[Fast time to pass] I needed the Professional Google Workspace Administrator certification in a hurry, so I took it in ``5 business days.''

Hello, I'm an engineer. This is Kashiwamochi.
I will deliver it to the 30th wind of hell.

We received a message from the Beyond Infrastructure team saying, ``Suddenly (actually, I think it's been talked about for a while now...) we need administrator qualifications for Professional Google Workspace Administrator.'' Several people have now acquired it. However, I didn't have any information at hand at that point, and I felt a little hopeless.

When I checked various blogs, etc., it seemed like the level of difficulty was a little high, and there seemed to be some aspects that I didn't pay attention to in my daily work, which made me feel hopeless.

If that's the case, I was determined to become a pillar of the team, and I took on the challenge with the mindset of ``If I pass, I'll reach gold, but if I fail, I'll surpass my dead body!'' and this is the record that I managed to pass.

What is Professional Google Workspace Administrator?

" Professional Google Workspace Administrator " is a qualification that certifies the ability to professionally manage Google Workspace. Obtaining this qualification recognizes that you have expertise in managing and security of Google Workspace environments. .

Certification requires an exam and requires knowledge of various administrative tasks and security related to Google Workspace. Certification gives you credibility as an expert who can help businesses and organizations operate Google Workspace effectively and securely.

Exam information

Number of exam questions: 50 - 60 questions (When Kashiwamochi took it, there were 50 questions)

Exam time: 120 minutes

Test fee: $200

* Kashiwamochi went to the exam venue, but if the conditions are met, it can be done remotely.
*When taking the test, you will need a photo ID and another ID. (Please check the email you received when registering.)

Exam difficulty level

Although it varies by individual, the Professional Google Workspace Administrator certification is generally considered to be of medium to high difficulty. The exam requires extensive and in-depth knowledge of Google Workspace administration and security.

Below are some examples of difficult points.

1. Extensive knowledge of Google Workspace administration: Certification requires a comprehensive understanding of Google Workspace applications and services. This includes managing, configuring, and troubleshooting applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar.
2. Security and Compliance: Security is very important to Google Workspace. Certification requires a deep understanding of security and compliance. Examples include access control, data encryption, and security policy settings.
3. Knowledge of APIs and developer tools: Google Workspace can integrate with APIs to develop custom applications. Basic knowledge of these APIs and developer tools is required to obtain the qualification.
4. Understanding best practices: Knowledge of Google Workspace best practices and recommended settings is also required. This includes security policies, user management, data protection, etc.

To prepare for the certification exam, I took full advantage of Google's official training and documentation, and found that real-world management experience would also be beneficial. Personally, I found it a little difficult.

Schedule for passing the actual exam

Day 1 (Monday)

Selection of examination and study methods

Study time: about 2 hours

I received an acquisition request on this day. Since I was informed of my schedule until the end of the year, I made a schedule to take it as soon as possible.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Watch videos on Udemy

Udemy practice exams

Load official Google training and documentation

Study time: about 3 hours

Google Workspace is also used for work at Beyond, and I also do administrative work myself, so I checked the mock exams and training documents based on that.

3rd day (Wednesday)

mock exam

I suddenly become anxious and suddenly start gathering all kinds of information.

Study time: about 3 hours

At this point, I had almost mastered Udemy's practice tests, but I suddenly started to feel anxious about my study method, so I started gathering other information. There was a Google Workspace Deployment Services Credential, so I translated the problem there as well and wrote it into my storage area.

*Although there was only an English version, since it was for using Google Workspace, this worked effectively later.

Day 4 (Thu)

Dinner (lol)

mock exam

I tried Google's official mock exam, but the content was outdated so I stopped midway through.

Study time: about 6 hours

I just repeated what I did on the second and third day. Until morning.

Towards the end, I was able to figure out the answer just by looking at the question. I feel like I was frantically taking mock exams over and over again, hoping to pass somehow.

*I feel like the repetition at this time probably didn't have that much effect. At this point, I regret that I should have simply memorized the functions from Google's official website.

Day 5 (Friday)

Examination > Successfully Passed The exam started at 10am, and I entered the exam hall around 9:30am.

At first, as soon as I solved the third question, I felt a sense of despair, thinking, ``Did I use the wrong study method?'' But by the time I managed to complete all 50 questions, I was completely exhausted.

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

actual study method

• I took practice tests on Udemy over and over until I memorized every question word for word. There are usually about 50 questions each, so I completely memorized three of them, about 200 questions, including explanations. If that's all there is to it, it's just memorization, so I supplemented the information from Google's official documentation.
•  Udemy teaching materials actually used
  

  ・Professional Google Workspace certification exam ``roughly'' and ``clearly'' understanding course Mock (100)
  ・[PGW] Professional Google Workspace Administrator | Mock exam

• I had done Google Workspace Deployment Services Credential just before, so I repeated it. There were 54 questions, so I just kept going. Since it was only available in English, I learned what I could by comparing it with translations and official pages.
• Case Assumptions I considered migration and usage cases and came up with my own settings.

Anyway, I concentrated on my study time. In order to eliminate other information as much as possible, I kept my favorite earphones with the noise canceling rig turned on at maximum.

summary

5 business days was a bit too much. I felt so exhausted the moment it ended. I thought it was so painful that I had two heart attacks during the test period (one time was right after the test was over). This time, I feel like I would like to have a more flexible schedule.

I got the impression that it came out quite a bit from Migration / Calendar / Security / Audit (Google Vault). I thought it would be a good idea to limit what you can do with these four.

If you only use Udemy, you probably won't be able to understand the details such as what PST is, so I recommend you to look at Google's official documentation and the contents of "Deployment Services Credential".

Overall, the method will vary depending on the case, so try to limit the names and scope of tools and APIs.

I learned a lot about Google Workspace through this exam. With this qualification, I will work hard every day to make use of it as a proposal for my company and customers.

For Google Workspace implementation support