How to Learn Excel

Some skills are almost universally valuable across all industries, and Excel may be one of them. From human resources and education to finance and marketing, many professionals use this spreadsheet software to store, analyze, and look for insights into the data they use for their jobs. 

Learning Excel can help make you a better employee and a more attractive candidate for potential jobs. Luckily, if you’re ready to master this application, you have many options for learning Excel. Read on to discover how to learn Excel and career paths you can enter with this skill set.

What is Excel?

Excel is a computer software program you can use to create spreadsheets and organize data. It’s part of the group of applications that comes with the Microsoft 365 suite of apps. With Excel, you can input data into columns and rows, make computations, and create graphs and tables. You can purchase Excel for your PC, Mac, or devices using iOS and Android operating systems or a free online version. 

Read more: What Is Excel? Formulas, Functions, and More

Why learn Excel?

In a world that thrives on technology, you’ll likely find that you need digital skills no matter what type of career you choose, which is why you should learn Excel. Gaining experience with programs like Excel can help you become a more attractive job candidate and a more productive employee. Thanks to your advanced knowledge and sharp skill set, you may even be a valuable asset to your organization. 

Employees who use Excel tend to be more efficient, which is good for the organization where you work and allows you to save time and effort. This is especially true if you work in a job that deals with large amounts of data or numbers. You can also use the program’s functions to perform certain calculations. 

Read more: Google Sheets vs. Excel: What’s the Difference?

Careers where Excel knowledge is valuable

Having some knowledge of Excel is important across many industries, particularly if you work in an office. Consider the following ten diverse career options that use Excel: 

• Accountant: As an accountant, you can use Excel to keep up with the multitudes of numbers you use daily, plus use the calculation function to streamline your math and ensure it is accurate. 

• Researcher: Researchers use Excel to gain basic insight into their data, including simple statistical analysis and visualization. 

• Administrative assistant: As an administrative assistant, you may use Excel to keep your office organized, managing everything from schedules and appointments to records and important documents. 

• Human resources specialist: HR specialists can use Excel to organize common tasks like payroll and taxes, create reports, and update records. 

• Teacher: As a teacher, you might use Excel to track grades, create lesson plans, design assessments, and more. 

• Inventory manager: Inventory managers can use Excel for various duties, such as documenting, managing, and supplying necessary inventory for business functions. 

• Project manager: Excel helps you, as a project manager, organize data like finances and vendor information so you can better manage your routine operations. 

• Investment banker: Investment bankers typically use Excel daily to make numerous calculations, such as capital budgeting, risk analysis, and accounting ratios. 

• Digital marketer: Digital marketers often spend a lot of time collecting, organizing, manipulating, and analyzing data. Excel is an ideal tool for this. 

• Software developer: Software developers can integrate Excel with other coding environments to complete programming tasks. 

How to learn Excel

No matter what you do or plan to do for a living, Excel can be a great asset to your career. Luckily, you have plenty of options for where to learn Excel and master the application. As you begin, explore the following helpful ways to learn Excel.

Microsoft Excel Help Center

A great place to start is with the source itself: Microsoft. The Microsoft 365 Support website offers videos and templates for Excel training. You'll find a basic intro and videos about specific topics like formatting, rows and columns, cells, pivot tables, formulas, charts, and more. 

Online tutorials and videos

Beyond the Microsoft 365 Support website, you can find other videos and tutorials online, many of which are free. Go to YouTube and quickly search for “Excel tutorial” for helpful videos. You will also find numerous websites dedicated to teaching Excel to new users. 

College courses

Some colleges and career training centers offer Excel training. These classes may focus on Excel exclusively or include instruction on all aspects of the Microsoft 365 suite. Additionally, you can check with libraries or career centers for training options. 

Certifications

An additional way to learn Excel is through a certification program, which will look good on your resume as well. Microsoft offers several credential options, including the Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate certification and the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Expert certification. You can also look to various colleges and learning platforms for courses that can help you prepare for certification.

Keep up with Excel updates.

When you use Excel, whether for personal reasons or business, it’s important to ensure your software is always up to date. Not only does this allow you to access the latest features, but it will also help fix any bugs your software may have and keep it secure. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you’ll see more frequent updates than without a subscription. 

To ensure your software is up to date, go to Excel and click on File. Next, choose Account (or Office Account) > Product Information > Update Options. Once you see the Update Now button, click on it. The software will search for updates. 

Getting started with Excel on Coursera

Excel is a great skill to have in your toolbox for a variety of jobs, which is why you should learn It and explore the different ways you can apply it to your job. 

On Coursera, you’ll find several options for learning Excel and how it applies to various topics. These courses and Specializations are offered by some of the top schools and businesses in the world. For example, you might take Excel Basics for Data Analysis, offered by IBM on Coursera, where you can learn basic spreadsheet tasks or how to analyze data on spreadsheets.

To build a strong foundation, you can take Business Analytics With Excel: Elementary to Advanced offered by Johns Hopkins University on Coursera. The class can help you learn different analysis techniques and programming.