Everybody loves the MOS?
September 1, 2006 Posted by Beth in : Certification , trackback,
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Let’s face it, like 115% of the world uses Microsoft products. So if you’re on a career path that requires heavy use or knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite anything that you can do to distance yourself from the average user is a Good Thing. There are all kinds of technical certifications out there, but the only approved certifications for Microsoft Office products are the Microsoft Office Specialist exams (MOS, formerly MOUS). This summer, I took 4 Microsoft Office Specialist 2003 exams, enough to achieve the “Master certification†status. This article is a summary of how I successfully prepared and is meant to help others who are interested in getting certified.
For Master certification, you have to pass Word 2003 Expert, Excel 2003 Expert, and PowerPoint, as well as one elective exam, either Access 2003 or Outlook 2003 (Just look at all the choices!!!). Since using Access gives me an annoying eye twitch, I chose to take the Outlook exam.
The basic exams, PowerPoint and Outlook, were no problem to pass. I studied from an official Microsoft Office Specialist Study Guide, and it had pretty good coverage of skills that were actually on the exams. (Which I’m not allowed to tell you according to their policies.) But I probably would have passed even without the study guide. If you’re at all familiar with PowerPoint and Outlook don’t waste too much time here beyond using the official guide. Also, I rock.
The Expert exams were harder. The guide for Word was adequate, but I still had to retake the exam once after failing my first try. I felt the exam put a lot of emphasis on skills that are rarely or never used and barely tested more common “advanced†skills.
The Excel Expert exam was also difficult, although I passed it with flying colors (a little hint here: have coworkers take the exam the week before and warn you about what parts of the book to study). In terms of testing commonly used skills, this exam is the worst one to me. I didn’t have to perform a single function to pass the exam, but I did have to know how to play with stuff no one ever uses. It doesn’t cover Pivot Tables at all – and I can tell you this because it’s not even in the study guide. As a matter of fact, the Excel study guide stank! In some sections, it told you in only general terms what the topic covered. The only way I could understand what the tool really did was by going into Excel Help. The book should have explained it better.
The real question is do I think these certifications will help me in my current job or in my career? I’m not required to be certified for my job, so that isn’t really a factor, but it will beef up my resume. I’ll also have four framed certificates to hang on the side of my cube, with which to intimidate my non-certifiable co-workers. I have no idea what the marketability of this certification is, because other than what Microsoft tells me, I can’t find any information about the certification’s usefulness. And seriously, you can’t really trust the word of a big corporation that’s getting $400 from you. I wasn’t asked about it when I interviewed for my current job, nor did I consider it important when I interviewed the two employees I hired last year. A quick search of Monster.com only produced around 50 results that specifically mentioned “MOS†or “Microsoft Office Specialistâ€, mostly from the IT field. More likely the benefits will be less tangible in the form of increased knowledge about my field, some continuing education brownie points on my next review, and a certification that extends my resume and might help separate me from the rest of the chaff when I decide to apply for other jobs.
Plus, if you are certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist Master and you have two or more years as a trainer, you can become certified as a Microsoft Office Master Instructor. And that’s going to look great in my Outlook signature.
Links:
Information on MOS Requirements
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Comments»
I read your “blog” and found it useful. I guess I misunderstood what the requirements are for the certification. You say it only takes passing 4 Microsoft exams to get a MOS?
I have been interested in getting MOS certified for a while. In addition to my full time job, I substitute teach part time a few days a week at the high school level and when I do a “business” class all the students are learning Microsoft Office. Knowing how to use these applications helps me to help them. Also, I’ve wanted to get my foot in the door at the local community college and thought that by having MOS on my application will help my chances of becoming an instructor in some entry level computer classes.
I’ve been using these applications at work and school for a while and had no formal training. I’ve purchased some “step-by-step” guides to help in my prep. for the exams.
Thanks for the info.
That’s correct, to get Microsoft Office Master certification, you only have to pass 4 exams. There are various levels of certification you can get with the Microsoft Office Specialist certification program:
Microsoft Office Specialist - Pass any exam, and you’re a certified Specialist for that one application. So if you pass the MOS Word 2003 exam, you’re a Microsoft Office Specialist in Word 2003.
Microsoft Office Expert - Pass any expert level exam, and you’re a certified Expert in that one application. There are two expert exams, Word Expert and Excel Expert.
Microsoft Office Master - Pass the following exams: Word Expert, Excel Expert, PowerPoint and 1 elective, either Outlook OR Access.
Microsoft Office Master Instructor - Become a Microsoft Office Master, have 2 years experience offering training on MS applications OR take a Microsoft Train-the-Trainer class, and pay a $95 fee.
You can be certified on whichever track you like, 2000, XP and/or 2003 but if you’re trying to achieve Master certification, all your tests have to be on the same track. Right now, I have XP specialist certification in Word Expert, PowerPoint, and Outlook and I have master certification for 2003. Your certification never expires.
For all the details and to locate testing centers, check out http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/OfficeSpecialist/