Google IT Support Professional Certificate: All You Need to Know
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is one of the most popular entry-level Google Career Certifications to help you pursue and start a career in the IT industry. It provides the essential skills you require to launch a wide range of IT jobs such as help desk technician and tech support specialist.
These entry-level roles mainly focus on setting up and troubleshooting computer systems. They are a common starting point for a career in IT by virtue of their low barrier to entry and exposure to several technical domains. You can branch out from these roles into a range of IT roles or ascend the ranks to tech support management and beyond.
In this guide, I will explain what the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is all about, what they teach you there, and whether it is worth taking this course and paying for a certificate.
Table of Contents
What is the Google IT Support Professional Certificate?
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is a unique training program developed by Google and hosted by Coursera. It is part of the Google Career Certificates program and will help you develop the crucial skills needed to get an entry-level IT job.
The certificate is suitable for anyone who wants to begin an IT career without prior experience or background knowledge. When you complete this course, you will have the basic IT skills required to work as a junior database administrator, IT specialist, help desk technician, or system analyst.
Is this certificate worth it?
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate will help you develop job-ready skills that can pave the way for starting a career in the IT industry. Since Google offers the certificate, the industry recognizes it as a valid credential for securing an entry-level job.
Moreover, it is approved by the American Council of Education (ACE). It can give you up to 12 college credits (the equivalent of 4 degree-level courses) in case you choose to continue your education and pursue a bachelor’s degree.
The certificate also prepares you for the CompTIA A+ certification exams – the industry standard certification for IT. The certification cost is reasonable (less than $300), and the time investment is around six months (a couple of hours per day) which is also quite understandable for a globally recognized accreditation.
Finally, there is a high global demand for certified IT specialists, and you should be able to find a job quickly.
Google IT Support Salary
Here are some jobs you can pursue with a Google IT support professional certificate, along with their average salaries:
| IT Job Role | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Help Desk Technician | $49,000 |
| Desktop Support Technician | $52,000 |
| IT Support Specialist | $53,000 |
| Network Administrator | $72,000 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,000 |
Cost of the Google IT Support Professional Certificate
The total cost of getting the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is $234. Coursera offers the course through the Coursera Plus subscription for $39 per month. On average, a student will require 6 months to complete the course and get certified. Coursera also offers a 7-day free trial to review the course material before committing to a paid plan.
Cost in India
Recently, Coursera reduced the price of this popular certification to just $15 per month for students in India. As a result, the Google IT Support Professional Certification is now available for just $15 per month (~1,100 INR per month), down from $49 per month (~3,600 INR per month).
Contents of the Google IT Support Professional Certificate program
This certificate includes 5 online courses. Although you can take the courses in any order you want, doing them in the order specified below is highly recommended.
- Technical Support Fundamentals
- Computer Networking
- Operating Systems
- System Administration
- IT Security
Let us look closely at each of these courses.
Technical Support Fundamentals
The Technical Support Fundamentals course is an introductory course for the certificate program. It will give you an overview of how the world of information technology works. By the end of the course, you will have a good understanding of computers, building a computer using different components, installing and administering operating systems, and the technicalities of networks and the Internet.
The course material is segregated into 6 weeks. You must allocate at least 10-15 hours to go through all topics.
Here is a detailed breakdown of all the topics the course covers:
| Week | Topic | Video Duration | Reading Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to IT | 50 minutes | 1 hour |
| Week 2 | Hardware | 1 hour 20 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Week 3 | Operating System | 1 hour 10 minutes | 1 hour |
| Week 4 | Networking | 44 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Week 5 | Software | 24 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Week 6 | Troubleshooting | 1 hour 10 minutes | 20 minutes |
At the end of each week, you must take one or more graded assessments to finish the course and get the certification successfully. Overall, you have to pass 9 assessments.
Computer Networking
The Computer Network course is the first technical course in the series and covers some of the most challenging concepts in computing. After completing this course, you will have a solid understanding of how computer networks work. You will learn how to connect a computer to the Internet and troubleshoot connection errors.
As you get closer to completion, you will also be introduced to cloud computing. To complete the course, you must also pass 12 graded assessments. The total duration of the course is around ten hours.
| Week | Topic | Video Duration | Reading Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Networking | 46 minutes | 1 hour 11 minutes |
| Week 2 | The Network Layer | 1 hour 7 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Week 3 | The Transport and Application Layers | 44 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Week 4 | Networking Services | 1 hour 10 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Week 5 | Connecting to the Internet | 49 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Week 6 | Troubleshooting and the future of networking | 58 minutes | 30 minutes |
Operating Systems
The Operating Systems course is a highly practical course with 13 lab-based assessments. By the end of this course, you will know what operating systems are and how they work. You will also learn how to install software (on both Windows and Linux), set up users and groups, and perform basic troubleshooting tasks. You will need around 15 hours to read the study material and another 15 hours (or more) to go through the labs.
| Week | Topic | Video Duration | Reading Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Navigating the System | 1 hour 33 minutes | 1 hour 40 minutes |
| Week 2 | Users and Permissions | 1 hour 6 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Week 3 | Package and Software Management | 58 minutes | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Week 4 | Filesystems | 51 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Week 5 | Process Management | 43 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Week 6 | Operating Systems in Practice | 52 minutes | 1 hour |
System Administration
The System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services course will show you how to perform basic and intermediate system administration tasks. You will learn how to maintain reliable computer systems in a multi-user environment. Also, the course takes you deeper into cloud computing and how cloud infrastructure is maintained.
It is another highly practical course delivered in five weeks instead of six. The final week exclusively deals with a unique project related to system administration tasks. It aims to demonstrate your ability and skills to solve typical problems that a sysadmin faces in everyday life.
| Week | Topic | Video Duration | Reading Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | What is System Administration | 43 minutes | 1 hour |
| Week 2 | Network and Infrastructure Services | 1 hour 14 minutes | 1 hour |
| Week 3 | Software and Platform Services | 45 minutes | 1 hour 55 minutes |
| Week 4 | Directory Services | 1 hour 39 minutes | 1 hour 50 minutes |
| Week 5 | Data Recovery and Backups | 42 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Week 6 | Final Project | – | – |
IT Security
The IT Security: Defense Against the Digital Dark Arts course is the final course in the Google IT Support Professional Certificate. It mainly focuses on IT security and covers various security-related concepts such as authorization, authentication, and encryption algorithms.
By the end of this course, you will have a solid understanding of how IT security works and what measures you should take to protect a computer system from security threats and attacks. It is an engaging and helpful course because you can apply everything you learn here in real-life scenarios.
You need approximately 12 hours to go through the entire course material.
| Week | Topic | Video Duration | Reading Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Understanding Security Threats | 35 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Week 2 | Cryptology | 1 hour 22 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Week 3 | AAA Security | 54 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Week 4 | Securing Your Networks | 1 hour 09 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Week 5 | Defense in Depth | 44 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Week 6 | Creating a Security Culture | 59 minutes | 1 hour 30 minutes |
Google IT Support Professional Certificate Exams
To get certified, you need to pass all the graded exams besides completing all the courses and lessons. There are a total of 54 assignments you need to complete. Graded assessments come in different forms; some are in a simple question-answer format, while others are lab-based or multiple-choice questions.
Even if you fail an exam, you can simply retake it again. You won’t have any problem passing an exam if you study the course material thoroughly. Most exam questions are directly from the course, and you need to apply some simple problem-solving techniques for the others.
FAQs
What is Google IT Support Professional Certificate
Google IT Support Professional Certificate is part of the Google Career Certificates program and will help you develop the crucial skills needed to get an entry-level IT job.
How much does Google IT Support Professional Certificate cost?
The total cost of getting the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is $234. Coursera offers the course through the Coursera Plus subscription for $39 per month. On average, a student will require 6 months to complete the course and get certified.
Is the Google IT Support Professional Certificate worth it?
Yes. It is. The Google IT Support Professional Certificate will help you develop job-ready skills that can pave the way for starting a career in the IT industry. Since Google offers the certificate, the industry recognizes it as a valid credential for securing an entry-level job.
How much does Google IT Support Professional make?
The earnings start at an average $49,000 per year.
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is a reliable path to a brilliant career in IT. It will help you acquire hands-on skills in high demand, especially if you want to become an IT support specialist or help desk technician. I recommend you to take this course for a career in IT or for educational purposes.