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Quick answer
It is worth it for people already in IT who want to automate with Python: the Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate is an Advanced-level next step, and we rate it 3.9 out of 5. Its seven courses teach Python from the start, then the operating system, Git and GitHub, debugging, configuration management and the cloud, at 134 hours by Coursera's course cards. It ends in a Google Career Certificate, not an exam. Coursera says it is designed for those already in the industry, so newcomers to IT should start with Google IT Support.
- Recommended for
- people already in IT support who want to automate their work with Python
- Credential
- Google Career Certificate via Coursera — no exam
- Skip it if
- you are new to IT, where Google IT Support comes first, or want to become a software developer
- Our assessment
- Strong — the reasoning is under the button below
Check price & enrol on Coursera →
Why we score it 3.9 / 5
Google's seven-course programme that teaches Python from the start and applies it to IT work: Python with the operating system, Git and GitHub, troubleshooting and debugging, configuration management and the cloud, automating real-world tasks, and a job-search course using AI, at 134 hours by Coursera's course cards. We value working scripting practice in real tools, a Google certificate and a price Coursera states for the US and Canada. What holds the score down is fit and currency: Coursera rates it Advanced, designed for those already in IT, and the page shows no update date.
3.9 / 5 learning score — our reading of the published curriculum4.0 / 5 credential score — our reading of who issues it
Curriculum currency 3.7 · Completion realism 3.8 · Skill value 4.2 · Employer recognition 4.0 · Cost & value 4.0 — the score is the average of these five, each out of five.
Scored with AI assistance against our published rubric, from what the provider publishes; the editor is responsible for the rubric and for every published score. What our scores can and cannot tell you.
Provider facts for this entry were last checked on 2026-11-04.
This review covers what the Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate teaches across its seven courses, what it costs and asks of you, how it compares with Google's other IT and security certificates, and who should take something else.
What is the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate?
It is a Coursera Professional Certificate made by Google, one of its Career Certificates, with Google Career Certificates listed as the instructor. Coursera's page labels it Advanced level, “Designed for those already in the industry”, and says it “builds on your IT foundations”. Its FAQ is more precise about what that means: no previous programming knowledge is required, but familiarity with basic IT concepts such as operating systems, files and processes, networking and data management will be needed in later courses, and learners with no IT background are pointed to the Google IT Support Professional Certificate first.
It teaches Python as a tool for system administration: writing scripts, working with files and processes on the operating system, regular expressions, version control, debugging, and managing fleets of machines with configuration management and the cloud. The page says it is designed to prepare you for roles such as more advanced IT Support Specialist or Junior Systems Administrator. Google also recommends having Python installed on your own machine, and some courses need a computer where you can install Git.
On 4 November 2026 the page showed 1,006,578 learners already enrolled and an average of 4.8 stars from 55,987 reviews of courses in this program, an average across its seven courses rather than a rating of the certificate as a whole. The page states no date for its latest update.
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Try the AI Certification Picker →What do the seven courses cover?
The seven courses in the programme, in the order Google and Coursera list them:
- Crash Course on Python
- Using Python to Interact with the Operating System
- Introduction to Git and GitHub
- Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques
- Configuration Management and the Cloud
- Automating Real-World Tasks with Python
- Accelerate Your Job Search with AI
Google's FAQ recommends taking the seven courses in the order presented, because the content builds on earlier lessons:
- Python (course 1). Crash Course on Python: what Python is and why it matters for automation, short scripts, strings, lists and dictionaries, and your own Python objects.
- Python on the operating system (course 2). Setting up a developer environment, manipulating files and processes, regular expressions for processing text, and when to choose Bash instead of Python.
- Git and debugging (courses 3 and 4). Version control with Git and GitHub, including collaborating through remote repositories, then techniques for finding the root cause of problems with speed, crashes or exhausted resources, in infrastructure and in your own code.
- Automation at scale (courses 5 and 6). Configuration management and infrastructure as code with Puppet, deploying virtual machines in the cloud and making changes safely under CI/CD principles, then automating real-world tasks with Python libraries, APIs and data serialisation, ending in a project of your own build.
- The job search (course 7). Accelerate Your Job Search with AI, which uses Google's Gemini tools for a CV, a job-search plan and interview practice.
The labs are the strength: the FAQ says graded assessments run in Qwiklabs, and the page promises hands-on projects ending in a capstone on a real-world IT problem. The AI content is limited to the job-search course; nothing in the technical courses teaches AI tools for automation, so read it as a Python certificate, not an AI one.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
Time. The Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate runs to 134 hours by Coursera's course cards, including the job-search course. Coursera's headline gives a pace instead, six months at 10 hours a week. Treat the card total as the workload: the operating-system course is the longest card, and someone who has never programmed should expect the first two courses to take longer than the cards suggest.
Cost. Coursera's FAQ for the certificate says: “In the U.S. and Canada, Coursera charges $49 per month after the initial 7-day free trial period”, and adds that in other countries where Google Career Certificates are available, your cost may be lower. The programme is also included with Coursera Plus. Because it is billed monthly until you cancel, what you pay depends on how long you take.
If the fee is the barrier. Coursera's financial aid is a discount, not a free pass, and you apply course by course from each course's page; Coursera says a decision can take up to 16 days, and starting a free trial cancels a pending application. Our Coursera financial aid guide walks through it.
Credential. You earn a Google Career Certificate, and the page says the programme carries an ACE credit recommendation, shared through a Credly badge, though whether a college accepts it is up to that college. The page also says graduates who pass the CompTIA A+ certification exams earn a dual credential from CompTIA and Google. Those exams are not part of the programme: they are booked and paid for separately, with CompTIA.
Check the price & enrol on Coursera →Where this price comes from
We list the cost as $49/month in the US & Canada after a 7-day trial, or via Coursera Plus; priced by country elsewhere. Source: Coursera certificate page FAQ, 'How much does this certificate cost?', read 2026-11-04: "How much does this certificate cost? In the U.S. and Canada, Coursera charges $49 per month after the initial 7-day free trial period." The page also reads "Included with Coursera Plus". Where we give a figure, the source says when we read it on the provider's page. We re-read prices by hand and publish no figure we cannot source — where a provider prices regionally, we say so rather than quote a number that is wrong for most readers.
Pros and cons
✓ What we liked
- Teaches Python from the start, then applies it to real system-administration work
- Hands-on labs in Qwiklabs, Git and GitHub, Puppet and the cloud
- A Google Career Certificate, with a dual CompTIA credential for those who also pass A+
- Coursera states its US and Canada price, and it is included in Coursera Plus
✕ What to keep in mind
- Rated Advanced: it assumes basic IT knowledge a newcomer will not have
- The page shows no update date
- AI appears only in the job-search course
- Not a route to software development on its own
Who should take it, and who should skip it?
Take it if you already work in IT support or have finished Google IT Support, and want to stop doing repetitive tasks by hand; if you want Python, Git and configuration management in one sequence aimed at system administration; or if you are moving towards a junior systems administrator role.
Skip it if you are new to IT, because the later courses assume the basics and Google itself points you to Google IT Support first; or if you want to become a software developer, since this teaches Python for automating systems, not for building applications.
How it compares with Google's other IT and security certificates
Google IT Support. The Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which we rate 3.7 out of 5, is the step before this one: Beginner level, no coding, at 122 hours by Coursera's course cards, covering technical support, networking, operating systems, system administration and IT security, the foundations this certificate assumes. Google's own FAQ recommends it to anyone with no IT background. Take it first if you are new; take this one once you are working in IT and want to automate.
Google Cybersecurity. The Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate, which we rate 4.0 out of 5, is the other direction from IT support: Beginner level, at 132 hours by Coursera's course cards, with one course of Python for security tasks rather than system administration. Choose it if you want a security role; choose IT Automation if you want to stay in operations and do it faster.
Does the certificate get you a job?
On its own, rarely. The certificate shows that you can write Python for real IT tasks, and it carries Google's name, but the page itself frames it as a step up for people already in the field, towards more advanced IT support or junior systems administration, not as a way in. Coursera's description says completers can share their information with potential employers, Google among them; that puts your details in front of those companies, but the page promises no interview.
What helps most is automation you can point to. Write one script that solves a problem you actually meet at work, such as cleaning up logs, checking disk space across machines or creating user accounts, keep it in a public GitHub repository with a short write-up, and talk about the time it saved. Our guide to AI certifications for IT support covers what to add next.
Is the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate worth it?
For someone already in IT support who is tired of doing the same tasks by hand, it is worth it. We rate it 3.9 out of 5: the labs put Python to work on files, processes, Git, Puppet and cloud machines, it ends in a Google Career Certificate, and Coursera publishes its US and Canada price. It loses marks on fit and freshness: as an Advanced programme it is the wrong place to start in IT, and Coursera's page gives no date for its last update.
If you are new to IT, start with Google IT Support; if you want a security role, Google Cybersecurity is the better fit.
Ready to start?
Sold on Coursera at the price for your country, on its own or as part of Coursera Plus, whose pricing page compares the plans.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate worth it?
Yes, if you already work in IT and want to automate your work. We rate it 3.9 out of 5: it teaches Python from the start and applies it to the operating system, Git, debugging, configuration management and the cloud, with hands-on labs throughout.
It is less worth it for complete newcomers to IT, who should start with Google IT Support, and for anyone aiming at software development, which it does not teach.
How long does the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate take?
It runs to 134 hours by Coursera's course cards, across seven courses including the job-search course. Coursera's headline gives a pace rather than a length, six months at 10 hours a week.
Your own time depends on where you start. Someone who has written scripts before will get through Crash Course on Python quickly; for a first-time programmer, the first two courses are where most of the hours go.
How much does the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate cost?
Coursera's FAQ says it charges $49 a month in the US and Canada after a 7-day free trial, that the cost may be lower in other countries where Google Career Certificates are available, and the programme is included with Coursera Plus. Seven free days will not cover 134 hours by Coursera's course cards, so budget for paid months.
If the fee is the barrier, Coursera's financial aid is a discount you apply for one course at a time from each course's page; a decision can take up to 16 days, and starting a free trial cancels a pending application. Our Coursera financial aid guide sets out the steps.
Does the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate prepare you for CompTIA A+?
Not directly. The page says graduates who also pass the CompTIA A+ certification exams earn a dual credential from CompTIA and Google, but it does not say the programme prepares you for those exams: its courses are Python and automation. The A+ exams are booked and paid for separately with CompTIA.
If A+ is your goal, look at the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, whose page carries the same dual-credential offer and whose courses cover technical support, networking, operating systems, system administration and IT security.
Do you need to know Python before Google IT Automation with Python?
No. Coursera's FAQ says the certificate “requires no previous knowledge of programming”, and the first course, Crash Course on Python, starts from what Python is and why it matters for automation.
What it does assume is IT knowledge. The same FAQ says familiarity with basic IT concepts, like operating systems, files and processes, networking and data management, will be required in later courses, which is why Coursera labels it Advanced and Google points learners with no IT background to the Google IT Support Professional Certificate first.
Is the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate enough to get a job?
Not on its own, and Google does not present it that way. The page says it is designed to prepare you for roles such as more advanced IT Support Specialist or Junior Systems Administrator, which reads as a step up for people already working in IT rather than a way into the field.
Completers can opt to share their details with potential employers, but nothing on the page guarantees a call back. What moves an application is a script you wrote for a real problem, kept on GitHub with a short note on the time it saved, alongside experience in an IT role.