Mastering Microsoft Office through certification courses can significantly advance careers in Denver's thriving aerospace, bioscience, broadband communications, and financial services industries. Professionals proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive are well-positioned for success in these dynamic sectors.
Key Insights
- Obtaining a Microsoft Office certification helps professionals develop in-depth skills with specific productivity applications, such as utilizing Word's advanced templates and Excel's functions for data analysis and financial forecasting.
- Microsoft Office proficiency is particularly valuable in Denver's aerospace sector, the second-largest in the nation employing approximately 33,000 individuals, and in the robust financial services industry, which includes over 180 companies and employs over 105,000 people.
- The recent integration of Microsoft's Copilot AI Assistant into Microsoft 365 enhances productivity by enabling users to draft emails, manage calendars, and streamline communications in applications like Outlook and Teams.
Learn More About Denver Microsoft Office Certificates
Microsoft 365 is a powerful suite of productivity applications that caters to the needs of individuals, families, small and medium businesses, and larger enterprises. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive, among others.
Interestingly, the first version of Microsoft Office for Windows was released in 1990, and it featured only three applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These three applications were initially launched individually for Mac OS, and the bundle was later introduced for Windows. In 2013, Microsoft launched Office 365, a cloud-based version of the software collection, and it has since been enhanced with safety and security features, mobile tools, and the ability to add users to a subscription.
Recently, in March 2024, Microsoft announced a new addition to Microsoft 365 called Copilot, an AI-powered assistant who can help users draft emails, update calendars, and manage chats, meetings, and contacts. With more than 145,000 companies and individuals using Microsoft 365 in the US, the software suite is constantly evolving. To keep up with the latest changes, signing up for a certification course could be a great way to learn and stay updated.
Why Become Certified in Microsoft Office?
Earning a Microsoft Office Certification can be a great way to enhance your resume and increase your job prospects. Even if you have used Microsoft Office at home or school, obtaining a certification can demonstrate your advanced skills to potential employers. Microsoft Office is used around the world for routine office tasks like writing, editing, creating financial spreadsheets, managing databases, or collaborating with a team, and having a certification can give you an edge over other job applicants. It is an industry-recognized way to showcase your proficiency in Microsoft Office programs and advance your career.
What You’ll Learn While Becoming Microsoft Office Certified
A Microsoft Office Specialist certification can help you develop a comprehensive understanding of the features and capabilities of each program. It is important for office managers, administrative assistants, accountants, or data analysts to be up-to-date with the latest versions. You can enroll in classes for individual programs or the entire collection. Obtaining a certification can be an effective way to showcase your skills to potential employers. Here are some of the proficiencies you can acquire through a certification course:
Word
Microsoft Word is one of the best-known of the Office applications. This powerful word-processing tool helps you write and edit documents, check spelling and grammar, and choose photos. Microsoft's new Copilot AI Assistant can help you improve your writing. Word also offers a collection of pre-designed templates for resumes, business cards, brochures, newsletters, and social media posts. This versatile application can improve both personal and professional communication.
Excel
Excel is an easy-to-use spreadsheet application you can use to set up budgets, keep lists of clients, take inventory, and any other data entry activity. Input data into individual cells, organize the worksheet into rows and columns, and add different formulas and functions to perform calculations and computations. You can create graphs, tables, and charts, identify trends and patterns, forecast changes, and share your findings with colleagues.
PowerPoint
With Microsoft PowerPoint, you can create entertaining and informative presentations for in-person and online meetings. Choose from many different styles of templates, or start from scratch and create your own. Add text, photos, drawings, or videos, then set a variety of transitions and animations to embellish your presentation. Then, save your file to OneDrive so you can access your presentations from any device with internet access to make sharing and collaborating with others easy.
Outlook
Email is one of the most effective marketing tools available. Outlook makes managing email, updating a calendar, organizing files, and setting up meetings easy and efficient. Outlook offers features like Ignore to help you stay focused and avoid distractions and alerts that make sure you never miss an important message. Outlook can help you stay on top of your business, whether you are in the office or on the go.
Teams
Teams is an amazing collaboration app that lets you easily work together with your team members, hold meetings, and share files. With the Whiteboard feature, you can collaborate on ideas with your colleagues in real-time. You can also bookmark important messages for quick access later on and take meetings on your phone or desktop. It's a great tool for any team looking to boost productivity and stay connected.
OneNote
OneNote is a digital notebook that lets you take notes from various devices like computers, tablets, or phones. You can organize the notes, move them around, and find them later. This is a useful tool for anyone who needs to keep their notes in order. You can also use OneNote to capture most kinds of images on a note, which can be helpful for visual learners or those who prefer to illustrate their notes.
OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage platform that lets you store all kinds of files and access them from nearly anywhere. You can collaborate with colleagues or share files with friends. Microsoft includes a generous 1 TB of storage in OneDrive with every Microsoft 365 subscription.
Microsoft Office Industries in Denver
Many different industries in Denver use the Microsoft Office productivity suite to run their businesses. Some of these industries include aviation, bioscience, broadband and digital communications, financial services, and engineering and natural resources.
The aerospace industry in Denver is the second largest in the U.S. More than 33,000 people are employed in aerospace in the region. Some of the top aerospace companies in Denver are Gogo Business Aviation, Honeybee Robotics, Tendeg LLC, Ball Aerospace, DISH, Bluestaq, Ursa Major, and Orbit Fab.
The bioscience industry employs around 17,000 people in Denver. Some of the top bioscience companies in Denver are Invitae, Accrue Acne, Inc., Zynex Monitoring Solutions, GT Molecular, Eximis Surgical, Amerita, Enrich Consulting, 3-Point Recruiting, and Enveda Biosciences.
Microsoft Office offers many advantages to digital communication and broadband companies in Denver, from creating spreadsheets and word processing to preparing presentations and collaboration. The industry employs 43,000 people in the area. Some of the main companies around Denver are AT&T, Avaya, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Colorado Public Radio, Comcast Corp., DIRECTV, DISH Network, EchoStar Corp, Nokia, and RingCentral.
FinTech is a major industry in Denver, with over 180 companies employing over 105,000 people. Microsoft Office 365 is useful for financial services companies to train employees, communicate across locations, collaborate on services like loan and investment documents, and make business processes more efficient. Some of the top financial services companies in Denver include Wells Fargo, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, JPMorgan Chase & Co., US Bank, Bank of America, and Western Union.
Microsoft Office Careers in Denver
Despite the fact that you won't find many job titles that include Microsoft Office, many job descriptions list a preference for those skills. Many jobs in Denver call for experience with Microsoft Office, including administrative assistants, accountants, legal assistants, project managers, and general professionals.
Administrative assistants use Microsoft Office applications for many administrative tasks like scheduling appointments, managing a calendar, creating documents, and maintaining a client list. Administrative assistants aren't required to have a college degree, but some earn two-year and some four-year degrees. Administrative Assistants in the US earn about $44,000 a year, and in Denver, they make around $48,000, with a range between $41,000 and $57,000.
Accountants use Microsoft Excel's interactive spreadsheets to log income, keep track of purchases and expenses, create invoices, chart accounts, and project cash flow. In the US, accountants need a bachelor's degree in business or finance and earn a median income of $78,000 a year, while the median wage in Denver is $73,000 a year, with a range between $60,000 and $90,000.
Law firms use Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access to create documents, invoices, and emails, and PowerPoint to prepare presentations. Paralegals and legal assistants usually require an associate's degree, and median annual pay is $59,000. In Denver, a legal assistant makes $53,000 a year, with a range between $45,000 and $63,000.
Project managers use Microsoft Office applications to create schedules, inventories, memos, and emails and collaborate with their team. In the U.S., Construction Managers earn $100,000 annually, and in Denver at $97,000 a year, with a range of $76,000 to $125,000.
Should You Pursue a Certificate or Certification
Whether to sign up for a certificate or certification class depends on why you want to learn these skills. If your goal is to learn Microsoft Office to run your own business, a certificate course will provide an introduction to Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, and the rest. Or if you want to change careers and you need to know Microsoft Office applications, a certification course is the better choice.
A certification course can also help you prepare to take exams like one of the Microsoft Office Specialist tests. These tests demonstrate to employers and clients who you know how to use Access, Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint in a professional setting.
Top Microsoft Office Certificate Programs in Denver
Choose between in-person or live online Microsoft Office classes in Denver. Many training programs offer in-person classes in the Denver area. Some people prefer in-person classes because there is a live instructor and other students to interact with. You can ask questions and get extra help when you need it.
Others prefer the convenience of live online courses because they run in a similar way as in-person classes. Some students are in a room with the instructor, and others log on using a video conferencing app. You get the same experience as an in-person session, but you can attend class from your home, office, or favorite internet cafe.
Excel Introduction, ONLC Training Centers
This class will help people who work with numbers learn to use Excel to create, input, and print spreadsheets. Learn to enter data, use formulas, format, and print workbooks. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a PC.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $295.
Microsoft Office 365 501—Microsoft 365 Teamwork Bootcamp, Ledet Training
This class will prepare students for the MS 300 Exam—Deploying Microsoft 365 Teamwork. The course covers SharePoint, using Office 365 for collaboration, and Microsoft Teams Essentials. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a computer.
Duration: This is a five-day class.
Cost: This course costs $1,999.
Microsoft Excel 101—Microsoft Excel Introduction, Ledet Training
Participants will learn to use Excel to create workbooks and worksheets, add text, input data, create charts and graphs, and print spreadsheets. Instructors will share best practices and pitfalls to avoid. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a PC.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $399.
Microsoft PowerPoint 101—Microsoft PowerPoint Introduction, Ledet Training
Participants will learn to use PowerPoint to create high-quality presentations and printed lecture materials using some of the many available templates. Add graphics, diagrams, photos, and dynamic effects, like transitions, sound, and movement. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need basic computing skills.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $399.
Access Combo Course, Certstaffix Training
Learn how to open a database and create tables, queries, forms, and reports. Students will learn to work efficiently and with greater complexity as the course goes on. The course also includes instruction on Visual Basic for Applications, an event-driven language that can extend and speed up operations across applications. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a PC.
Duration: This is a five-day class.
Cost: This course costs $1,250.
Microsoft Office 365 Online (with Teams for Desktop) Course, Certstaffix Training
This class covers the Office 365 productivity suite. Learn to use Outlook and Teams for email, messaging, and meeting functionality. Also, SharePoint lets teams use a central storage location, making collaboration easier. Learn how to work with shared documents in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a PC.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $335.
Excel—Level 1 Course, Certstaffix Training
This class will introduce Excel spreadsheets and basic concepts like setting up workbooks, entering and formatting data, correcting errors, creating visualizations, and printing. This class is available in-person in Denver or live online.
Prerequisites: Students need a basic understanding of using a PC.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $275.
Excel Level 1: Fundamentals, Noble Desktop
Learn the basic concepts of Microsoft Excel, like performing calculations, creating graphs, formatting worksheets, and printing or sharing them. Class assignments based on real-world examples are designed to help you practice concepts as you learn them. Students also receive exclusive reference materials as part of the class. This course is available live online from anywhere.
Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Excel experience.
Duration: This is a three-day class.
Cost: This course costs $249.
Excel Bootcamp, Noble Desktop
This three-day Excel bootcamp takes students from beginners to experts. Begin with the fundamentals like performing calculations, creating graphs, formatting, and printing. Move on to more advanced features like Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, and advanced database functions like INDEX and MATCH. The course is a compilation of Excel Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. This course is available live online from anywhere.
Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Excel experience.
Duration: This is a three-day class.
Cost: This course costs $549.
PowerPoint Level 1, Noble Desktop
Microsoft PowerPoint gives you the power to make professional quality presentations. This class includes the fundamental concepts of PowerPoint, like how to create new presentations, choose slides and add content, add pictures and graphics and learn to adjust them, how to use SmartArt, draw lines and shapes, align objects, insert tables and charts, add transitions, and learn to run the final presentation. This course is available in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere.
Prerequisites: No previous PowerPoint experience is necessary.
Duration: This is a six-hour class.
Cost: This course costs $249.
Microsoft Word Level I, Noble Desktop
Microsoft Word is a versatile and popular word-processing application. Get a deeper understanding of this introductory course from Noble Desktop. Learn the fundamental concepts and skills, including preparing and sending mass letters, labels, and emails with one click, introductory formatting, and shortcuts to save time on routine tasks. This course is available or live online from anywhere.
Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Word experience.
Duration: This is a one-day class.
Cost: This course costs $249.
Denver
Microsoft Office
Corporate & Onsite Training
Upskill or reskill your workforce with our industry-leading corporate and onsite Microsoft Office training programs. Conduct the training onsite at your location or live online from anywhere. You can also purchase vouchers for our public enrollment Microsoft Office courses.
