Google Cloud Digital Leader Study Guide

About the Instructor

• Instructor: Andrew Brown
• Former CTO of multiple edtech companies
• 15 years in the industry, 5 years specializing in cloud
• AWS Community Hero
• Publishes free Cloud certification courses

Course Goals

• Help students pass the Google Cloud Digital Leader certification
• Use lecture content, follow-alongs, and cheat sheets
• Certification useful for securing cloud jobs or promotions

Supporting the Course

• Free Code Camp viewers enable these free courses
• Extra study materials are available for purchase at exampro.co (study notes, flashcards, quizlets, downloadable lectures, cheat sheets, practice exams)
• Free downloadable cheat sheets available with signup
• Follow Andrew Brown on Twitter (@andrewbrown) for updates on new courses

What is the Google Cloud Digital Leader Certification?

• Fundamental certification for Google Cloud
• Introduces core concepts of cloud and digital transformation
• Involves understanding cloud concepts, core services (compute, storage, databases, networking, security, and cost management)
• Emphasizes security and cost management
• Describes digital transformation (frequent in the certification)

Certification Structure and Recommendations

• No known course code (referred to as GCP CDL)
• First certification to obtain in GCP learning journey
• Compared to other cloud certifications, it's more challenging
• Roadmap: Start with Cloud Digital Leader, move to Cloud Engineer, then Cloud Architect
• Cloud Architect similar to AWS Solutions Architect Associate
• Professional certifications in GCP are similar in difficulty to AWS Associate level
• Specific specialties available like Cloud Security Engineer, Data Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer

Study Time Recommendations

• New to GCP: 25 hours
• AWS Cloud Practitioner/Azure Fundamentals holders: 15 hours
• AWS Solutions Architect Associate/Azure Administrator holders: Very short study time
• Recommended study pattern: 1-2 hours/day for 14 days

Certification Difficulty Comparison

• AWS Cloud Practitioner (baseline): Easiest
• Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900): Moderately harder
• Google Cloud Digital Leader: Hardest, business-like scenario questions
• Expectations: Need deeper understanding of certain services (e.g., cloud storage tiers)

Exam Details

• Take online or in-person via Criterion (possibly ProctorU)
• Proctored (monitored exams)
• Passing the exam requires watching lecture videos, memorizing key information, hands-on labs, follow along within your own GCP account, and paid online practice exams

Content Outline (General Knowledge)

1. Setting up a Cloud Solution Environment
2. Planning and Configuring a Cloud Solution
3. Deploying and Implementing a Cloud Solution
4. Ensuring Successful Operation of a Cloud Solution
5. Configuring Access and Security

• Specific distribution not known
• Focus heavily on understanding Google Cloud's primary services and industry terms

Tips for Exam Preparation

• Understand the differences between Google Cloud services and AWS/Azure equivalents
• Expect scenarios and questions written in a business context
• Practice with Google Cloud (hands-on labs, using your own account)

Conclusion

• Follow Andrew Brown on Twitter (@andrewbrown) for more updates and post your exam results or what you'd like to see next. Good luck with your studies and certification!