Google IT Support Professional Certificate

The Google IT Support Professional Certificate prepares you for an entry-level job in IT support in under six months. No experience is necessary.

Bunker Hill Community College, in collaboration with Google, offers a five-course certificate developed by Google, which includes an innovative curriculum designed to prepare you for an entry-level role in IT support.

The Program

Hosted on Qwiklabs, the five courses cover key topics in IT support: troubleshooting, customer service, networking, system administration, security, and operating systems. Coursework includes a dynamic mix of video lectures, quizzes, and hands-on labs. Participants also will hear from Google employees with unique backgrounds and perspectives, whose own foundation in IT support served as a jumping-off point for their careers.

IT support is one of the fastest-growing fields in the United States. IT support professionals are the skilled workers who solve the problems when computer systems fail, or hardware breaks down. Their median salary is about $53,470 per year. A job in IT can mean in-person or remote help desk work in a small business or at a global company like Google. The program is part of Grow with Google, a Google initiative to help create economic opportunities for all Americans. Upon completion, students will be able to apply for entry-level IT positions. Top employers such as Cognizant, GE Digital, Hulu, Info says, Intel, and Sprint are interested in applicants with this credential.

The course is asynchronous, allowing for a flexible schedule. Students can complete it in 2.5 months with 20 hours per week of work or up to eight months, with six hours a week. BHCC students will have a faculty advisor for up to two hours of scheduled time per week and all the support services BHCC has to offer. The certificate may lead to college credit through Prior Learning Assessment. When students enroll, they will receive Log-in information and further instructions.

Through a mix of video lectures, quizzes, and hands-on labs and widgets, the program will introduce you to troubleshooting, customer service, networking, operating systems, system administration and security. You’ll hear from Googlers with unique backgrounds whose own foundation in IT support served as a jumping off point for their careers.

Jobs after this certificate

This certificate prepares you for an entry-level role as an Information Technology Support Specialist, whether that’s doing in-person or remote work, at a small company or a large enterprise organization. IT specialists solve technical problems at organizations of all sizes.

Expected Salary of an IT Support Specialist

  • Typical entry level wage: $41,711
  • Median Salary: $65,126
  • Employment projections: Positive growth

Get up-to-date salary information

Earn Your Digital Badge

Students who complete all five courses of the Google IT Support Certificate on Qwiklabs will be eligible to earn a verified completion badge through Credly. Upon completion of the final course, students will receive an email from Credly inviting them to claim their badge. Any students who have already completed the Google IT Support Certificate will also retroactively receive an invitation to claim their badge. Please to add a secondary email address to your Credly account upon claiming your badge, especially if you have earned your badge using a school-associated email address that you may lose access to upon graduating.

Earning Your Google Digital Badge FAQ

A badge is a visual representation of a verified credential you’ve earned. In this case, your credential is the Google IT Support Certificate! You’ll get a badge upon completion of the program that you can share on platforms like LinkedIn to catch the attention of potential employers and verify your completion of the program.

Credly is the end-to-end solution for issuing and managing digital credentials. Credly works with credible organizations to provide digital credentials to individuals, worldwide.

Follow the steps in this Credly article to add your badge to your LinkedIn.

You can also check out this video.

You can print your certificate through Credly, which automatically generates a certificate version of your verified badge credential.

Upon completion of the certificate, you will receive an email from Credly letting you know you have earned a badge. If you don’t have a Credly account yet, you will be asked to create one before you can accept and manage your badge. Please allow at least one week from your date of completion to be granted a badge. Make sure to check your spam folder just in case it ends up there!

If you’ve waited a week since you completed the certificate and haven’t received an email, please submit a request through the Credly Help Center. Please also see this Credly Help Center article with tips for how to make sure you receive your invitation email.

Badges are sent out daily to learners who have completed all five courses of this certificate. Please allow at least one week from your date of completion to be granted a badge. The email address associated with my LMS/SIS account is temporary and I’ll lose access after I graduate.

After claiming your badge and creating an account with Credly, you can easily add more email addresses to your account in the event that you’ll lose the primary email address associated with your badge. You can read more about adding multiple email addresses here.

Skills you’ll learn

  • Customer service
  • Troubleshooting
  • Network protocols
  • Cloud computing
  • Windows operating system
  • Linux command line
  • Systems administration
  • Encryption algorithms and techniques

TOP Financial Assistance

If you are unemployed, you may be eligible for free tuition through Training Opportunities Program (TOP) Individual Training Account (ITA) at MassHire. Students awarded ITA funds must commit to studying a minimum of 20 hours per week. You must contact you local MassHire representative to apply for an ITA. Details about TOP and ITA can be found at Training Opportunities (TOP) and MassHire Training.

Click here to see all BHCC approved training programs by typing "BHCC" for your Provider

Rapid Recovery & Reemployment (R3) Financial Assistance

Eligible for Financial Assistance under Rapid Recovery & Reemployment (R3) Short-term Training.

In order to determine your eligibility for tuition assistance, please complete the R3 application to learn how R3 may be able to support your career goals. If you have any questions beyond eligibility, please contact us at BHCC.R3@bhcc.edu.

Learn more about Rapid Recovery & Reemployment (R3) Short-term Training.

No current courses.

There are 5 Courses in the Google IT Support Specialist Professional Certificate

Course Description

This course is the first of a series that aims to prepare you for a role as an entry-level IT Support Specialist. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the world of Information Technology, or IT. You’ll learn about the different facets of Information Technology, like computer hardware, the Internet, computer software, troubleshooting, and customer service. This course covers a wide variety of topics in IT that are designed to give you an overview of what’s to come in this certificate program.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to

  • understand how the binary system works
  • assemble a computer from scratch
  • choose and install an operating system on a computer
  • understand what the Internet is, how it works, and the impact it has in the modern world
  • learn how applications are created and how they work under the hood of a computer
  • utilize common problem-solving methodologies and soft skills in an Information Technology setting

Course Description

This course is designed to provide a full overview of computer networking. We’ll cover everything from the fundamentals of modern networking technologies and protocols to an overview of the cloud to practical applications and network troubleshooting.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to

  • describe computer networks in terms of a five-layer model
  • understand all of the standard protocols involved with TCP/IP communications
  • grasp powerful network troubleshooting tools and techniques
  • learn network services like DNS and DHCP that help make computer networks run
  • understand cloud computing, everything as a service, and cloud storage

Course Description

In this course -- through a combination of video lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practice -- you’ll learn about the main components of an operating system and how to perform critical tasks like managing software and users, and configuring hardware.

By the end of this course you’ll be able to

  • navigate the Windows and Linux file systems using a graphical user interface and command line interpreter
  • set up users, groups, and permissions for account access
  • install, configure, and remove software on the Windows and Linux operating systems
  • configure disk partitions and file systems
  • understand how system processes work and how to manage them
  • work with system logs and remote connection tools
  • utilize operating system knowledge to troubleshoot common issues in an IT Support Specialist role

Course Description

This course will transition you from working on a single computer to an entire fleet. Systems administration is the field of IT that’s responsible for maintaining reliable computers systems in a multi-user environment. In this course, you’ll learn about the infrastructure services that keep all organizations, big and small, up and running. We’ll deep dive on cloud so that you’ll understand everything from typical cloud infrastructure setups to how to manage cloud resources. You'll also learn how to manage and configure servers and how to use industry tools to manage computers, user information, and user productivity. Finally, you’ll learn how to recover your organization’s IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster.


By the end of this course you’ll be able to

  • utilize best practices for choosing hardware, vendors, and services for your organization
  • understand how the most common infrastructure services that keep an organization running work, and how to manage infrastructure servers
  • understand how to make the most of the cloud for your organization
  • manage an organization’s computers and users using the directory services, Active Directory, and OpenLDAP
  • choose and manage the tools that your organization will use
  • backup your organization’s data and know how to recover your IT infrastructure in the case of a disaster
  • utilize systems administration knowledge to plan and improve processes for IT environments

Course Description

This course covers a wide variety of IT security concepts, tools, and best practices. It introduces threats and attacks and the many ways they can show up. We’ll give you some background of encryption algorithms and how they’re used to safeguard data. Then, we’ll dive into the three As of information security: authentication, authorization, and accounting. We’ll also cover network security solutions, ranging from firewalls to Wifi encryption options. The course is rounded out by putting all these elements together into a multi-layered, in-depth security architecture, followed by recommendations on how to integrate a culture of security into your organization or team.

At the end of this course, you’ll understand

  • how various encryption algorithms and techniques work as well as their benefits and limitations.
  • various authentication systems and types.
  • the difference between authentication and authorization.
  • how to evaluate potential risks and recommend ways to reduce risk.
  • best practices for securing a network.
  • how to help others to grasp security concepts and protect themselves.

Gauging Learner Readiness

We have identified factors and indicators that can predict whether a student will be able to successfully engage with a technology-focused, online curriculum. Please review to determine if you are ready to enroll in the Google IT Support Specialist Program.

  • Interest in IT support: Learners should be genuinely interested in helping others with technical issues, and they should understand that the program is designed to prepare them for entry-level help desk jobs. Promising candidates may have tinkered with IT in the past, or have helped coworkers, friends and family with tech issues.
  • Time commitment: Students must be able to commit to the Certificate program for eight to 10 hours a week for five or six months.
  • Digital literacy: Learners should be comfortable using web browsers, chat forums, email, and software applications. Previous experience with or exposure to computer operating systems and desktop hardware would be a plus. Novice learners will likely need additional support or an introduction to computers and basic digital skills training to be successful.
  • Academic skills: In order to meet learning objectives, candidates must have self- discipline and good study habits (including the ability to set goals, deadlines, and study schedules). They will need a minimum of high school level reading comprehension and basic math computation and pre-algebra skills (including fractions, decimals and simple formulas) to progress through the course and pass assessments. Previous experience with online learning is a plus.
  • Human skills: Participants will need good communication, customer service, and problem-solving abilities to complete the program and succeed in the job market.
  • “Grit” and determination: Candidates for spots in the Certificate program must have the ability to persevere and learn and apply new technologies and new skills. Interested students should be able to cite examples of instances in which they engaged in active learning (by asking questions or advocating for themselves, for example) or provide examples of experiences in which they had to overcome setbacks.
  • Internet and technology access: Learners must have consistent access to reliable broadband internet connectivity, and a compatible laptop or desktop PCs (either their own computers or devices they can readily access at the college computer lab or a library). While students can watch the videos included in the coursework offline, they will need to go online to access assessments and the material in the Qwiklabs training platform. For details about system requirements, see the Qwiklabs list of supported devices and browsers and Coursera’s Recommended