MS office versus pages & numbers

Just bought my first mac a month ago and have some questions regarding productivity software. I am very proficient with MS office but am hung up on if I should by MS office for mac or their apple counterparts (pages, numbers, etc.) I am currently in the job market and all of the job postings I read request a resume in MS word format. The apple programs are attractive because they cost less than their MS counterparts.

Both have their advantages, for example pages is much better at page layout and is a great entry level DTP program.

But if you are comfortable in Office and need to use it daily for work then get that.

If you dont really need office, and are on a budget you can use the open source libre office. You can create your CV and save in Word format and know one will know you are using free software

By the way, pages can also save to MS word format

LibreOffice Productivity Suite Download » LibreOffice

Another thought,

If you have multiple devices (or will have), and integration into a Cloud Network for all devices is important then the clear choice would be the Apple products. The other good news is that it is free for up to 5 GB of space on iCloud.

In the end it really depends what is important to you.

DavidH

I find Pages and Keynote (in particular) INCREDIBLY liberating from the drudgery of Microsoft Office, though I am not saying that MS Office is crap or anything.

In your circumstance in fact I would say that LibreOffice or MS Office would probably be your best choice.

For me, iWork was like trading in the gas guzzler buick for a sleek hybrid, but my focus has always been on making the document easy to look at as well as easy to read, and that's where Pages/Keynote (and even Numbers) excels. (Ha! See what I did there?) Not everyone has the same priorities.

Hi,

When I first bought my MacBook I made a conscious decision not to bootcamp it, thus left all MS software behind. So I started with Open Office then NeoOffice. (Both very good)

Made the transition to pages numbers and keynote very quickly, as chas-m has said it is very versatile and enjoyable to use thus giving a great end result.
Pages will if you choose export from the file menu save the document you have just produced as a PDF, word, RTF, plain text or ePub doc. Makes life really easy.

Another bonus is there extremely cheap price in the app store.;D

As chas_m says it depends on your priorities.

Office 2011 is the best Office suite going. You will find many employers will only accept MS Resumes. Often the same in the academic field.

Keep in mind that MS Office is the de facto standard in the business world and for the vast majority of higher educational institutes.

Each iWork application will cost $19.99, (the full suite is no longer being sold) for a total of a few pennies short of $60. Pretty good bargain considering they're all very good apps. However, I've seen the Home and Business Office 2011 package for $96 advertised by several net resellers. Keep in mind you also get Outlook (for better or worse) along with Word, PP, and Excel for that price.

Open Office, Neo Office, and the new Libre Office offer a free alternative to MS Office. Of the three, I recommend the newer Libre Office.