Google IT Support Certificate Reddit: What IT Pros Really Say

Google IT support certificate Reddit threads all start the same way. Someone is a week into the free trial, mostly watching videos, and they ask r/ITCareerQuestions if the thing is worth finishing. The replies come fast, and most of them aren't gentle.

I read two of those threads top to bottom so you don't have to. I'll tell you what the IT people said, the parts I agree with, and where I'd send you if what you actually want is a better-paid, remote-friendly first job in tech, which isn't always the same thing as IT support.

If you're weighing Coursera as a whole and not only this one program, I pulled together what the "is Coursera worth it" Reddit threads say in a separate post.

What Reddit says about the Google IT support certificate

The short version from Reddit: the Google IT Support Professional Certificate is a decent way to learn the basics, and close to useless as something to put on a résumé. Most commenters tell you to finish it for the knowledge, use its CompTIA A+ discount, and start applying anyway.

In a thread titled "Is Google's IT Support Professional Certificate worth it???", one reply summed up the hiring side:

"It has been extremely rare to ever see any Google certifications come up in a job description as desirable."

The same commenter added that most of the content is useful. That pattern repeats all the way down the page. Several people pointed out that nothing in it is proctored, so an employer has no way to know you did the work yourself. Another reply called it "a great stepping stone to the A+ cert," which is the credential IT job posts actually ask for.

In a second r/ITCareerQuestions thread, the top comment came from one of the sub's most active posters:

"The google it support cert isn't going to help you land a job. Obviously take it for personal growth and learning but don't expect to put it on a resume and get a job because of it."

People did get hired with it

Reddit isn't one voice, and the success stories are worth reading closely.

One commenter in the first thread said they were hired as a tier 2 desktop support tech at an MSP with this cert. They also mentioned a customer service background. Another wrote, "Ive gotten my first job with just that cert. No degree either," and said they're a system admin a few years later. When someone asked how, the answer was help desk first, then learning on the job.

On the other side, a reply from someone who finished it: "I got that certificate, no job so far."

So both things happen. The people who got hired had something else going for them, usually customer-facing experience, plus a willingness to start at the help desk and climb. One reply put it plainly: starting in IT is "90% customer service and soft skills rather than technical."

The question underneath the question

I notice the same thing in almost every one of these threads. A lot of the people asking don't love IT. They want out of a job that goes nowhere, they heard the Google cert was cheap and beginner friendly, and IT support looked like the obvious door.

Reddit's own answer tells you what that door leads to: the help desk, A+, maybe a CCNA, then years of climbing. That's a real career for people who enjoy fixing machines and talking frustrated users through a password reset. If that's you, go for it.

If it isn't, there are tech jobs that sit closer to how a company makes money, and they don't start on a phone queue. A web content manager runs the company's website: publishing pages, keeping product info right, fixing what breaks in the CMS, checking a launch before it goes live. It's the role I'd point a career changer toward first, and a lot of what a web administrator does lives inside it. I wrote up how to become a web administrator if you want the day-to-day.

For that job, the proof a hiring manager wants is a site you ran, with before-and-after screenshots.

Where I'd start

I'd start with CodingPhase, and yes, I'm biased, because we built it for exactly this reader: a working adult heading for a first tech job without a four-year degree.

The Web Content Manager career path is free to start and walks you through the whole job in order, with portfolio templates so you leave with work a stranger can click. Browse every option on our career paths page.

Diamond membership lists at $60 a month or $365 a year, and it's always at least 30% off, so you pay about $42 a month or about $255 a year. That covers 90+ courses, an ATS-ready résumé builder, the members' job board, an 80,000+ member community, and two live calls every week, Accountability on Wednesdays at 7 PM ET and Money Talk on Sundays at 8 PM ET, run by instructors with 10+ years in the industry each. Our students go after roles paying $75k+, individual results vary.

FAQ

Is the Google IT support certificate worth it, according to Reddit? For learning, mostly yes. For getting hired, most r/ITCareerQuestions commenters say it rarely moves the needle by itself, and they point people to CompTIA A+ next.

Can you get a job with just the Google IT support certificate? Some people on Reddit say they did, usually a help desk role, and usually with customer service experience behind them. Others finished it and are still looking.

What do people on Reddit recommend instead? CompTIA A+ for IT support, then a CCNA for networking. If you want a tech job that isn't IT support, look at web content management, where a portfolio counts more than a cert.

If you've been grinding through those Google videos after work and wondering whether any of it counts, it does. You've proven you'll show up. Now point that effort at a job you'd actually want to wake up for, and come build it with us.