Is The Google IT Support Professional Certificate Worth It? Follow my Journey

Although this was started as mainly a ChromeOS and Chromebook blog, I’m also interested in expanding things to include adjacent tech I’m interested in like consumer Linux (which ChromeOS and Android are based on) and learning about tech from a layperson’s perspective who comes from healthcare.

One of my goals for this year is to increase my proficiency in tech and to always stay learning. This year, my goal will be to complete and obtain the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which caught my eye sometime back as a good “starter kit” for leaning into tech. I don’t have any immediate plans to switch my career to tech (my first love will always be healthcare), but I love learning for the sake of learning and it never hurts to have more than one backup plan or play around with different interests.

The Google IT Certificate was created to respond to a shortage of IT support professionals. It was also created to widen the entry gates for those interested in tech and who may not have the resources or time to spend on an expensive undergraduate degree or bootcamp–those left behind by the digital divide.

It’s a self-paced certificate, priced at a monthly $60. Those who qualify for financial hardship may access it without cost. It doesn’t have as much prestige as the Comptia A+ or other longer-known certs, but it aims to be a good ease-into a lot of the objectives of entry-level certs.

The certificate is a four-course path:

Technical Support Fundamentals: Introductory course for what careers in IT might look like, basic computing terminology, and development of some soft skills.
The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking: Overview of modern networking technologies, layers, and troubleshooting.
Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User: This course covers both Windows and Linux basics, including managing software, users, and hardware configurations.
System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services: Managing systems on a larger organization scale.
IT Security – Defense Against the Digital Dark Arts: Covers a basic level of IT security, tools, and best practices.

So is it worth it? There are several Youtube videos sharing different opinions, but I’m someone who doesn’t mind walking before I learn to run first, and I always enjoy the journey of a challenge.