GCP Professional Cloud Architect Exam Guide: How I Passed on My First Try

How I Passed the GCP Professional Cloud Architect (PCA) Certification Exam

On June 1, 2025 (KST), I officially passed the Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect (PCA) certification exam.
As a Korean cloud engineer working for a global (U.S.-based) company, I took on the challenge not only to validate my expertise but also to prepare for our annual salary negotiations that usually take place in late June.

Spoiler alert: I passed on my first try 🤓✌️

This post is my honest study log—sharing the strategies, free resources, and key tips that helped me pass the GCP PCA exam.
If you’re aiming to advance your cloud career or just curious about Google Cloud certifications, I hope this article gives you real value.

💬 Why I Decided to Get Certified

To gain an edge in annual salary reviews
Because being in a U.S. tech company, weak skills = high risk 😅
I’m already a cloud engineer—it’s time to get serious about Google Cloud

Although I’ve been working with AWS exclusively until now, I realized I needed broader cloud expertise. Getting PCA certified was my way of proving I’m serious about cloud architecture.

📌 My Cloud Background

I’ve worked in cloud engineering for over 3.5 years, so I wasn’t starting from scratch.

However, I was completely new to Google Cloud’s architecture and terminology, so I began with the fundamentals and built up from there.

🧠 My 12-Day Study Plan

Yes, I passed with under 2 weeks of prep (but I had prior AWS experience). Here’s how I did it:

1. Core Concepts Review (Day 1)

Studied the official Google Cloud Architecture Framework
Focused on: IAM, VPC Peering, Interconnect, Load Balancer types
Summarized everything into 2–3 pages for quick reference

Surprisingly, many questions were directly from these notes!

2. Practice Questions & Case Studies (10 Days)

💸 All FREE resources. No Udemy, no paid dumps.

Examtopics
A well-known free dump site. As of May 2025, some features are blocked without login cache, but still helpful.
ExamPrepper
A rising alternative. 100% free. Most of my practice came from here, and several actual exam questions were identical.
For Case Studies, only focus on:
✅ Mountkirk Games
✅ TerramEarth
(You can skip the rest.)
I used ChatGPT to help understand wrong answers and clarify tricky concepts. Asking “Why is this the correct answer?” repeatedly helped reinforce my understanding.

3. Final Review (Day 12)

Reviewed wrong answers again
Practiced “educated guessing” (yes, that’s a skill too!)
Memorized optimal service combinations for each scenario
Prepared my physical test environment

✍️ Exam Format & Key Info

Language: English only (no Korean support 😭)
Mode: Online or On-site
Questions: 50 total
- First 10: Case Studies
- Remaining 40: General GCP and cloud-related topics
Time: 2 hours
Passing Score: ~80%

Google Cloud exams are notoriously difficult—not just because of the content, but also due to the language barrier. (Seriously, it’s 2025 and there’s still no Korean option…)

🌏 How to Register for the PCA Online Exam

Go to Webassessor
Create a profile → Select your exam
Do a System Check
Download and install Secure Browser
Verify your Legal Name matches your ID
Complete Biometric Profile (face photo without glasses)

Tip: The AI is sensitive to light and shadows. I spent over an hour trying to pass the lighting check. Take your photo in daylight if possible!

📝 Real Test Experience (from Korea)

If you’re into minimalist room setups, online testing is okay. Otherwise, go on-site.
They make you rotate your webcam to show every corner—desk, walls, floor, etc.
Any monitor arms or gadgets? You’ll be asked to remove them.
Time used for setup is not deducted from test time.

🕓 I started the test at 3:30 AM (yes, really). I was tired and just guessed the last few tricky questions.
Personally, I think it’s better to move on than stress over one problem.

🎯 About 15 questions were identical to those I practiced on dump sites. So yes, practice questions help!

⚠️ Case studies are tricky. Every option looks right. If you’re short on time, prioritize regular questions over case scenarios.

💡 Bonus Tips

Join the Google Cloud community or study groups to receive 50% off exam vouchers.
The PCA cert is a good stepping stone toward GCP DevOps or Data Engineer roles.
Once passed, you’ll receive a digital badge via Credly (no official email—just PASS/FAIL on screen).

🎉 Final Thoughts

I’m not sure how long I’ll stay in this career—but right now, this is my path, and I’m proud of the effort I put in.

If you want to grow as a cloud architect, or gain confidence in solving complex cloud scenarios, I highly recommend studying for this cert.

Best of luck to all future PCA exam takers out there—You got this! 💪