Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer

Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer Certification

Overview

If you work with Google Cloud then you really should be looking at taking the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Security Engineer certification. You will join an exclusive group of fellow professionals.

The exciting part is you will learn a valuable skill set and you would have begun the immensely rewarding journey to invest in your future self.
Warning the exam is not meant to be comprehensive, so understand that the exam is just a measuring tool. Answering the multiple choice questions in the exam doesn't make you an expert. It does offer some validation that you have learned a common base of knowledge.

The security engineer is a professional tier meaning it has the following exam stipulations.

The exam focuses on the key elements that make for a secure infrastructure on Google Cloud. If you have ever played in Google Cloud environment, you know this can be a lot of fun as it has many bells and whistles for authentication and authorization.
As such it covers a lot of material…

Well yes and no. Yes, the exam can be quite challenging. However, it doesn't have a case study (Yay) and it is quite practical in nature.

Security Exam

As a candidate, the Security exam requires you to focus on understanding the relationship between resources and access. In my opinion, one thing that is fundamental to passing the exam is a familiarity with Google Cloud Security products. If you work with Google Cloud, you should have this covered as your days and nights will be filled with joyous moments of building awesome secure applications. If you don't work with Google Cloud, you can still pass the exam - it just requires a bit more effort.

Practical experience

I cannot overstate the importance of having access to Google Cloud and practicing with the products named in the exam guide. Building a muscle memory for the products will allow you to hone the necessary skills and knowledge to answer most of the questions. In addition there are a number of wonderful resources available to teach you the material.

Before investing in any of these resources, do consider your learning style and what works best for you! Personally, I like to have hands-on experience and also read the theory to fill in the blanks. If you dedicate some time to working out your learning strategy, this will save you some effort when going through the material.

Make full use of the Google Cloud free tier and very generous credits system. Use this to learn about the various products and how they are configured. An overview of the general areas covered in the exam is illustrated in a previous post PSE Exam

Cloud exams share commonality and hopefully you have realized that there is some content overlap between exams. If you have already successfully completed the Professional Cloud Architect, then you have the foundational knowledge required for the security engineer exam. In addition if you have successfully completed the Professional Network Engineer exam, then you should be in an even better position,
I would also say this is a closer relative in terms of subject matter.

Generally speaking

To be successful in the exam you need to have a good understanding of the Google Cloud Subject matter. The exam specifics require a focus on particular products which is there to help highlight the knowledge you as an exam candidate should master. Fortunately there are many assets available to help you learn the fundamentals and content specific to an exam. In addition to the Official training offered by providers such as Coursera and Pluralsight. Training was covered in a previous blog post, you can read that via this link: PSE Training

There are also some other great resources that will provide you with the background required to pass the exam.

One more piece of advice, do try to dedicate a specific time and place to learn the material. Structure is a good habit to form and builds confidence as you go through the subject matter. Best of luck taking the exam.