Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate
Certificate Title – Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate
Cyber security offers one of the best careers in technology at the moment, with numerous job possibilities both in cybersecurity itself, and in related fields.
This certificate by Google focuses on specific areas of cyber security itself, at a very basic and introductory level.
Google classes this as a beginners course, with no previous experience necessary. It should be noted however that most cyber security jobs are not entry level, and do require some additional experience of technology and computer related issues.
This means that this course does build on a general understanding of how the internet and related devices work at a fairly basic level, with a special focus on how to move into the field of cyber security itself.
Coursera
This certificate is offered by Google through Coursera, as are most of their other professional certificate courses.
Coursera is an easy to access and use online educational site ,covering a large range of technology related certificates and degrees.
They offer an introductory 7-day free period when people can look through and assess the course material, mainly consisting of videos and documents.
This allows people to see if the material is appropriate for their needs, is relevant and up to date, and presented in such a way that people like to interact with.
After the initial seven-day free period Coursera then charge a monthly fee of $49, (August 2023) which means that the overall cost depends upon how long the person takes to complete the various courses that make up the certificate.
Coursera estimates that the course will take someone approximately six months if they were working on it seven hours a week, although obviously this can vary quite widely depending on an individuals ability to commit to the work needed.
Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate – Course Content
This certificate is made up of eight individual courses, each with their own specific modules designed to cover a basic understanding of each particular area.
Each particular course specifies how long, in terms of hours, the content of the course lasts for :
- Foundations of cyber security
- Manage security risks
- Networks and network security
- Linux and SQL
- Assets, threats and vulnerabilities
- Detection and response
- Automate cyber security tasks with python
- Prepare for cyber security jobs
The courses cover both an historical oversight of how technology and cyber security have evolved, as well as current day threats, future threats and how they can best be managed and protected against.
A constant theme running through the various courses is that for most companies and businesses, it is about when they are likely to be attacked, not if.
This means that a lot of the issues around cyber security are about risk prevention, and how to manage potential threats.
The issues that are touched on are quite complex and broad in their scope.
These courses give a very general understanding of what is involved, and can lead people to research further education and training in areas that they find particularly appropriate for their professional career.
Certificate Reviews
Reviews of any of the courses can be helpful, and Coursera does carry a significant number of them on each of the individual courses, mostly positive.
Given that the course is authored by Google, it’s fair to us to you that the content is pretty accurate, and hopefully kept up to date.
The best type of review for anyone thinking of signing up for the course is to take advantage of the seven day free period and research the individual modules and see that they cover the material that they need to know.
Most importantly perhaps is to make sure that the material is presented in such a way as to be easily understood, even if that sometimes means going over the material several times in order to gain that knowledge.
Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate – Jobs and Salaries
There are numerous job opportunities in cyber security, in almost every sector of business, non-profit and government-related bodies.
There are also numerous entry-level roles in areas such as it support and networking where a knowledge of cybersecurity is also crucial.
Salary levels vary widely depending upon the nature of the role, the location of the business or government agency, and whether or not the job is hybrid.
Coursera estimates that the medium us salary for a job in cybersecurity is $100,000+, (August 2023) although many senior jobs can be at least double that, if not more.
Companies and businesses recognize the need to attract good quality cybersecurity professionals, and will often offer significant benefits in addition to a top rate salary.
This certificate will also go some way to help assure employers that the candidate has a good grounding in the basics of cyber security.
