlabs Practice tests quite useful when preparing for DE certification myself.
Note that I have not reviewed similar platforms, and there may be many other useful resources available. Please comment below if you can vouch for any.
Once you feel confident and consistently scoring more than 90%, you are ready to schedule the exam. By now, you will also be able to evaluate if you are ready or not.
Now that I know I am ready, How should I schedule an exam ?
The certification is conducted by Kryterion, a company that provides platforms, solutions and services for testing and certification. To schedule the exam, you need to create a Google Cloud webassessor account and you are ready to schedule the exam. Link
You can choose either a remote exam (taken from your own location) or an onsite exam (by visiting a nearby exam center).
Can I reschedule/Cancel the exam ?
Yes you can. In case of cancellation you will get a full refund if the exam is cancelled/rescheduled before 24 hrs (Online Exam) and 72hrs (Proctored exam i.e scheduled at the centre). [Kryterion Support]
Should I choose remote or onsite proctored exam ?
Although it is a personal choice, in my opinion, taking an onsite exam gives you a better feel for the exam, and you do not need to worry about downloading extra software or ensuring uninterrupted internet connection.
When will I get the certification ?
Usually you get certification within a week.
I have seen people getting goodies on you tube for clearing these exam ? Will I also get one ?
Yes, If you pass the exam, you get voucher to choose a merchandise.
Unfortunately, I was not able to pass the exam. Will I get more chances ?
You can retake this exam 3 times. You can register a 2nd time 14 day(s) after you fail your 1st test event. If you fail on your 2nd test event you can register a 3rd time after 60 day(s). If you fail on your 3rd test event you can register a 4th time after 365 day(s).
What is the validity of this certification ?
Unless explicitly stated in the detailed exam descriptions, all Google Cloud certifications are valid for two years from the date of certification.
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