Google IT Support study guide
Google IT Support · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Google IT Support Certificate is a fully online, foundational career certificate hosted on Coursera and developed and taught by Google subject-matter experts. It is built for people with no prior IT background - there are no prerequisites and no degree is required - as well as for anyone already working in support who wants to formalize their skills. The Google IT Support study guide has 6 sections and about 1,641 words.
01Troubleshooting and Customer Care
Every support interaction follows a repeatable loop: identify the problem (gather symptoms, ask what changed), form a theory of probable cause, test the theory with the least disruptive step, build an action plan, verify full functionality with the user, then document. Skipping verification or documentation is the most common way a 'fixed' ticket reopens.
274 words, about 1 min02Networking
A device needs an IP address, a subnet mask, a default gateway, and a DNS server. DHCP hands these out automatically; DNS resolves names to IP addresses.
277 words, about 1 min03Operating Systems
Windows uses NTFS and often UEFI/GPT; macOS uses APFS; Linux typically uses ext4 or xfs. Account types differ in name but not spirit: Administrator, root, and sudoers have full control, while standard users do not.
290 words, about 1 min04System Administration
Provisioning and de-provisioning accounts, patching, backups, monitoring, and documentation. Least privilege and role-based groups matter more than individual permissions.
248 words, about 1 min05Security
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability form the CIA triad. Authentication proves identity; authorization decides access; auditing records actions.
242 words, about 1 min06Using AI to Boost Productivity
Drafting replies and documentation, summarizing long tickets or logs, brainstorming causes, explaining error messages, generating command lines or scripts to review, and translating jargon for users. Speed comes from iteration, not from one perfect prompt.
310 words, about 2 min