What to Learn After Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a popular word processing and document creation tool. It’s used across a wide variety of industries to create professional documents and reports. If you already know how to use Microsoft Word, you might consider learning Microsoft Excel, the entire Microsoft Office Suite, or skills in graphic design. We’ll cover these skills below so you have a clear understanding of what you’d like to tackle next. 

What is Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word is a powerful word-processing software that offers tons of flexibility when it comes to creating professional reports, letters, contracts, and other documents. Its features are more robust than other word processors, allowing it to become an industry standard used by companies and entrepreneurs worldwide. These advanced features include mail marges, spellchecker, text formatting, tables, and page layout, among many others. Microsoft Word can also produce documents in various file types, making it compatible with many other programs. Its popularity means it’s also compatible with nearly any computer. 

Since its release in 1983, Microsoft Word has continued to evolve to the needs of its users. Modern integrations have allowed the use of Microsoft Word over mobile, the web, and the Cloud for collaborative document creation. Cloud-based sharing and permissions make it easy for colleagues to collaborate and maintain security. Though Microsoft Word has faced many competitors over the decades, it continues to stand the test of time. 

Read more about what Microsoft Word is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word is primarily used as a word-processing program for creating professional-looking documents and reports. Authors use it to write novels, job seekers create resumes, and students write essays. In the workplace, Microsoft Word is used to create a host of documents, including letterheads, reports, templates, training manuals, calendars, invoices, and promotional materials, among others. Businesses also use the mail merge feature that outputs created documents to a mailing list or newsletter.

But Microsoft Word is more than a typing software. The program includes interactive elements such as fillable forms, checkboxes, and dropdown menus. It can easily convert documents into fillable PDFs or vice versa. Plain text documents are made more visually appealing with images, animations, or WordArt. Tables are also easily converted into visual graphs and charts. Microsoft Word can even transcribe audio files, transcribe live speech into text, and translate documents.

A particularly valuable feature of Microsoft Word is its collaboration tools for group projects. Professionals can easily share documents with others to work on. Changes such as comments and edits are tracked so the original owner of the document can decide what suggestions to make official. A history of changes to a document is also saved and can be reverted to at any time. Microsoft Word is a powerful tool for any business’ communications needs, whether internally or with customers or clients. 

Microsoft Excel

At first glance, Microsoft Excel couldn’t be more different from Microsoft Word. As a spreadsheet and data organization program, Excel seems to have little in common with Word. However, the two programs integrate with each other, allowing data to be easily copied and pasted from one to the other. This is an excellent feature for Data Analysts who need to organize data into a visually appealing format for reports. Other positions using Word and Excel include bookkeepers and clerical workers.

Free online guides and tutorials can be excellent resources for getting a feel for or learning the basics of Microsoft Excel. However, free programs are often outdated and usually lack expert-level tips and tricks. Comprehensive training for Microsoft Excel is recommended to truly master Excel. Once you learn the ins and outs of the program, you can gain certification in Microsoft Excel to boost your resume and career prospects.

Microsoft Office Suite

Microsoft Word is part of a whole suite of Microsoft Office programs, including Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Assess, and OneNote. Students who have already learned the features of Microsoft Word will have a head start with other Microsoft Office programs as their layouts and features are similar. Knowledge of the whole Microsoft Office suite is required to gain Microsoft Office Specialist Certification. Individuals who complete certification have a variety of career paths open to them, such as office and business administration, data analysis, and desktop publishing.

Students can begin learning Microsoft Office programs online through free guides and tutorials. Paid classes are also available online for comprehensive Microsoft Office training. Ultimately, an individual will need to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist certification exams. Courses do exist that offer both Microsoft Office training and certification examination. 

Desktop Publishing

Microsoft Word was built for creating visually appealing documents and reports. Professionals who work in desktop publishing often use more robust programs such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator to create documents. They also require skills in graphic and visual design. However, Microsoft Word can be a great starting point for learning how to combine text with visual components, work with tables and charts, and experiment with formatting and layout. 

Live online training is available in graphic design. You can also find free online tutorials and guides for Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator to learn the basics of the programs. However, professional training is recommended for individuals wishing to advance their careers. 

Learn Microsoft Word with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

In today’s busy world, live online learning can be a fast, engaging, and comprehensive alternative to in-person classes. Noble Desktop offers live online classes in Microsoft Word that are hands-on and open to beginners. Classes are small, taught by expert instructors, and include free retake options.

Microsoft Word Level I is a one-day course that teaches all the Microsoft Word essentials. You’ll learn how to avoid common page formatting errors and prepare and send mass emails, letters, and labels with one click. You’ll also learn all the necessary shortcuts to shave hours off your time. Students who want to increase their Microsoft Word skills can attend the Microsoft Word Level II course.

Microsoft Word Level II is an advanced class that teaches next-level Microsoft Word skills. You’ll learn how to use automation to speed up your workflow, create custom document templates, use advanced formatting techniques, and build long documents. This is the ideal course for individuals wanting to become Microsoft Word experts. 

Noble Desktop also provides additional Microsoft Office classes, including Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook.

Key Insights

• Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel integrate with each other and are excellent tools for Data Analysts, bookkeepers, and clerical workers.
• Microsoft Office Specialists are experts in all Microsoft Office programs and can work in office and business administration, data analysis, and desktop publishing.
• Desktop publishing is a great skill to start with Microsoft Word and can be boosted with further training in graphic design and Adobe programs.