Buy a windows pc for office work..or not?

another_casualty

Howdy !
Unfortunately I have been unemployed for 3 years , and have been on universal credit since January . Long story , so I'll leave that there
However , I have decided to enrol for a couple of courses which start in the new year trying to rebuild my confidence and get me back into a part time office role . At home I'm a Mac user , iPad and iPhone etc

I have been using windows desktops since the year 2000 doing basic stuff like outlook , internet explorer and just a tiny bit of excel .
In my line of employment there hasn't been much use for computer skills other than using a ' help desk ' checking jobs outstanding etc

When I do this computer course , it will obviously be pc and not mac
I'm thinking that maybe it's worth getting a laptop , new rather than old and that will have the latest software which would be up to date for around 3 years . The idea being , I could do what I learn on the course and not fall behind and keep practicing on a laptop at home.

Please could you advise

Thanks

bob_a_builder

Don't forget a new PC/laptop is most likely to only have the Windows OS and almost certainly won't include MS Office

The usual response on here is that there are free alternatives, but of course you probably want to be practicing on the 'real' thing - so thats an extra expense to consider

There was a user on here who was able to offer some free keys for office - I wonder if he has any left

Second hand Thinkpad laptops often get recommended on here too, look on ebay for refurbished units

Heres an example : LINK

psychic_teabag

What will the courses be covering ?

another_casualty

Thanks very much Bob for that . The price on that is very good .
Psychic teabag ,I'm going on ' admissions sessions ICT ' . I believe that after this , I should be pointed to the course that suits me.
Not too basic , as I can do email etc but something that should help me be able to do enough to keep up and not be too much of a novice if that makes sense

another_casualty

Just wondering , is ms office an essential programme to have ?
It does sound like it ..

motorguy

another_casualty wrote: »

Howdy !
Unfortunately I have been unemployed for 3 years , and have been on universal credit since January . Long story , so I'll leave that there
However , I have decided to enrol for a couple of courses which start in the new year trying to rebuild my confidence and get me back into a part time office role . At home I'm a Mac user , iPad and iPhone etc

I have been using windows desktops since the year 2000 doing basic stuff like outlook , internet explorer and just a tiny bit of excel .
In my line of employment there hasn't been much use for computer skills other than using a ' help desk ' checking jobs outstanding etc

When I do this computer course , it will obviously be pc and not mac
I'm thinking that maybe it's worth getting a laptop , new rather than old and that will have the latest software which would be up to date for around 3 years . The idea being , I could do what I learn on the course and not fall behind and keep practicing on a laptop at home.

Please could you advise

Thanks

I would have thought it would be an unnecessary spend to be quite honest. A half decent new laptop is going to be £400+, and Office 365 a cost on top of that.

If you really must have a Win10 machine at home, theres plenty of older desktop PCs around on gumtree at facebook for pennies. You could enhance your skills by fitting a cheap SSD and a fresh install of Win10.

My desktop PC here is 7+ years old and i use it daily. No need for a big spend.

motorguy

another_casualty wrote: »

Just wondering , is ms office an essential programme to have ?
It does sound like it ..

Licence keys are available for it from around £5 on ebay. Dont spend ££-£££s on it.

motorguy

another_casualty wrote: »

Howdy !
Unfortunately I have been unemployed for 3 years , and have been on universal credit since January . Long story , so I'll leave that there
However , I have decided to enrol for a couple of courses which start in the new year trying to rebuild my confidence and get me back into a part time office role . At home I'm a Mac user , iPad and iPhone etc

I have been using windows desktops since the year 2000 doing basic stuff like outlook , internet explorer and just a tiny bit of excel .
In my line of employment there hasn't been much use for computer skills other than using a ' help desk ' checking jobs outstanding etc

When I do this computer course , it will obviously be pc and not mac
I'm thinking that maybe it's worth getting a laptop , new rather than old and that will have the latest software which would be up to date for around 3 years . The idea being , I could do what I learn on the course and not fall behind and keep practicing on a laptop at home.

Please could you advise

Thanks

On the job front, have you tried contact centres? Theres loads about any major town or city and they're always crying out for people. Usually being resonably sane, relatively articulate and having basic computer skills is the only requirements to get you in the door.

another_casualty

Thanks again for the great advice .
I was also wondering if Apple do the exact thing which I could buy instead of a windows laptop altogether . ?
Just a thought ..:o

stragglebod

Well, do the courses you're enrolling on require you to have a Windows PC with the full Office installed on them, or don't they?

motorguy

another_casualty wrote: »

Thanks again for the great advice .
I was also wondering if Apple do the exact thing which I could buy instead of a windows laptop altogether . ?
Just a thought ..:o

You can get office for the Mac, no problem.

You can also get Win10 to run on your Mac if needs be.

I genuinely wouldnt get too hung up on spending money at this point. See what the course requirements are.

Also, check your local library - they usually have windows PCs for free use.