Google IT Support Certification

So, finally after about 45 days of studying, I completed all the five courses of the pack called “Google IT Support”. Damn it was such a lengthy course and probably the first course that I actually stick to by the end, grasped most of things, documented in a traditional way and came here for a lil bragging/showoff. Lol!

Not really :P

I am here to explain why this course is a must for all the beginners who are in their freshmen or junior year of their colleges pursuing any technical degree.

First of all, why one would like to join such a big bundle of course when we are anyway going to learn it in college?

The answer is… Yes, definitely you are going to learn all these subjects but not in a manner that you can remember it for a longer period of time. You will learn here in a manner where your “how is this even related to real life?” query can be answered. And of course this course is not a compulsion for any exam, so you start learning everything in a fun way, in a less exam oriented manner and more from a gaining knowledge perspective. I would like to give Kudos to all the instructors for such an amazing course.

So let me introduce you the star of the blog Google IT Support Professional Certificate

About this Professional Certificate

This 5-course certificate, developed by Google, includes innovative curriculum designed to prepare you for an entry-level role in IT support. A job in IT can mean in-person or remote help desk work in a small business or at a global company like Google. The program is part of Grow with Google, a Google initiative to help create economic opportunity for all. Learn more.

There are 5 Courses in this Professional Certificate

● Course 1 — Technical Support Fundamentals

This course is the first of a series that aims to prepare you for a role as an entry-level IT Support Specialist. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the world of Information Technology, or IT. You’ll learn about the different facets of Information Technology, like computer hardware, the Internet, computer software, troubleshooting, and customer service. This course covers a wide variety of topics in IT that are designed to give you an overview of what’s to come in this certificate program.

This course basically teaches you these things

• understand how the binary system works
• assemble a computer from scratch
• choose and install an operating system on a computer
• understand what the Internet is, how it works, and the impact it has in the modern world
• learn how applications are created and how they work under the hood of a computer
• utilize common problem-solving methodologies and soft skills in an Information Technology setting

● Course 2 — The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking

This one was my absolute favorite one. I spent about half of the days into this course. This course is designed to provide a full overview of computer networking. We’ll cover everything from the fundamentals of modern networking technologies and protocols to an overview of the cloud to practical applications and network troubleshooting.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• describe computer networks in terms of a five-layer model
• understand all of the standard protocols involved with TCP/IP communications
• grasp powerful network troubleshooting tools and techniques
• learn network services like DNS and DHCP that help make computer networks run
• understand cloud computing, everything as a service, and cloud storage

● Course3 — Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User

In this course — through a combination of video lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practice — you’ll learn about the main components of an operating system and how to perform critical tasks like managing software and users, and configuring hardware.

This course will let you:

• navigate the Windows and Linux filesystems using a graphical user interface and command line interpreter
• set up users, groups, and permissions for account access
• install, configure, and remove software on the Windows and Linux operating systems
• configure disk partitions and filesystems
• understand how system processes work and how to manage them
• work with system logs and remote connection tools
• utilize operating system knowledge to troubleshoot common issues in an IT Support Specialist role

● Course4 — System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services

This course will transition you from working on a single computer to an entire fleet. Systems administration is the field of IT that’s responsible for maintaining reliable computers systems in a multi-user environment. In this course, you’ll learn about the infrastructure services that keep all organizations, big and small, up and running. We’ll deep dive on cloud so that you’ll understand everything from typical cloud infrastructure setups to how to manage cloud resources. You’ll also learn how to manage and configure servers and how to use industry tools to manage computers, user information, and user productivity. Finally, you’ll learn how to recover your organization’s IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster.

By the end of this course you’ll be able to:

• utilize best practices for choosing hardware, vendors, and services for your organization
• understand how the most common infrastructure services that keep an organization running work, and how to manage infrastructure servers
• understand how to make the most of the cloud for your organization
• manage an organization’s computers and users using the directory services, Active Directory, and OpenLDAP
• choose and manage the tools that your organization will use
• backup your organization’s data and know how to recover your IT infrastructure in the case of a disaster
• utilize systems administration knowledge to plan and improve processes for IT environments

● Course5 — IT Security: Defense against the digital dark arts

This course covers a wide variety of IT security concepts, tools, and best practices. It introduces threats and attacks and the many ways they can show up. We’ll give you some background of encryption algorithms and how they’re used to safeguard data. Then, we’ll dive into the three As of information security: authentication, authorization, and accounting. We’ll also cover network security solutions, ranging from firewalls to Wifi encryption options. The course is rounded out by putting all these elements together into a multi-layered, in-depth security architecture, followed by recommendations on how to integrate a culture of security into your organization or team.

At the end of this course, you’ll understand:

• how various encryption algorithms and techniques work as well as their benefits and limitations.
• various authentication systems and types.
• the difference between authentication and authorization.
• how to evaluate potential risks and recommend ways to reduce risk.
• best practices for securing a network.
• how to help others to grasp security concepts and protect themselves.

Well that’s pretty much about the course and their key points. My take away was that it really helped me through my interviews. So I would say

“It is never too late to pick a course and for god’s sake please finish it if you start!”

(Yes! the author got no chills -_-)

Now let’s talk about all the perks we get after completing this course. So you are going to get an interview demonstration after the end of every course to familiarize with what kind of questions are going to be asked when you will appear for technical interview in placements and if you feel like you missed any of those terms, always go back and revise them asap.

Another perk was resume building within the course. They provide you with few great formats which are really helpful since we have plethora of designs on internet and choosing an ideal one is difficult.

At the end you’ll receive Invitation to Sign Up for Big Interview, an online interview prep platform, to create interactive interview tools specifically for IT Support learners, for a period of 12 months.

On Big Interview you can:

• Prepare a resume using their resume-building tool
• Practice answering interview questions in a recorded environment that allows you to get feedback and hone your interviewing skills

And at the end listing all the skills that you are gonna earn after successfully completing this course.

GOOGLE IT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE SKILLS LIST

• Basic computer architecture
• Operating systems (Windows, Linux)
• Remote connection and virtual machines
• Computer networking
• Software management
• Troubleshooting
• Customer service
• Routing concepts
• VPNs and proxies
• Permissioning
• Package and software management
• Process management
• Resource monitoring
• Systems administration
• Configuration
• Centralized management
• Implementing/managing directory services
• Data management and recovery
• IT security
• Cryptology/encryption
• Hashing
• Network security

You might not be able to master all of them in one go, nobody can! but what’s better than reiterating and keep brushing our skills until we actually master all of ‘em.

Will upload the badge as soon as I receive it. Here’s a look of my certificate for your motivation :P

(Edit): As promised, link to my badge — 📛

Stay safe, Stay home

:wq