Microsoft Excel Specialist Exam (Certification)

Hi, all!

I know it might not be the best place to post this question, but I think you guys will be able to give me the answer I am seeking!

I am a third year Finance and Investment student really passioned about Excel, but I do not have a qualification to prove that. I am planning to sit the exam for microsoft office specialist and wanted to ask you guys your opinion on the exam. What do you think about it's reputation? How difficult is?

Also, I would like to know if you would recommend me participating in the courses that are being offered by the exam centers which cost between 200€ and 400€ for 16 hours. I do use excel quite often and do complex things with it, but I cannot asses my level of knowledge because I do not know anything about the difficulty of the exam.

Thank you very much for your help!
Cheers!

https://alison.com/courses/Microsoft-Excel-2010 I took a course here and you get a certificate to print, a printable badge with a QR code on it and printable transcripts as well. I used this as a pre-test before I go take the actual exam.

I took the Expert exams for Excel and Word, and the specialist exam for Access. It was fairly easy. I recommend the https://www.gmetrix.com/ study prep application. The tests provided are very similar to the actual certification tests. Also this book on Amazon was helpful. Here is the book for the specialist tests.