Python is one of the most popular programming languages and python certified professionals are most in demand by employers.
In this review, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Google IT Automation With Python Professional Certificate.
We’ll go over the six courses that are part of this Google certification program in detail and explain how hard and how long it will take someone with no prior experience with Python and programming, to get certified.
The Google IT Automation With Python professional certificate is a great entry-level programming certification. Upon completion of this program, you’ll be able to get a job as a Python programmer and start a career as a computer programmer. The courses are easy to follow by beginners and you get to build job-ready skills.
What is Google IT Automation With Python Certificate?
The Google IT Automation with Python certification it’s an entry-level professional certificate that teaches students how to program with the Python programming language. The certificate includes six courses prepared by Google developers and it takes three months to complete.
This certificate is suitable for anyone wishing to work as a computer programmer and is offered as part of the Google Career Certification program. Python is a programming language that can be used in different environments including the web and cloud and this makes it easy for python programmers to get a job in software companies or work as freelancers.
You don’t need to have prior experience with programming to follow this certificate but you need to have basic computer skills. Upon completion of this certificate, you’ll be able to work as a junior computer programmer, IT support specialist, or junior system administrator.
What You’ll Learn?
By the time you complete all six courses of this certificate, you’ll know how to use Python to automate common system administration tasks. You’ll also learn to use Git and GitHub, troubleshoot and debug complex problems, and apply automation at scale by using configuration management and the Cloud.
Time Investment and Certification
The total time to complete the Google IT Automation with Python professional certificate is 112 hours. You can split this into four months (studying around 28 hours per month).
To become a Google certified Python developer, you need to complete all six courses of this certificate and pass all graded assignments.
How Much Does Google IT Automation With Python Certificate Cost?
The total cost to get the Google IT Automation With Python Certificate is $156. The course is offered by Coursera through the Coursera Plus subscription which costs $39 per month. On average it takes 4 months (4 X $39) for students to complete the course and get certified.
Google IT Automation Certificate Contents
This certificate includes six online courses. You should take the courses in the order specified below.
- Crash Course on Python
- Using Python to interact with the Operating System
- Introduction to Git and GitHub
- Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques
- Configuration Management and the Cloud
- Automating Real-World Tasks with Python
Course 1: Crash Course on Python
The first course is what the name says, it’s a crash course on the python programming language.
You’ll learn what Python is, what it does, and where it is used. You’ll then be introduced to basic programming concepts such as loops, strings, and object-oriented programming.
On week 6, you’ll have to submit your first program which is related to extracting meaningful words from a piece of text.
The total time investment to complete this course is 28 hours.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Hello Python! | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Basic Python Syntax | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Loops | 3 hours |
| Week 4 | Strings, Lists, and Dictionaries | 5 hours |
| Week 5 | Object-Oriented Programming (Optional) | 6 hours |
| Week 6 | Final Project | 6 hours |
Course 2: Using Python to interact with the Operating System
The second course in the series is about using python to interact with the computer operating system. You’ll learn how to read files, create files and extract data from files using regular expressions.
This is a difficult course in the sense that it covers a lot of programming concepts that are not easy to follow by beginners.
If this is the first time that you do programming, you may need to spend more time understanding how to work with regular expressions and scripts.
On the other hand, this is a very useful course and everything you’ll learn can be used in real-life scenarios to troubleshoot and solve different kinds of problems.
The total time to complete all the lessons in this seven-week course is 27 hours.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Getting Your Python On | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Managing Files with Python | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Regular Expressions | 4 hours |
| Week 4 | Managing Data and Processes | 3 hours |
| Week 5 | Testing in Python | 6 hours |
| Week 6 | Bash Scripting | 4 hours |
| Week 7 | Final Project | 2 hours |
Course 3: Introduction to Git and GitHub
The third course introduces students to Git and GitHub. Git and GitHub are tools used to store your programs and manage different versions of your code.
Both are necessary for sharing your code with others, creating updates to existing code, and many other useful functions that programmers perform while coding.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to use Git and Github to store your code, and share it with others and it’s the first step for creating your own programming portfolio.
In total, you’ll need to allocate at least 17 hours to go through all lessons and topics of this course.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Version Control | 5 hours |
| Week 2 | Using Git Locally | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Working with Remotes | 4 hours |
| Week 4 | Collaboration | 4 hours |
Course 4: Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques
The “Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques” course will teach you how to write efficient code. You’ll learn how to troubleshoot your code to find errors and how to make it faster and more efficient.
All the concepts you’ll learn in this course are applicable to all programming languages and not just Python. Troubleshooting and debugging are some of the most common tasks programmers have to deal with on a daily basis.
To finish this course it’s a pre-requisite to complete all previous courses in the Google Python Certificate otherwise you’ll find it very difficult to follow through the material and complete the course work successfully.
This is a fairly short course that will take you 16 hours to complete.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Troubleshooting Concepts | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Slowness | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Crashing Programs | 4 hours |
| Week 4 | Managing Resources | 4 hours |
Course 5: Configuration Management and the Cloud
In this course, you’ll take your knowledge to the next level and learn how to apply automation tasks to a series of computers in the cloud.
You’ll learn how to use a configuration management tool (Puppet) to manage computer configuration tasks at scale.
This is a very interesting and trending course as everything you’ll learn can be applied in practice to manage cloud-based infrastructures which are the most common these days.
The total time to finish this course is 15 hours.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Automating with Configuration Management | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Deploying Puppet | 3 hours |
| Week 3 | Automation in the Cloud | 4 hours |
| Week 4 | Managing Cloud Instances at Scale | 4 hours |
Course 6: Automating Real-World Tasks with Python
The last course in your journey to becoming a certified Python developer is the “Automating Real-World Tasks with Python” course.
To access the course material, you’ll have to first complete all previous courses (including the marked assignments).
As part of this course, you’ll have to use the skills gained so far to tackle real-world scenarios in a lab-based environment.
In your final capstone project, you’ll be given a description of a problem and it will be up to you to create a program to satisfy the customer needs.
The total time to finish the final course and get certified is 12 hours.
| Topic | Time To Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Manipulating Images | 3 hours |
| Week 2 | Interacting with Web Services | 3 hours |
| Week 3 | Automatic Output Generation | 3 hours |
| Week 4 | Putting It All Together | 3 hours |
Google IT Automation With Python Certificate Exams
Computer programming is a practical discipline and as expected, most of the exams you’ll have to complete to become Python certified consist of lab work. Through the course, you’ll be asked to write a number of programs and scripts to solve problems.
You can see below a few examples of what the exams look like but get ready to get your hands dirty and write some code.
How Hard is the Google IT Automation With Python Certificate?
While programming courses are generally hard to do for beginners, the Google IT Automation with Python certificate is not too difficult. It’s an entry-level certification that requires no prior experience with programming and thus makes it easier for newbies to follow without any serious problems.
Of course, some concepts are difficult and confusing in the beginning but if you go through the videos, labs, and reading material carefully, there is nothing stopping you from gradually building your skills to pass the assignments and get certified.
I’ve been a computer programmer for 20+ years and I found this Python course easy to follow with good instructions that anyone with some basic knowledge of computing can follow along.
Is the Google IT Automation With Python Certificate Worth it?
The Google IT Automation with Python is a good certificate to pursue and start a career as a computer programmer. Python is a very powerful language that can be used on a variety of platforms and offer solutions to different problems.
Python programmers are high in demand and there are a plethora of entry-level jobs you can apply for. You can also work as a Python freelancer from home and earn a good living.
This is an entry-level certification that costs less than $200 to get and the time investment is less than four months. Once you get into the industry and build your skills and portfolio, you can pursue various other jobs like Senior Computer Programmer and get a much higher salary.
Overall, if you want to switch careers and get into the exciting world of computer programming, this is one of the best Google certifications to get.
Other Google Career Certifications
The Google IT Automation With Python Certificate is one of the five certificates offered as part of the Google Career program. If you’re not a big fan of computer programming, you can consider becoming a Data analyst, UX Designer, Project manager, or IT, Support specialist.
You can read our detailed reviews to help you choose the best google career certification for your needs.
- Google IT Support Professional Certificate Review
- Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Review
- Google UX Design Professional Certificate Review
- Google Project Management Professional Certificate Review
- Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce Certificate Review
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