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    Hi, 

     

    I am a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) previously working in the Reference Biotech environment and transitioning into a Senior Sales Consultant role with a new corporate company...

     

    I have a BS in Laboratory Sciences and have been working in the field for ~7 years now.  Although I do not have any "formal" Office training I consider myself an intermediate operator via various course work and trainings through the years, as well as work experience.  My new position is similar to a Field Application Specialist but a little less focus on the installation and engineering and more on efficiencies and cost analyses etc.  I will be 50% travel with a home office base.  This will be a significant lifestyle change for me and I would like make my life easier if at all possible! :)

    So, I have about a week until I start my first training with the company... but essentially have unlimited time to complete a MOS certification.  I believe tuition and fees are reimbursed as well.  Can you give me some guidance on getting started and curriculum path options?  I know that my immediate priorities fall to Excel 2010, I have some pivot table "testing" (not making!) experience and definitely know Excel basics but will need a refresher!!!  I am a visual learner for the most part and really achieve maximum benefits from the classroom/tutor setting.

    Heres what I've done so far:

    -Familiarized myself with the Microsoft Learning Portals and downloaded some "snacks" etc.

    -Reviewed the different Certifications and have a rough idea about how to set up for testing

    -downloaded Silverlight

    -Browsed the catalog

    My position is not technically IT, and I am not a student, I am somewhere in between student and Pro... ;)

     

    Thanks so much for your time!!!

    ~Gretchen

     

    Monday, January 31, 2011 9:58 PM

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    Hi, Gretchen.

    As a trainer myself, I would suggest you find Office training from a local training school that offers what the industry calls "apps training".

    If you navigate your web browser to http://www.microsoft.com/learning and click the link reading, "Find Training", this should bring you to a page with a link for "Classroom Training".

    Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) is usually good materials to learn from but are only available to you when you take a MOC class from a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT).

    After you find a course that you like, you can find a local training institution that offers that course. Note that many training centers may offer to to deliver many of the courses but won't actually deliver the courses unless enough students sign up for the course. If signing up for a course, ask how often the course is delivered on average for a given year. Obviously, the bigger training centers will more than like deliver course more often with an experienced instructor.

    Note that there are practice exams available on the market from Transcender, MeasureUp, and SelfTestSoftware (STS) but Transcender and STS are owned by the same parent company (Kaplan) and offer roughly the same exam questions at different costs. STS merely offers less questions for less money.

    Tip: Most Microsoft exams are based on the products' own help files.

    Be sure that are takeing exams for the latest version of the Microsoft products, for example, Office 2010 - not Office 2007. This way, your certifications are valid for a longer period.

    Good luck on your certification goals.

    Best wishes,
    Davin Mickelson

    Best wishes, Davin Mickelson
    • Marked as answer by Rubel Khan Tuesday, April 12, 2011 6:32 AM
    Saturday, April 2, 2011 7:05 PM
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