Six days ago I passed the GCP: ACE exam via online proctored environment. Before I forget different aspects of the exam, I wanted to post here to assist other learners.
After obtaining both the AWS: SA-A & AWS: DEV-A certs, this exam definitely was tougher than those. It was only 50 questions, but each question was quite loaded. There was a lot more content relating to logs and cost effectiveness than I was anticipating. I think I only got maybe 3 questions on Kubernetes. VM related questions were not as straightforward as the practice exams you may find online–they were combined and intertwined with other concepts like databases and etc.
I didn’t think I was going to pass until I saw the PASS at the very end. I spent about 2 months studying. I used ACG, Dan Sullivan’s ACE guide (kindle version), and GCP’s own documentation, as well as a lab account provided by my company. I can’t remember too much else, nor should go into any real detail due to NDA.
P.S. –I still have NOT gotten my actual final result and certificate from Google Cloud yet (they show you pass/fail after you finish immediately, but, your "final result" and cert come later). After some research on others’ posts, apparently it can take up to 2 weeks for them to send you the final result with your cert. This may be because of the coronavirus and the surge in online proctored exam taking, I don’t know. That being said, it’s pretty unbelievable that they make you wait this long, pandemic or not; certainly throws cold water on a hard earned achievement.
2 Answers
Hey Ben – congrats on passing the exam! I’m just starting into "GCP-land", so thx for the tips/advice (particularly re the need to understand the intertwining of the technologies)!
Hey Brad, thanks! It’s been almost 2 straight weeks and still no certificate from GCP — pretty sad (hopefully they’ll modify the expiration date of the cert due to this, but can’t count on it). Yes, many questions on how different sets of tech roll into one another, and how it can be logged or utilized. Keep in mind, though, Google probably has ~1,000 questions to insert into the 50 question test, so, make sure you’re familiar with everything!
Just a quick update: I finally got my final result and certification on 7/3/2020. It took 15 days to obtain. I imagine this is largely due to the coronavirus and uptick of people doing online proctored exams.
Congratulations! And thanks for this update by the way ;). I’m curious, with such a huge delay as you’ve experienced, how do they decide the validity duration of your cert? Like starting from the date you took the exam or from the date you got final result?
I also have this question
how was the online proctored environment? Did it feel awkward?
Hi Fadi, no, the environment wasn’t awkward at all. It was comforting to be able to do it in my own home. There were no interruptions of feelings of "being watched" (though, you are being watched, it didn’t feel as if you were, which is good).
Thank you! That was my worry but I’m glad it doesn’t feel like it.