MOS - Perception of MOS Certs

Author

Perception of MOS Certs

Ling663

2004-01-23, 3:47 pm

Question/observation from the gal who is a self-proclaimed cert-groupie, i.e. much like those police groupies who are quite interested in police work but never actually become a police officer (I spend a whoooole lotta time reading and thinking about the many certs and cruising forums full of ppl in their attempts to attain them, but don’t ever actually get certified – I do work in the field however, though some may even question that for what I actually do ::: Note also that in my current position I’d only be getting a cert of any flavor for my own personal knowledge and satisfaction and not as a job requirement.)

My observation: IMHO, it seems to me that the general cert community doesn’t look upon the MOS certs as actual certs. Maybe it’s just me, but it appears these are looked at as merely “secretarial” in nature, and this is I believe an unfair assessment. These exams are performance-based and not multiple choice rehash like many cert exams are (aren’t they?). They absolutely require the candidate to actually use the product in order to pass the exams. I think they are a necessity or at least a very useful tool for anyone in any type of support role (ok, so maybe these roles are at the bottom of the 'ladder'...), and as important as the other “basic” certs like A+, N+, and now MCDST. Coupled with those other “basics”, I think the MOS certs would be great assets to anyone who has to support these products on a daily basis, and shouldn’t be treated as “2nd-class certs” like they appear to me to be treated as. Also in my opinion Access is somewhat of a programming application, so the exam for it is somewhat of a programming exam no? To me, it’s not a “simple” application, and the cert for it should be treated with a tad more “respect”. Access applications can handle mountains of important data for businesses of any size, using customized and sometimes complicated forms and queries (as well as the SQL and VBA languages themselves if one wants to make Access really perform), and is far more than a little mailing list database app. Again, JMHObservation/Opinion. Thoughts? Thinking of going the way of the Access exam (others too but again, would only be for my own “satisfaction” of getting cert’d, thus one of my reasons for taking so long to actually finally take an exam - that and the $$).

Lucky13

2004-01-28, 4:56 am

The MOS certifications are a great way to provide validation of various office applications. I know someone that is about to re-enter the workforce after raising children and pointed them out to her. One of my sisters, who is only 10, is about to sit for her first certification, MOS Word Core. This is a perfect exam for her, her experience and to get her a taste of success in the certification world.

Will I sit for 2003 MOS? Sure, the retake is only $10, but I don¡¦t plan on failing the first time. ƒº

Where did get the idea for a 10 year to sit:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/m...uccess/mell.asp

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