MS Office bootcamp class

Since my hands are becoming painful and arthritic, my career as a massage therapist won't last much longer; it's OK, as I'm quite burnt out now.

For years I worked in an office on in-house CRT systems, very outdated. I've had my laptop for a few years and know how to do some things, but not everything. So to help me get an office job again, I've decided to take an MS Office bootcamp class, which is 45 hours long over 8 weeks. Is this enough time for someone like me to learn enough to land a job requiring Office skills?

One thing is that I don't have it on my laptop, so I'm assuming they'll have a computer lab for assignments. Also, if I did buy Office and downloaded it to my laptop, can it be transferred if this laptop is replaced buy a new one at some point?

Arthritis, pain in the hands, long times at keyboards? Doesn't sound like a good mix to me.:doh:

I first would comb the internet for Office tutorials that are free. It sounds like the 'bootcamp' may be to get certified in supporting office as desktop support. Not a bad gig, but know what you are actually getting. I don't know if there are that many jobs that require that detailed of knowledge of Office, or other related office software without experience in related areas as well.

I purchased MS Office software for home use (much cheaper than business edition, and I can't tell any difference) from Costco a few years back. I believe the licensing agreement permitted installation on three devices, so the short answer is yes. I would echo the concerns about arthritic hands and a job requiring lots of keyboarding, but I hope all works out well for you.

I think 45 hours is enough time for class work to learn the various programs in MS Office. But I do think you will need to practice on your own, and there will be homework. The school should be able to tell you about their computer labs and what hours the computers will be available to you.

I was able to move MS Office from my old laptop to my new desktop. I did end up having to call MS support for help in dealing with a password issue, but the move itself was not a problem.

Most office jobs these days seem to want people who know MS Office, even if the job isn't computer heavy. Office is comprised of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Also OneNote and Access, but they are not as necessary in most jobs. Many companies use Outlook for their email, and some for scheduling. And almost everyone uses Word for word processing. Excel is supposed to be a spreadsheet program, but many places use it for databases.

It can't hurt your chances of getting a job to take this course. And it could very well be helpful.

I think 45 hours probably is a bit much for what most jobs expect you to know about Microsoft Office. As shadowmoss said, I think looking for free (or lower-cost) tutorials would be a better bet, especially if you know you can learn on your own. Noodling around on the menus on sample documents is a great way of learning what does what, too.

Those tutorials (and your own practice) will require having Office on your computer. The installed version of Office (that is, not Office 365) is transferable between computers, so I wouldn't worry about that. Keep in mind that Microsoft keeps the newest version of Office for its Windows users; if you have a Mac, documents and most of your training will transfer, but the Mac version tends to be roughly one version behind most times. I would not go for Office 365 at this point; most companies using Office do not run right up to the bleeding edge of technology, preferring other pioneers to suffer the arrows of early adoption.

I would make sure you spend some money on finding a computer setup that works for you ergonomically and that you keep your malware/antivirus software up to date. The bad guys (and gals) out there are finding it easier to inject bad code into apps other than the operating system, so Office macros, Java plugins, and the like are particularly vulnerable. Keep 'em all up to date or you may become a bit of a Typhoid Pony Mom. :0!

Thanks everyone. It seems the course is a certification type, which as some of you said, may be a bit overkill. I just borrowed a Office 2007 For Dummies book from the library that I'll go through. Also have GCFLearnfree.org saved to check out too.

Everyone I've spoken to has said you can learn it yourself. Guess I'll have to buy it and fool around with it. Glad to know I can switch it to another computer if I have to. I love making lists and charts and envision myself even MORE organized than I am now.

The arthritis and general stiffness is being aggravated by the strenuous work of massage; I think working on a keyboard will keep me flexible without the strain. BTW, I'm wearing a pair of Back on Track therapy gloves right now---I'll post in the Health section if they help.

Hi pony mom, think in this environment it would benefit you to have the certification and also to know MS Office thoroughly. This way you would be more valuable in the office.

We had a girl in the office where I used to work. She was the "go-to" girl because she new Word in and out and if someone had to do something out of the ordinary they would ask her. It's not feasible to have to teach yourself a skill when your boss wants a pape
r in one hour. Anyway, she was the one who got a major promotion.....

Sorry to hear about your hands. It must be very hard at this point now to try and give a massage. Let us know how you are doing! Chris

Pony mom, my library has FREE classes in various aspects of MS Office. You might also want to check out your local adult continuing ed.

You've gotten good advice already, but I just wanted to comment about keyboarding and joint pain. I have had tendonitis and carpal tunnel for years. I developed it when I was 18-19 and waitressing. I work a 100% computer job and keyboarding isn't really a problem. Now, mousing, that's another story. But, the more keyboard shortcuts you learn, the better. Just make sure to have (like Steve said) a proper ergonomic setup *and* take frequent stretching breaks, and you will probably be fine. I can keyboard all day, but can't write more than 2-3 minutes at a time, due to the pain. Hooray for computers!

I learned MS Office (many different versions over the years) completely on the job, but it's different when you are applying. These skills are now considered soft skills that every interviewee is expected to have, so a certification probably wouldn't benefit you. But the skills themselves definitely will. Take into account your learning style (reading, demos, hands-on, videos) and go from there.

Kara

My hands hurt by the end of the week and I have ergonomic peripherals - all paid for myself (because it was much worse without). As for ergonomic setup - really that's up to the employers, not much you can do about that if they've done a bad job. You can only control your home environment.

Another thing: direct pain, hands and wrists hurting is pretty obvious. In retrospect I am pretty sure I was suffering before from damage due to excessive computer use (before I even thought about things like ergonomic peripherals) that was much less obvious. Like my arms would feel heavy as lead some days, I wouldn't know why. I'd try to force myself to work and it seemed endlessly difficult (no not just distracted though I have my fair share of that - not even lack of mental energy and not just tired - my limbs *themselves* seemed to *resist* with all their being). I would wonder what was wrong with me (psychological, dietary, to much or too little caffeine, what?). I really do think in retrospect that was probably due to using computers without ergonomic peripherals - low level nerve damage or whatever.

I think a certificate could only be a positive, but maybe not necessary. I like, much much much prefer, learning those types of things in a more formal setting, but that's me. As for transferring the Office to other computers, what are we talking about? A CD? Then yea you can install it on multiple computers (it may have a limit of how many). A download, I don't know, I would much prefer a hard CD than a download (likely available at ANY office supply store - Staples, Office Depot, etc.).

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Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore

using computers without ergonomic peripherals - low level nerve damage or whatever.

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It certainly can happen. I trained myself to mouse and use my trackpad with my left hand rather than let my right hand carry the entire burden. That might be a solution for the OP, too, to kind of share the load of the repetitive motions.

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Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore

As for transferring the Office [...] A download, I don't know, I would much prefer a hard CD than a download (likely available at ANY office supply store - Staples, Office Depot, etc.).

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CDs started to be eclipsed by data DVDs some years ago because even they could not hold all the files for an operating system or larger application. Now DVDs are going the way of the floppy. Several of the smaller new notebook computers don't even have DVD/CD drives, saving weight and battery drain on something people rarely use. I can't recall the last time I bought software on a CD/DVD. In fact, the last software I had on a DVD was killed by a bad DVD drive. :( When I upgraded the hard disk in my MacBook a couple of months ago, everything I installed was a download, sometimes even from the publisher's site; all I had to do was get it, install, and apply the license key I kept safely. It'll work fine. And if you really need to have a DVD, you can make your own. Though even they have issues with long-term reliability.

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Originally Posted by SteveinMN

I trained myself to mouse and use my trackpad with my left hand rather than let my right hand carry the entire burden. That might be a solution for the OP, too, to kind of share the load of the repetitive motions.

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I mouse left handed as well, even though I'm right handed. I type and mouse basically all day long. After about a year at my current job I was starting to get forearm pain in my right side. I switched to left hand mousing - only took about a week to get up to max speed. And now I don't have pain in either arm, after 7 years at this job. I highly recommend switching to your non-dominant hand for any task you can get away with using it.