Build a Career Around Your Microsoft Skills – Microsoft 365 and Office 365 (Part 2)

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Build a Career Around Your Microsoft Skills – Microsoft 365 and Office 365 (Part 2)

In our recent post we have already discussed two areas of Microsoft skills that are sometimes confused with each other: Microsoft 365 and (Microsoft) Office 365. If you want to build your career as an IT professional around Microsoft products, you are probably already familiar with the differences and similarities in that respect. Today, let us have a closer look at career options and further educational possibilities depending on your current level of expertise.

 

IT professional/Microsoft Skills

The job market for Microsoft skills (Microsoft 365/Office 365)

When you research the job market for positions that involve Microsoft 365 skills, these are the type of job offers you might find (depending on your skill level and location):

  • Microsoft 365 Administrator
  • Microsoft 365 Developer
  • Microsoft 365 Architect
  • IT Support Specialist Level 2 – Microsoft Cloud (Office 365/Azure)
  • IT Support Technician
  • Windows Systems Admin – Microsoft Cloud
  • Cloud Technical Expert

Since Office 365 is used in all kinds of job descriptions, there is an even broader range of options, some of them naturally being in similar areas as the above.

  • IT End User Support Specialist
  • Office 365 – Exchange Online-Consultant
  • Office 365/ Exchange engineer
  • Technology Support Specialist
  • Junior Desktop Support
  • Office 365 Delivery Engineer
  • Associate UC Support Engineer
  • Office 365 SharePoint Onboarding Engineer
  • Technical Engineer / Help Desk
  • SharePoint Developer (Office 365)

 

The T-shaped Microsoft expert

We have already addressed the generalist and specialist approach with regards to Microsoft skills. While there can be advantages as well as disadvantages associated with either option, there is also a third: Professionals with this combination of skills are often referred to as “generalizing specialist” or “T-shaped“.

This means that this person is an expert/specialist in a single field (the vertical part of the “T”). The difference to a “regular” specialist is that this one also possesses the ability and sufficient knowledge to collaborate with other experts in other disciplines (the horizontal part of the “T”). In the context of recruiting, this is considered a very desirable trait in a potential future employee. Within the area of IT, the term “T-shaped” is also common for cross-skilled team members in the context of agile software development.

Back to the subject of Microsoft, this could mean that your expertise (vertical) falls under the Microsoft-related skills (Microsoft 365/Office 365), but that you are capable of collaborating with other IT professionals in different/related fields.

 

Develop your Microsoft expertise with TechSherpas 365 learning solutions

Whether you want to further your expertise in Microsoft 365 and/or Office 365 or just starting in the field, we at TechSherpas 365 are your competent partner with our Microsoft training courses and certification programs.

If you already do consider yourself a Microsoft 365/Office 365 expert but want to improve on the horizontal part of your T-shape, take a look at our course catalog to find the right learning solution for you.

 

 

Sources and further reading:

https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-are-t-shaped-skills
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills
https://www.indeed.com

How to Build a Career Around Your Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Skills (Part 1)

As an IT professional, practicing your Microsoft 365 and Office 365 skills can be an integral part of your daily work. You might specialize in Microsoft or simply consider it one part of your well-rounded IT expertise. In case you are not there yet, let us talk about how these Microsoft products can form the foundation for an IT career.

 

Microsoft 365 and Office 365 skills

Is there a difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Skills?

If you keep informed with what is going on in the world of Microsoft, you are of course aware of this, but just for the record: No, your Office 365 skills are not quite the same as the ones for Microsoft 365. Office 365 with its applications and services is actually one part of the Microsoft 365 offer. We have already given you an overview of what Office 365 is all about in two earlier blog posts:

Microsoft 365 is a bundle that includes Office 365, plus the operation system (currently Windows 10) and additional mobility and security tools (Enterprise Mobility + Security).

 

Generalists and Specialists

As a professional (or aspiring professional) you might have already been confronted with the question of becoming a generalist (a basic to intermediary level of knowledge in a wide range of subjects) or specialist (particular expertise in one area/subject) in your chosen field.

Especially in the beginning of your career, this is not necessarily a conscious choice, and it also can change during the course of your career. In the context of IT this means that you might start out as a generalist by getting a working knowledge of various subjects/systems. At some point though you might find an area of special interest for you and decide you want to learn more about it and reach a higher level of knowledge/skills. At TechSherpas 365 we offer you a wide range of IT classes and certification training courses for all levels.

It is also possible that you develop additional expertise due to the work you do on a day-to-day basis.

Conversely, you might start out with extensive knowledge and skills in one special area and then decide later to broaden your knowledge by learning more about additional software or systems. In connection with Microsoft this might mean that you are an Office 365 expert and then decide to get a working knowledge about the other areas of the Microsoft 365 bundle.

Enhance and broaden your Microsoft 365/Office 365 skills with our various Microsoft training courses and certification programs. We will talk more about your career and learning options with Microsoft in our next post.

 

 

Sources and further reading:

What’s the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 365?


https://www.cleverism.com/ultimate-career-choice-generalist-vs-specialist/