HACKER Q&A
📣 verve_rat

Are Google IT Support Certificates Worth Doing?


A bit of background first: I've got a friend asking me for career advice. I'm a software dev living in NZ and she is a lab tech in the US. I don't know a huge amount about either the IT Support career track or the US IT job market.

So with that out of the way, are the Google IT qualifications [1] a good choice for someone looking to change their career and get a foot in the door at entry level?

In my circles the IT support career starts with several years of help desk support at various levels. Then followed by a promotion/job move into an IT Admin / Sys Admin style role. Then maybe a move into a devops team (what exactly that means is different each time). Some people have short cut that process with a university CompSci/Software Engineering degree but I don't think anyone I know has short cut that with just CompTIA style qualifications.

Would someone in the US (New York state, not city if that makes a difference) expect a similar career track? Would doing the Google IT qualifications allow them to step into a Sys Admin role, would hiring managers hire them for that?

I would like to make sure I'm not going to steer her wrong, that any advice is given with the US context in mind.

Thanks heaps in advance.

[1]: https://grow.google/certificates/it-support/

  👤 dantheautomaton Accepted Answer ✓
I could see the cert getting someone the help desk support role. When I did the cert, at the end it asks permission to share your completion with business partners who are opened and interested in being connected to those who completed the course. That situation perhaps might result in getting a role that's a tier up from desktop support. Depends on how knowledgeable you are beyond the cert.

Not sure if Google is still doing this, but when I completed the cert, they gave me a voucher not long after to then take the CompTIA A+ exam. I passed, and with two certs under my belt, it gave me a little more cred I think. There was some luck and good fortune since the place I got in was one of those golden places that was not looking for unreasonable work history and experience in the field and was willing to train. I'm NYC based. On the one hand that makes for more places to apply than NY state. But if the person is in a more rural, quieter work scenario, they mightn't be looking for someone to handle some wide array of high-level support work.

Good luck to the person you're helping! And kudos to you for giving a hand. I don't think you'd be steering them wrong. The course is a good primer. And Coursera offers "financial aid" if your friend writes a reason why they need a discounted or free enrollment.