Introduction

Passing the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) certification was a major milestone in my cloud journey. In this post, I’ll walk through the resources I used, how I structured my study plan, and key tips that helped me succeed, especially if you’re balancing this with work or studies like I was.

Why ACE?

The ACE certification is a great entry point for understanding Google Cloud Platform (GCP) fundamentals. It’s hands-on, focused on real-world tasks like deploying apps, managing projects, configuring networks, and handling IAM policies, all of which are essential for any cloud engineer.

My Study Resources

📚 GCPStudyHub.com

This free resource was my foundation. It offers curated summaries, command references, and links to official documentation. I especially liked the section breakdown by exam objective, it made focused revision easier.

🧪 Udemy Practice Exams

The practice tests from this Udemy course helped me simulate the real exam environment. They included tricky scenarios and questions around gcloud commands, IAM, networking, and deployment, all very exam-relevant.

🎓 Google Skill Boosts (Partner Training)

As part of a partner training program, I completed Skill Boosts labs which gave me practical experience with GCP services like Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, Cloud Run, and Pub/Sub. These labs were crucial to connecting theory with hands-on skills.

📝 Colleagues’ Notes

Learning from peers made a big difference. Sharing notes and asking questions about tricky topics like VPC peering, billing accounts, and service accounts helped me deepen my understanding and learn faster.

Study Plan

  • Week 1: Read through GCPStudyHub + watched free Google intro videos.
  • Week 2–3: Completed Skill Boost labs and hands-on practice with the gcloud CLI.
  • Week 4: Took Udemy practice exams and reviewed incorrect answers carefully.
  • Final Days: Focused on topics I struggled with, especially IAM roles, billing/project structure, and network configuration.

Key Topics to Master

  • IAM & Roles (basic and predefined)
  • Compute Engine (VM creation, snapshots, SSH access)
  • Cloud Storage (buckets, lifecycle rules, gsutil)
  • Gcloud CLI commands and deployment YAMLs
  • Monitoring, logging, and troubleshooting
  • VPCs, firewalls, subnets, and Cloud NAT

Exam Experience

The exam is scenario-based, so memorization won’t get you far, you need to understand how services interact. Knowing the gcloud command-line tool was a huge plus. Expect questions about deploying apps, handling permissions, and network setup.

Final Thoughts

The ACE exam is very doable with the right mix of hands-on practice and structured study. If you’re coming from another cloud provider (like AWS or Azure), don’t underestimate the GCP-specific terminology and structure, take time to learn it.

This certification gave me a much deeper confidence in using Google Cloud, and I highly recommend it to anyone aiming for a cloud engineering or DevOps path.

✉️ If you’re studying for ACE, feel free to reach out or comment, I’m happy to share tips and notes.