Should I get a Mac to become proficient in some office (and other) apps?

[Bearygoodfries1]

Hi everyone!

Im currently taking some online finance courses and other skill courses.
Overall my Mac is fine (I mainly use it for design and other creative work stuff), but I noticed certain features for Excel and Word aren’t there (like advanced options) or shortcuts are a bit different. I have to keep going online to find the Mac shortcut alternatives (which slows things down) or skip certain exercises.

Outside of these courses, for my day job, I can’t lock Word documents the same way I would on my Windows desktop at the office.

This probably won’t be an issue in the long run, at least with shortcuts, but I’m wondering if maybe I should get an inexpensive Windows computer for these courses just to gain the skills, learn formulas, features, etc. I’m trying to learn some new skills to try and get a raise at the office, but maybe also do some side work for extra cash.

I don’t want to install Windows on my Mac though.

Maybe I’m overthinking this and the answer is obvious.

Thanks!

 

[sundialsoft]

If you can afford a Windows laptop with MS Office then you will find that it works properly. Windows based MS office is the industry standard.
While office 365 works well on Mac (my wife uses it on Mac all the time) she doesn't have to interact with Windows users.

 

[chrfr]

Hi everyone!

Im currently taking some online finance courses and other skill courses.
Overall my Mac is fine (I mainly use it for design and other creative work stuff), but I noticed certain features for Excel and Word aren’t there (like advanced options) or shortcuts are a bit different. I have to keep going online to find the Mac shortcut alternatives (which slows things down) or skip certain exercises.

Outside of these courses, for my day job, I can’t lock Word documents the same way I would on my Windows desktop at the office.

This probably won’t be an issue in the long run, at least with shortcuts, but I’m wondering if maybe I should get an inexpensive Windows computer for these courses just to gain the skills, learn formulas, features, etc. I’m trying to learn some new skills to try and get a raise at the office, but maybe also do some side work for extra cash.

I don’t want to install Windows on my Mac though.

Maybe I’m overthinking this and the answer is obvious.

Thanks!

I cannot recommend Office for Mac if you're working in finance. Excel on Mac isn't on feature parity with the Windows version.

 

[Bearygoodfries1]

Well, you all couldn’t be any more clear, haha.

Time to look for a nice Windows laptop.

Thank you very much!

 

[chrfr]

Well, you all couldn’t be any more clear, haha.

Time to look for a nice Windows laptop.

Thank you very much!

It'd be a whole lot less expensive to put Windows on the Mac. You can virtualize Windows and run it in something like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion very easily.

 

[LeeW]

Parallels is great for exactly this type of thing, I use it for MS Office and a few other apps. What I particularly like about Parallels is that it blends into macOS and you can just run whatever you want without really being aware there Windows is actually running in the background.

As mentioned, it would be a cheaper and more efficient solution than having to buy another device just to run Office.

 

[xraydoc]

Well, you all couldn’t be any more clear, haha.

Time to look for a nice Windows laptop.

Thank you very much!

You can use something like Parallels and give yourself a Windows machine for $99 plus the price of a Windows license.

 

[sundialsoft]

Parallels did an upgrade and wanted their money again from me so I gave it up. I am pretty much all Apple but I keep a Windows 10 desktop & windows 7 laptop just for anything Microsofty.
My wife uses Office 365 on Mac and it works really well and is compatible with the Windows version but for working in a real world job you want to be familiar with Office and Windows.

 

[Rigtee]

I'm in the same position right now as I'm stuck at home with lots of Office (mainly Word and Excel) documents to work with (undergraduate student). I own a 2018 13" MBP and although it is a great machine, Microsoft Office on Mac is just not as good as on Windows. I'm now using Parallels (trial) with a Windows 10 licence and it is performing well but it still does not feel as native as a true Windows machine.

 

[zhenya]

If you really need Windows Office on a Mac, I also would strongly recommend Parallels. In the long run it’s much easier to maintain one computer than two. Parallels does a great job of seamlessly integrating the two operating systems. Office files kept in your Mac Home folder can be opened directly in Office on Windows, etc.

That said, I don’t know that I’d bother to do this until you run up against some specific limitation of the Mac version. Yes, they are not at full feature parity, but they are getting closer every year, and I don’t personally find the differences in shortcuts, etc. that big of a deal.

 

[Bearygoodfries1]

Thanks for your responses everyone!

I'm actually I'm going to get a Windows laptop.

Aside from trying to enhance my own personal skills, I keep running into roadblocks with my day job workload.

I would love for my Mac to be my all-in-one machine, but I think I'd rather just get a separate machine for Windows.

 

[Rigtee]

Thanks for your responses everyone!

I'm actually I'm going to get a Windows laptop.

Aside from trying to enhance my own personal skills, I keep running into roadblocks with my day job workload.

I would love for my Mac to be my all-in-one machine, but I think I'd rather just get a separate machine for Windows.

Actually I‘m also leaning towards adding a Windows machine into my setup but I’m not ready to abandon MacOS as I really need it to close the loop between my devices (iPhone and iPad). Selling my current 2018 MBP 13 would be a waste of money as it cost me a lot and is still working fairly well. In the future, I’ll keep a Macbook I think (and not the other way around with a Windows laptop and Mac desktop) and build a desktop PC from scratch with upgradable components. The best of both worlds?

 

[Bearygoodfries1]

Actually I‘m also leaning towards adding a Windows machine into my setup but I’m not ready to abandon MacOS as I really need it to close the loop between my devices (iPhone and iPad). Selling my current 2018 MBP 13 would be a waste of money as it cost me a lot and is still working fairly well. In the future, I’ll keep a Macbook I think (and not the other way around with a Windows laptop and Mac desktop) and build a desktop PC from scratch with upgradable components. The best of both worlds?

I’d say so.

Macs will always be my first choice, but probably a good idea just to have a decent PC around just in case.

 

[kazmac]

I can say as someone who bought a PC to work with Windows 10 office: If you can find a model that does what you need it to do, go for it.