MS Office bootcamp class

[ApatheticNoMore]

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.).

[SteveinMN]

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

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.

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.).

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.

[Kestra]

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.

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.