5 Best Courses to learn Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in 2024

These are the best Google Cloud Platform courses from Udemy, Coursera, and Pluralsight to learn GCP online in 2024

javinpaul
Javarevisited
11 min readNov 29, 2020

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image_credit — Udemy

Hello guys, if you want to learn Google Cloud Platform and looking for the best online courses then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared the best AWS courses and best courses to learn Azure, and today, I am going to share the best Google Cloud courses for beginners.

Disclosure — Btw, some of these links are affiliate links and I may get paid if you join these courses using my links.

The GCP or Google Cloud Platform is a slightly late entrant in the world of public cloud computing but it has completely changed the public cloud landscape in the last few years, particularly the monopoly of AWS on Cloud has been challenged.

It’s still neither the most popular public cloud platform like Amazon Web Services, nor the darling of the corporate world like Microsoft Azure but its Performance, Tools, and innovation Google is attracting more and more companies to Google Cloud Platform, particularly in the areas of Big Data and Machine Learning.

With tools like BigTable, BigQuery, and libraries like TensorFlow, Google Cloud Platform is quickly becoming the go-to platform for Machine learning innovations.

Because of all these, there is an increased demand for Cloud experts who are familiar with GCP and Google Cloud Platform concepts and tools.

Unfortunately or fortunately, currently, there is a lot of shortage with developers knowing Google Cloud Products like Bigtable, BigQuery, Google Compute Engine, etc. Similarly, If you look for a certified Google Cloud Architects, you will find one or two in your network, compared to a handful of AWS architects.

This popularity of Google Cloud Platform and shortage of skilled GCP developers means it's the perfect time to learn Cloud Computing and Google Cloud Platform, especially if you are looking to make a career in Cloud Computing.

On top of that currently, Google is currently offering $300 free credit which means there won’t be a better time to learn Google Cloud Platform than now. So, how do we start?

Well, there is no better way to learn Google Cloud than joining some of the best Google Cloud online courses on Coursera and Udemy which is offered by Google Cloud itself like Developing Applications with Google Cloud Platform Specialization on Coursera.

You can also use these courses to prepare for Google Cloud Associates and Professional Certifications like Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer and Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, GCP Professional Data Engineer, and Google Cloud Developer.

5 Best Google Cloud Platform Courses for Beginners

Here are some of the best online courses to learn about the Google Cloud Platform or GCP. In these courses, you will not only learn about concepts and technologies that make up the Google cloud world, but also understand what Google’s cloud has to offer for DevOps, Developers, and Machine Learning enthusiasts.

Some of the courses will also help you to prepare for the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam like the second course on the list is by Ryan Kroonenburg, who is also the author of best selling AWS Certifications course like this AWS Solution Architect course.

I have also included some of the best Google Cloud courses from Coursera, particularly a Google Cloud Leader Specialization which will not only teach you how to design, develop, and deploy Apps on GCP. but also provides lots of hands-on labs to practice with Google Cloud components and services, which will eventually help you to build secure, scalable, and intelligent cloud-native applications.

Without any further ado, here is my list of best courses to learn Google Cloud Platform online:

1. GCP: Complete Google Data Engineer and Cloud Architect Guide

This is one of the best online courses to learn the fundamentals of Google Cloud and its Big Data technologies as well as to pass the Google Data Engineer and Google Cloud Experts Certification exam.

In this course, you will not only learn about GCP fundamentals like Compute Engine and App Engine but also about their Big Data and Machine learning tools like BigQuery, Bigtable, DataProc, Datalab, TensorFlow, and Hadoop clusters.

I highly recommend this course for beginners who wants to learn about Google Cloud Platforms as well as people who want to prepare for Google Data Engineer and Google Cloud experts platform.

Here is the link to join this GCP course GCP: Complete Google Data Engineer and Cloud Architect Guide

Both instructors are very knowledgeable and have strong experience in Google big Data technologies which reflect in this course. They are also from Google itself and had first-hand experience of these technologies, which makes this course even more interesting.

Talking about social proof this course has already taught Google Cloud Fundaments to well over 20,000 students and has on average 4.2 ratings from close to 3,110 rating participants, which speaks volumes about its quality.

2. Developing Applications with Google Cloud Platform [Coursera]

This is one of the most complete online resources to learn about the Google Cloud Platform. This Coursera specialization is a collection of 4 online courses that will teach you how to design, develop, and deploy applications that seamlessly integrate components from the Google Cloud Platform.

The course is very hands-on and thorough in explanation. You will learn key GPC concepts like compute engine, cloud storage, dataflow, etc to develop a scalable and intelligent cloud-native application.

The best part of this specialization is that the courses are offered by Google Cloud Training itself. I have taken this course and vouch for the quality of them. They are just too good on both content and delivery.

It would take approximately 1 month to complete if you can spend 14 hours/week, but the course is completely online and you can go on your own schedule. The course is also available in French, Portuguese, German, Spanish, and Japanese apart from English.

Here is the link to join this GCP courseDeveloping Applications with Google Cloud Platform

By the way, instead of joining these courses and specialization individually, you can also join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera which gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects.

3. Cracking the Google Associate Cloud Engineer Certification

Ok, let me tell you that this is probably the best interactive online training course to pass the prestigious Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer and Architect exam, not just for content but also for presentation and delivery.

This course is a headstart to quickly get hands-on with GCP and make yourself comfortable with it. You will start with “Why GCP?” and will go all the way to using its services in different ways.

If you are from an AWS background, you will find the course very easy to understand due to the similarities between AWS and GCP services. At the end of the course, you will take a practice exam that will resemble the exam you’ll take when you go to get your Google Cloud Engineer Certification.

This means it's also an excellent course to learn about Google’s cloud offering for beginners or anyone who want to learn GCP. The course also includes 1 practice test to prepare you will well for Google’s Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam.

Here is the link to join this Google Cloud courseCracking the Google Associate Cloud Engineer Certification

best interactive course to learn Google Cloud Platform

By the way, you can either join this course individually or you can take an educative subscription (recommended) to get access to their 250+ high quality, text-based, interactive courses to learn key skills for coding interviews, software development, and technology.

4. Introduction to Google Cloud By Lynn Langit

This is one of the best but old introductory courses on Google Cloud Platform or GCP for programmers and architects who want to move into the Google cloud. In this course, Google Developer Expert Lynn Langit introduces you to Google’s Cloud technologies and provides an overview of what is possible with Google Cloud.

By the end of the course, you’ll know and understand essential Google cloud services like Google App Engine, Google Compute Engine, and more in your organization.

No Google cloud knowledge is required, but a lot will be imparted. This course is aimed at developers and business decision-makers and is actionable for executives as well.

It also includes a ‘Hello World’ GAE demo using Eclipse (Java) which makes it ideal for Java developer who wants to learn about the Google Cloud Platform.

Here is the link to join this courseIntroduction to Google Cloud By Lynn Langit

Btw, this course would require Pluralsight membership. If you already have a Pluralsight membership then this is a great introductory course about GCP. If you don’t have a membership then you can either subscribe, which cost around $29 per month or $299 per annum (currently just $179, 40% discount), or take this course for free by signing their 10-day free trial.

While this course is good for beginners, it’s a bit outdated given how fast technology is changing and

has also created GCP Essentials, GCP Enterprise Essentials, and GCP Machine Learning Essentials courses on LinkedIn Learning, you can also check them out. LinkedInLearning offers 1 month free so that’s good enough time to check these courses for FREE.

5. Machine Learning with TensorFlow on Google Cloud Platform

This is another excellent specialization from Coursera for Data Scientists who want to deploy their machine learning models on Google Cloud to take advantage of TensorFlow and the performance offered by GCP.

Like the first specialization, this one is also offered by Google Cloud which makes it a kind of official resource to learn Machine learning for Google Cloud Platform.

The Specialization is a collection of the following 5 courses
How Google does Machine Learning
Launching into Machine Learning
— Intro to TensorFlow
— Feature Engineering, and
— Art and Science of Machine Learning

All courses are 100% online which means you can learn on your own schedule. In general, it takes 1 month to complete this specialization given you spent around 15 hours/week but you can go at your convenience.

The course is also available in English, French, Portuguese, Brazilian, German, Spanish, and Japanese. The online labs are provided by Qwiklabs which makes working with GCP really pleasant.

You can start with whichever course you want but you need to finish all lectures and assignments a certification will be awarded to you which you can put on your LinkedIn profile or your CV.

Here is the link to join this GCP ML course Machine Learning with TensorFlow on Google Cloud Platform

By the way, if you find Coursera courses and specialization useful then you should also join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera which provides you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects.

6. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Fundamentals for Beginners

Another great course on Udemy is to learn Google Cloud Platform for Beginners. It’s great to learn Google Cloud Platform from scratch. You will learn key GCP services with their pros and cons and learn when to use them in the real world.

Here is the link to join this course Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Fundamentals for Beginners

7. Google Cloud Platform for AWS Professionals — Learn GCP

If you have some knowledge about Cloud computing and you have used AWS before then learning Google Cloud Platform is not difficult for you and this course makes it even easier.

Enterprises are going multi-cloud. It is NOT sufficient to know JUST one cloud anymore. You would need to understand multiple clouds.

In this course, you will learn Google Cloud by building on your AWS knowledge.

Instead of learning Google Cloud Platform the same way you learned AWS, you will learn GCP comparing GCP services with AWS services. You will learn Google Cloud Platform using AWS as the stepping stone.

By the end of the course, you will see that learning Google Cloud Platform — GCP is very easy when already know AWS!

Here is the link to join this course — Google Cloud Platform for AWS Professionals

That’s all about some of the best courses to learn Google Cloud Platform or GCP. I have also included some courses to prepare for Google Certified Associate Cloud Engineer Certification which is another great way to learn Google Cloud Platform and get a certificate for your skill. Something which you can put in your resume and LinkedIn profile.

This is not really a big list as I am also learning Google Cloud, so if you have a course that should be on this list or something I should take a look at, feel free to suggest in the comments.

Other Certification Resources for IT Professionals and Java Programmers

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like this article then please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, please drop a note.

P. S. — If you are new to the world of Cloud and AWS and looking for some free courses to learn Amazon Web Service then you can also, check this list of Free AWS Courses for Beginners to start with.

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javinpaul
Javarevisited

I am Java programmer, blogger, working on Java, J2EE, UNIX, FIX Protocol. I share Java tips on http://javarevisited.blogspot.com and http://java67.com