I'm not writing about the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) certification because the acronym for the certification holds marvelous punning potential. Yes, I admit to the temptation and may well give in to it at a few points in this column. However, I wanted to bring the MOUS certification to your attention because I think it's an IT certification that is both professionally beneficial and truly affordable.

So many versions of Office have been installed on corporate computers that the software has become the de facto standard for office work in the United States. That means many people already have lots of experience with the software; some people have so much experience that they could pass the certification exams today without studying at all. In fact, you don't need to take formal training classes of any kind to pass these exams.

Even though you could argue that Microsoft is simply adding to its bottom line by setting up the MOUS program, I see real benefits to this program and feel it's a win-win for both employee and employer. The certification demonstrates to your current, or potential, employer that you are a whiz at using one or more components of the Microsoft Office suite. So, instead of just telling someone that you can make Excel perform financial analysis back flips, you can present your independent certification to attest to this fact. For potential employers looking to make sure they've found someone who has the qualifications they need related to Microsoft Office, the certification is a more of a sure bet than just going by what someone tells you.

The certification is also a great tool to use for employee development and for salary and raise planning. Say you're an administrative staff person who is bucking for a promotion and a raise. The ability to demonstrate a certain level of capability in Office might help you move up the ladder a rung or two. Or, if you're a human resources manager searching for a way to make your hiring and promotions policies more objective, you might find it by using the MOUS certification.

A three-level MOUS trap

Before I tell you how you can study for the exams on your own, let me fill you in a little more on the certification itself, including the various levels of proficiency. Microsoft has established three levels of proficiency for the certification:

Microsoft Office Proficient Specialist (Core) (MOPS): This indicates that users can handle a wide range of routine tasks and have working knowledge of Word and Excel (Office 97 or 2000 versions). This level is also known as the Core Certification for Office 2000 software.

Microsoft Office Expert Specialist (Office Expert) (MOES): This indicates that users can handle complex projects that include advanced formats and functions. You can be certified in any (or all) of the four most popular components of Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access; or the Word and Excel components of Office 2000. Also called the Office Expert Certification for Office 2000.

Microsoft Office Master (MOM): This indicates that users have acquired Master Specialist status in all four of the Office 97 primary components: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. For Office 2000 users, it indicates they have attained the same status for the Office 2000 primary components: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook. Thus, you can become one of the Office MOMs by obtaining the highest MOUS certification.

If you're trying to make up your mind about which level of certification you should attempt to obtain, let me help you with some ideas of my own. I think that administrative assistants--the people we used to call secretaries--should have at least a MOPS level of certification. A MOES level might be called for in major corporations, depending upon how much of the boss's work the person is called upon to do.

The need for an office MOM is a little more difficult for me to picture. I can see using this level of proficiency as a standard for someone who oversees a group of MOPSes or MOESes. Other than that, I could see the MOM level being useful if your job is to organize and create presentations for other people--whether as a freelancer or a staff person.

Training for the MOUS maze

Unlike many certification exams, MOUS tests are not multiple-choice. Instead, you must demonstrate your proficiency by making something do something. For example, the test might tell you to highlight a line of text (in the Word test) or change the formatting in a column of numbers (in the Excel test). Do the task correctly and you've got that question right. The tests are also time-limited, which means you have to complete the questions within a set period of time. Limiting the amount of time you can spend on each question means you can't learn as you go. Each test has more than 50 questions, and to pass the tests, you have to be really adept at the application for which you're being quizzed.

You can order practice tests from Self Test Software for less than a few hundred dollars for the whole battery of tests. You can also go ahead and set yourself up for a test-center voucher to save yourself some money on the tests themselves.

Even if you are not interested in MOUS certification, ordering the practice tests and taking them is a fast and effective way to spot weak areas in your knowledge of these different Office applications. Employers can also use the practice tests to do on-the-spot testing and to determine applicants' skill levels. Trainers could use them as final exams or to help students study only the parts of the software in which they aren't yet fully trained.

You could also train yourself for the exams by working your way through some of the step-by-step books about the applications or by using online or CD-ROM-based instruction. Short one- or two-day classes would also help you, although there is no guarantee that what you learn in class is going to match what's on the MOUS exam. Still, some training is better than no training if you have only a little experience or find it difficult to learn on your own, or if you have the time for self-paced training.

If you have some experience with an Office application, you do not need to pay for expensive or intensive MOUS certification classes. There are many viable learning and training options that won't cost you more than $100 or so.

If you've got any degree of experience with an Office application mentioned in this column, drop by the MOUS Web site www.mous.net and download the sample questions. Take the tests for the software you're most familiar with and judge for yourself how easy it would be for you to fill in any knowledge gaps.

You also don't need to pay expensive fees for the certification tests themselves. Each test center gets to set its own fees (read: markup), but Microsoft doesn't charge that much for tests because the company wants to make as many MOUS people as it can. So if the test center is charging $100 or so per test, that's in the ballpark. Hundreds of dollars for testing alone isn't.

The cheese at the end of the MOUS maze

You don't get mouse ears and you don't have to learn any songs to join the MOUS club--which is a shame if you like a little levity in your life. There are more serious benefits, though. You get the benefit of knowing that your Office skills are complete and up-to-date, so you should be able to tackle any project the boss hands you. You may also be able to use the proof of your skills to land a promotion or a raise--but check with the HR department first to see if becoming a MOUS will help.

You may also be able to use your MOUS certification to land another job. I admit I haven't seen any help-wanted ads that specifically mention this certification, so you may have to do some explaining about the certification during the interview. However, any savvy HR person will realize MOUS certification means the candidate has skills and initiative.

You can find more information about the program, locate test centers, and learn more about how to prepare yourself for the tests by visiting the MOUS Web site. This is one certification that isn't a trap for your time or your money.

Contributing Editor Molly Joss also writes a new career advice column-Ask Molly www.computeruser.com/archives/cu/askmolly_index.html every weekday on ComputerUser.com.