[Fastest Pass Time] I needed the Professional Google Workspace Administrator certification in a hurry, so I tried to get it in just 5 business days

Hello, I'm a wannabe engineer. This is Kashiwamochi.
I'll send it to the 30th wind of hell.

We received a message saying, "We suddenly needed to get certified as a Professional Google Workspace Administrator (although I think this had actually been discussed for a while...)," and several members of the Beyond Infrastructure team went to get certified. However, we didn't have any information on hand at the time, and we felt a bit hopeless

After checking various blogs, it seemed like it would be a little difficult, and there would probably be aspects that I don't usually think about in my work, so I felt a sense of despair

So I decided to be a human sacrifice and took on the challenge with the mindset of "If I pass, it's a gold star, but if I fail, I'll have to overcome my dead body!" and somehow I managed to pass

What is a Professional Google Workspace Administrator?

" Professional Google Workspace Administrator " is a certification that demonstrates your ability to professionally manage Google Workspace, and by earning this certification, you are recognized as having expertise in managing and securing the Google Workspace environment.

The certification requires an exam and demonstrates knowledge of various Google Workspace administrative tasks and security aspects, making you a trusted expert who can help businesses and organizations operate Google Workspace effectively and securely

Exam Information

Number of questions: 50-60 (When Kashiwamochi took the test, there were 50 questions)

Exam duration: 120 minutes

Exam cost: $200

* Kashiwamochi went to the exam venue, but remote testing is possible if certain conditions are met.
* To take the exam, you will need a photo ID and another form of identification. (This will be stated in the email you received when you registered, so please check.)

Difficulty of the exam

While this varies from person to person, the Professional Google Workspace Administrator certification is generally considered a medium to high level of difficulty. The exam requires extensive and in-depth knowledge of Google Workspace administration and security

Here are some examples of difficult points:

1. Comprehensive Google Workspace Administration Knowledge: Certification requires a comprehensive understanding of each Google Workspace application and service, including managing, configuring, and troubleshooting applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar
2. Security and Compliance: Google Workspace takes security very seriously, and certification requires a deep understanding of security and compliance, including access control, data encryption, and setting security policies
3. Knowledge of APIs and developer tools: Google Workspace can be integrated with APIs, allowing for the development of custom applications. Basic knowledge of these APIs and developer tools is required to obtain the certification
4. Understanding of best practices: You will also be expected to have knowledge of Google Workspace best practices and recommended configurations, including security policies, user management, and data protection

To prepare for the certification exam, I made full use of Google's official training and documentation, and I also felt that practical management experience would be beneficial. Personally, I found it a little difficult

Schedule for passing the actual exam

Day 1 (Monday)

Selection of exam and study methods

Study time: about 2 hours

I received the request on this day. I was told the schedule until the end of the year, so I scheduled it to be completed as soon as possible

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Watch the Udemy video

Udemy practice exams

Load official Google training and documentation

Study time: about 3 hours

Google Workspace is also used in Beyond's business, and I am in charge of management tasks myself, so I took this into consideration when reviewing the mock exams, training, and documentation

Day 3 (Wednesday)

Mock exam

Suddenly, I became anxious and quickly began gathering information

Study time: about 3 hours

At this point, I had pretty much mastered the Udemy practice exams, but I suddenly started to feel unsure about my study method, so I started gathering other information. I found something called Google Workspace Deployment Services Credential, so I translated the questions there and memorized them

*There was only an English version available, but since it was for using Google Workspace, this proved useful later on

Day 4 (Thursday)

Dinner party (lol)

Mock exam

I tried taking the official Google mock exam, but the content was outdated and I had to give up midway through

Study time: about 6 hours

We just repeated what we had done on the second and third days, until the morning

Towards the end, I was able to come up with the answer just by looking at the question. I think I was desperately trying to pass the exam by repeatedly taking mock exams

*I feel like this repetition probably wasn't that effective. At this point, I regret not having memorized the official Google functions

Day 5 (Friday)

Taking the exam > Passed successfully The exam started at 10am, and I arrived at the exam venue around 9:30am

At first, after solving the first three questions, I was overcome with despair, wondering if I was studying the wrong way, but by the time I had somehow managed to complete 50 questions, I was extremely exhausted

As a result, the total study time was about 14-15 hours

Actual study methods

• I took Udemy mock exams over and over again until I memorized every question word for word. Each exam had about 50 questions, so I memorized three of them, including the explanations, for a total of about 200 questions. Since that's just memorizing, I supplemented my knowledge with information from official Google documentation
•  Udemy materials I actually used
  

  ・Professional Google Workspace Certification Exam Mock Course (100)
  ・【PGW】Professional Google Workspace Administrator | Mock Exam

• I had also taken the Google Workspace Deployment Services Credential just before, so I repeated that and just kept going through the 54 questions. Since it was only in English, I studied what I could by comparing the translation with the official page
• Assumed cases I considered migration and use cases and came up with my own settings

I focused on my studies, and to block out as much other information as possible, I kept my favorite earphones on with the noise canceling set to maximum

summary

I pushed myself a little too hard for five business days. I felt incredibly exhausted the moment I finished. It was so tough that I had two heart attacks during the period (one right after the test). I'd like to try a more relaxed schedule next time

It seemed like a lot of the topics were from Migration / Calendar / Security / Audit (Google Vault). I thought it would be good to know what you can do with these four

If you only use Udemy, you probably won't understand the finer details, such as what a PST is, so I recommend that you take a look at the official Google documentation and the contents of the "Deployment Services Credential"

Overall, the approach will vary from case to case, so try to stick to the name and scope of the tool or API

I learned a lot about Google Workspace through this exam. I will continue to work hard every day to make use of this qualification in my proposals to my company and clients

For Google Workspace implementation support and assistance