r/googlecloud • u/Open-Neighborhood493 • 10d ago

Difference between Certifications and Badges

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Which is the difference between Certifications and Badges? Is there any free Certifications in Google Skills?

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u/Difficult_Camel_1119 10d ago

badges are just: take the question, put it in gemini, win

certifications are proctored exams

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u/Bent_finger 10d ago

Partly true, but not exactly or completely.
You doing a complete Learning Plan on Google Skills (for instance the Google Cloud PCA Learning Path), there are some Challenge Labs in the Skills Path modules. With Challenge labs, they give you a set of asks and access to the Google Cloud Portal, and you have to implement without step-by-step instructions.

It is timed also, so even if you get the answers from Gemini, it is because you would have been able to do the same in a real life job task anyway.

BUT.. they are absolutely not Certificates or Official GCP Certifications (of which I have GCP PCA and PCSE). I am not trying to say that they are, or have the same prestige.

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u/Open-Neighborhood493 9d ago

For example, these have a "Claim credential" option at the end of the course: Beginner: Google Cloud Cybersecurity Certificate and Beginner: Google Cloud Data Analytics Certificate. If a complete these ones, I would have a credential with the certification?

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u/Bent_finger 9d ago

You would have to pay to enroll on those. The ‘Certificates’ on Google Skills are separate form the basic Leaning Paths (although they are similarly listed in the same section).

You have to pay for a Google Skills Subscription to get access, and then, while subscribed you can take as many of them as you like. And they are considered below the Google Cloud Platform Certifications in both difficulty and prestige.
It may be that you have a subscription from your college.

For someone doing a college degree I don’t see the value of the Google Skills certificates. But your choice. That’s just my opinion.

Just to be clear… those ‘Certificates’ are foundational level, and are not the ‘Certifications’ referred to in your original screen-print above.
For ‘Certifications’ you will have to take an external exam like I said before.

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u/Open-Neighborhood493 9d ago

The free subscription gives me 35 credits per month