What are the five sections of the Associate Cloud Engineer certification by Google?
The Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam assesses a candidate's ability to perform tasks related to the core Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services. The exam is structured around five key sections, each covering critical areas of cloud engineering on Google Cloud. These sections are designed to validate a candidate's foundational skills in deploying, monitoring, and maintaining projects on Google Cloud.
The five sections covered in the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam are:
1. **Setting up your cloud environment:** This section focuses on tasks related to creating and managing cloud projects, billing accounts, and using the Google Cloud Console and command-line interface. It includes understanding organizational policies, resource hierarchy, and using tools like `gcloud` and `gsutil`.
2. **Planning and configuring a cloud solution:** This involves selecting the appropriate compute, storage, database, and networking resources for a given scenario. Candidates are expected to understand different service options (e.g., Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL) and their use cases, as well as planning for factors like cost, performance, and scalability.
3. **Deploying and implementing a cloud solution:** This section covers deploying applications and services to Google Cloud, including using deployment tools and techniques. It involves deploying compute resources, implementing storage and databases, and configuring networking components.
4. **Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution:** This focuses on monitoring, logging, and troubleshooting deployed applications and infrastructure. Candidates should be familiar with Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, and debugging techniques to ensure the health and performance of cloud solutions.
5. **Configuring access and security:** This section covers managing identity and access management (IAM), configuring security controls, and ensuring data security. It includes understanding roles and permissions, managing service accounts, and implementing security best practices on Google Cloud.
Each section includes various subtopics and objectives that candidates should study to prepare for the exam. A detailed exam guide is available on the official Google Cloud website, which provides a comprehensive blueprint of the knowledge, skills, and abilities assessed in the certification exam. Preparing across all five domains is crucial for success in obtaining the Google Associate Cloud Engineer certification. You can find more details about the exam content and preparation resources on the [Google Cloud website](/content/hub/google-professional-machine-learning-engineer-certification-roadmap-2025).