MOS the only way to go ?

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Wondering if you could help me here guys, I just passed my server exam and doing my pro exam in the next few weeks but the fact that I don't have office skills is going to stop me from getting a helpdesk role (not that I want a helpdesk but it seems the only way to break into the industry w/o a degree) so I was wondering to what level skill of office am I going to need for a helpdesk role ?
would a ECDL do or am I better off getting Microsoft certs ?

Thanks in advance

 

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My advice would be to seek feedback from the companies themselves as to what quals they are looking for - are they looking for a very basic overview or are they wanting something a little more in-depth.

The ECDL gives you a good grounding of Office and is good for those with no or little knowledge of using Office. The MOS quals also start at a basic level but as each course is focussed on one part of Office, ie Word, they are more in-depth.

If cost also plays a factor then I would go with the ECDL if that is enough you can borrow materials from the library and just pay for the exams - prices of which vary from centre to centre. The MOS quals are all online and usually start from around £50 each - soon adds up if you wish to demonstrate competency in all areas of the Office environment.

Hope that helps!

 

I'm no MOS expert but having worked as first-line tech support for a small city IT department, I can tell you that having experience troubleshooting MS Office apps is very important. I can't even begin to tell you the number of trouble tickets I answered where a user couldn't save or accidentally saved a file in the wrong directory and couldn't find it or a jillion other similar scenarios. I found out fast just how much I *didn't* know about MS Office.

As an aside, learning more about peripherals comes in really handy too. I learned alot about handhelds, digital cameras and print devices in my stay at that job.

Good luck.

 

I too am thinking of getting the MOS qualification under my belt! Even though i'm training to be an MCSE & CCNA, I don't want to disconnect myself altogether from the end user! I would like to be one of those types of IT Support guys that can deal with everything (well near enough). I believe that some proof of compentancy in MS Office is very important!

My question is how does one go about taking an MOS exam? Is it like an MCP - u just book it and take the test? I know that VUE/Prometric don't deal with it, it looks to be a certiport thingy!

I purchased the MOS 2003 Study Guide from Amazon last week and have yet to have a look through it but I will get round to it! Also, I have got the Lynda.com cbts for Word 2003, Excel 2003, Access 2003, Outlook 2003 and Powerpoint 2003...as you can see I'm well stocked up!

Cheers!

Sacha

 

Hey Drum_dude

My advice to you would be to check out all the local training centres in your area - explain that you just wish to take the exam as you have all the materials you need already n see what prices they give to you but yes, you should be able to just contact a centre and arrange an exam date n time.

 

Thanks Rosey, I've just found that the University of Birmingham (not UCE) is a MOS Academy or something like that! According to them you can book and take MOS exams with them! coolio...just gotta get 4 MCPs and a CCNA nailed + a job and I'm all set! EASY! lol

Cheers

Sacha

 

Hi all,

New to the forum....

I done the ECDL on my own then paid a local college for tests.

I moved on to MOS with learn direct (dont know how much the courses were as I was getting them for free). Completed my MOS Outlook and MOS Powerpoint..they do go more indepth that ECDL......Local learn direct centre did run the tests..only time i actually visited them.

The MOS tests are quite difficult(if thats the right word)
not the actual work but the way the test is done:-

The pass mark goes up or down as each day goes on depending how many people around the world pass or fail....eg lot of fails pass mark goes down...best time early in morning when pass mark is at 70% level.

Also you cant move back to a question...once youve completed a question and happy...it then locks it awaybefore you star the next one....all exams are live on internet direct to microsoft.

Anyway i moved away before I could do any more...
Hope this info is of some help.

Pie

 

Here are the requirments for MOS. If your going to take the exams I suggest you take the expert level in Word and Excel than just the core test for these. That way if you end up taking all of them you are MOS Master and if you don't it still looks better on your resume that you took the expert level.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/officespecialist/requirements.asp

 

These will also be helpfull and their free!

Scrool down to Browse training courses.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/default.aspx

 

This might be helpfully to

Office 2003 Resource Kit
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/CH011424641033.aspx