Microsoft Office Certificates NJ

Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of productivity applications that caters to the needs of individuals, families, small and medium businesses, and larger enterprises. It offers a powerful set of tools that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive.

The first version of Microsoft Office for Windows was released in 1990 and included only three applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Interestingly, all 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 has since continued to enhance it with safety and security features, mobile tools, and the ability to add users to a subscription.

In March 2024, Microsoft announced a new addition to Microsoft 365—Copilot, an AI 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. Microsoft 365, the current iteration of Microsoft's popular Office bundle of productivity applications, offers users powerful tools for individuals, families, small and medium businesses, and larger enterprises. Office 365 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive.

Microsoft Office for Windows was released in 1990, which included only three applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. All three were first released individually for Mac OS, and the bundle was the first version for Windows. In 2013, Microsoft launched Office 365, a cloud-based version of the software collection, and Microsoft has continued to add safety and security features, mobile tools, and the ability to add users to a subscription.

In March 2024, Microsoft announced the addition of Copilot to Microsoft 365. Copilot is an AI assistant who can help draft emails, update a calendar, and manage chats, meetings, and contacts. Microsoft 365 is used by more than 145,000 companies and individuals in the US and is constantly updating. Signing up for a certification course is a great way to keep up with the changes.

Why Become Certified in Microsoft Office?

You might have used Microsoft Office at home or at school, but obtaining a Microsoft Office Certification can help you land a job, begin a new career, or improve your confidence. Microsoft Office programs are used globally for various tasks such as writing, editing, creating financial spreadsheets, managing databases, or collaborating with a team. Having advanced Office skills can give you an edge over other job applicants, and obtaining a Microsoft Certification is an industry-recognized way to advance your career.

What You’ll Learn While Becoming Microsoft Office Certified

Obtaining a Microsoft Office certification provides you with a comprehensive understanding of each program's features and capabilities. Whether you're using them to organize your business and finances or working in a role such as Office Manager, Administrative Assistant, Accountant, or Data Analyst, a certification can be a valuable addition to your resume. You can opt to take classes in the individual programs or in the collection as a whole. Here are some of the skills you can acquire through a certification course:

Word

Microsoft Word is undoubtedly one of the most commonly used Office applications. It is a powerful tool that lets you not only write and edit documents but also check spelling and grammar, insert photos, and improve your writing with resources like Copilot AI Assistant. Use Word's collection of pre-designed templates to create resumes, business cards, brochures, newsletters, and social media posts, making it a versatile application for personal and professional use.

Excel

Excel is another popular and powerful Microsoft program. This easy-to-use spreadsheet application allows you to input data into individual cells, organize it into rows and columns, and then leverage a variety of formulas and functions to perform calculations and computations quickly and accurately. With its ability to analyze data, Excel can help you create tables, graphs, and charts to visualize trends and patterns, make forecasts, and present your findings in a clear and concise manner.

PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint offers many different templates to choose from for creating presentations, or you can start from scratch and create your own format. Adding text, photos, drawings, or videos is easy, and there are a variety of transitions and animations to choose from. Saving your file to OneDrive lets you access your presentations from anywhere on any device, making sharing and collaborating with others simple.

Outlook

Outlook is a powerful tool that allows you to manage your email, calendar, files, meetings, and more from anywhere. With its range of features like Ignore, you can stay focused and avoid distractions, while its alert system ensures that you never miss an important message. Whether you're at the office or on the go, Outlook is the ultimate solution for staying on top of your business.

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 great application that serves as a digital notebook. It provides the convenience of typing or recording notes from various devices such as computers, tablets, or phones. The notes are easy to organize, move, and access later, making it a useful tool for students, professionals, and anyone who needs to keep their notes in order. Additionally, OneNote allows users to capture almost any kind of image on a note, including drawings, which can be helpful for visual learners or those who prefer to jot down ideas using illustrations.

OneDrive

Microsoft's OneDrive lets you store all kinds of files in the cloud so you can collaborate with colleagues or share with friends. Microsoft includes 1 TB of storage in OneDrive with every Microsoft 365 subscription, which is more than enough for most people's needs.

Microsoft Office Industries in NJ

New Jersey's economy is diverse, with many different industries that could use the Microsoft Office productivity suite. Some of these include healthcare, technology, construction, commercial food production, and financial services.

Healthcare companies can use Microsoft Office applications to help teams collaborate, provide a platform for telemedicine, and reduce costs by making the workflow more efficient. Some top healthcare companies located in New Jersey include Labcorp, UnitedHealth Group, BAYADA Home Health Care, Optum, Hackensack Meridian Health, Abbot, and Atlantic Health System.

Microsoft Office offers many advantages to technology companies, from spreadsheets and word processing to preparing presentations and collaboration. The top tech companies in New Jersey are Merk, CoreWeave, Caesar's Digital, OwnBackup, SwagUp, Audible, Fulcrum Digital, and Verisk.

Beyond basic office functions like bookkeeping and generating documents, project managers with construction companies use collaboration software SharePoint and Teams to keep projects on track. Some of the top construction companies in New Jersey include Weeks Marine, Chine Construction America, Allan Industries, and Westport LLC.

New Jersey is also home to many food manufacturing companies, including PepsiCo, Mondelez International, Mars, Nestle, Campbell's, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, and General Mills. Many food manufacturing companies use Access to manage their large databases.

Microsoft Office 365 is useful for financial services companies to communicate across locations, make business processes more efficient, train employees, and collaborate on services like loan and investment documents. Some of the top financial services companies in New Jersey include Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citi, TD, UBS, Barclays, Prudential, and PNC Financial Services Group.

Microsoft Office Careers in NJ

Very few job titles mention Microsoft Office, but many job descriptions list those skills. Some jobs that call for experience with Microsoft Office include Administrative Assistants, Accountants, Legal Assistants, Project Managers, and general professionals.

Administrative Assistants use Outlook to schedule appointments and manage a calendar, create documents with Microsoft Word, and maintain a client list using an Excel spreadsheet. 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 New Jersey, they make around $49,000, with a range between $41,000 and $60,000.

Excel is an important tool for Accountants. Logging income, keeping track of purchases and expenses, creating invoices, charting accounts, and projecting cash flow is easy with interactive spreadsheets. Accountants need a bachelor's degree in business or finance to work as an Accountant. In the US, Accountants earn a median income of $78,000 a year, while the median wage in New Jersey is $76,000 a year, with a range between $61,000 and $94,000.

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 New Jersey, a Legal Assistant makes $52,000 a year, with a range between $43,000 and $63,000.

Construction 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 it's a little higher in New Jersey at $116,000 a year, with a range of $91,000 to $150,000.

Should You Pursue a Certificate or Certification

When it comes to choosing between a certificate or certification class, your goals will determine which way you go. If you want to learn Microsoft Office to use with your own business, a certificate course will give you an introduction to Excel, Word, Outlook, and more. On the other hand, if you want to start a new career in a job that requires you to know Microsoft Office applications, a certification course can do that.

A certification course is also helpful if you plan to take exams like one of the Microsoft Office Specialist tests. This certification demonstrates to employers and clients who you know the fundamental functions of Access, Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint and can use these programs in a work setting.

Top Microsoft Office Certificate Programs in NJ

You can choose between in-person or online classes when you decide to take a Microsoft Office certificate course in New Jersey. Many training programs offer in-person classes nearby in New York City. The advantage of an in-person class is that there is a live instructor and other students to interact with. You can ask questions and get extra help when you need it.

Live online courses run in a similar way, often at the same time as an in-person class. Some students log on using a video conferencing app. There is a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and interact with the class, just like in an in-person session, but you can attend class from your home, office, or favorite internet cafe.

Excel Level 1: Fundamentals, Noble Desktop

Learn the basic concepts of Microsoft Excel in this introductory class from Noble Desktop. Learn to do calculations, create graphs, format worksheets, and print or share them in Microsoft Excel. 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 in-person in NYC or 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 from Noble Desktop will take you from total beginner to expert in three days. The course begins with fundamental concepts 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. This course is available in-person in NYC or 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

Learn to make stunning presentations with Noble Desktop's introductory PowerPoint course. This class includes the fundamental concepts, 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 often one of the first Microsoft programs people learn. 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 in-person in NYC 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.

Microsoft Office Fundamentals Bootcamp, NYIM Training

This bootcamp class from NYIM Training covers four of the most commonly used Microsoft programs. Learn the core concepts of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook in this beginner-friendly, multi-day course. Students will learn to use these applications to create spreadsheets, presentations, documents, and emails for business use. This course is available in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere.

Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Microsoft Office experience. Duration: This is a four-day class.

Cost: This course costs $749.

Complete Microsoft Office Bootcamp, NYIM Training

This intensive Microsoft Office training course from NYIM Training includes three classes in Excel, two classes in PowerPoint, two classes in Word, and two classes in Outlook. Master all of the Office applications in one place with this course. This course is available in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere.

Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Microsoft Office experience.

Duration: This is a nine-day class.

Cost: This course costs $1,725.

Microsoft Certification, NYIM Training

Microsoft's Office Specialist Certificate exams let you show employers what you can do. Sign up for one of NYIM Training's preparatory courses before you take the exams. Certification classes are available in Access, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. These classes can help you pass the certification exam on the first try, but if you don't, there is a free retake. The courses also include exam proctoring, and the Excel course includes private tutoring. This course is available in-person in NYC or 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.

Microsoft Office Fundamentals Bootcamp, NYC Career Centers

This bootcamp course from NYC Career Centers covers the main applications in Microsoft Office, including classes in Beginner Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint Level 1, Microsoft Word Level 1, and Microsoft Outlook Level 1. This beginner's course covers the basic concepts for creating spreadsheets, presentations, documents, and managing email. Get a 15 percent discount when you sign up for the bootcamp instead of taking the classes individually. This course is available in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere.

Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Microsoft Office experience.

Duration: This is a four-day class.

Cost: This course costs $749.

Beginner Microsoft Excel, NYC Career Centers

NYC Career Centers also offers a certification course in Excel for beginners. Learn the Excel basics you will need to work in financial services or keep the books for your own business, like setting up a worksheet, performing calculations, creating charts and tables, adding and modifying text, and managing workbooks. This course will get you started with this powerful business tool. This course is available in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere.

Prerequisites: Students should be familiar with computers but don't need previous Excel experience.

Duration: Choose between one seven-hour session or two three-hour sessions.

Cost: This course costs $249.