Excel is everywhere in the commercial world.
Learning it is a foundational skill that will save you time every day.
Acuity Training has recently carried out a survey involving 1,000 professionals who use Excel daily and found that:
- On average people spend 38% of their time working on Excel.
- 18% of the employees who are spending 60% of their time working on Excel
However, only 48% of the people were lucky enough to receive formal Excel courses while the rest are self-taught.
Let’s look at some good ways to improve your Excel skills in 2022.
- Coursera
Coursera is an online learning platform that is providing quality education resources for many in-demand skills.
You can find several options for learning Excel on Coursera.
Coursera has partnered with leading tech companies and institutions that are teaching in-demand skills with a more practical-oriented approach.
Even more interestingly, Coursera provides financial assistance for some courses to make learning more affordable.
Pros
- With leading tech companies and institutions providing certifications on the platform, you get to learn what is required in the practical world
- Well-structured assessment system of Coursera keeps you motivated throughout the course
- Learning new skills while staying within the budget through financial assistance programs is beneficial to those who want to upskill themselves but are short on budget.
Cons
- Coursera works on a monthly subscription model. It is cheap if you work hard on your course but can be expensive if you are slow.
- You won’t be able to access the complete course material after the completion of the certification.
- Udemy
Udemy is another online learning platform offering certification for many in-demand skills.
It offers micro certifications for a one-time payment.
With more than 175,000 courses it has courses for pretty much every skill you can think of!
Pros
- Whatever your current level of Excel skills Udemy will have a course for you.
- Instead of a monthly subscription, Udemy charges a one-time fee for the course offering you more flexibility to complete the coursework at your own pace.
- Depending on the instructor profile and coursework, you can find many options ranging from $13 to $300 for a course.
Cons
- The course is taught using pre-recorded lectures. They do not offer the real-time support of the instructor. It is time-consuming to get support from the instructor if you get stuck on any topic.
- Completing the course will be completely dependent on you, the platform does not offer any kind of assessment system to keep you motivated.
- YouTube
YouTube is the biggest video streaming platform in the world and hosts a ton of educational resources to learn Excel.
There are lots of channels offer tutorials in all sorts of Excel’s different features.
There are lots of Micorsoft certified trainers and MVPs posting great content on YouTube.
Pros
- Following a YouTube channel with a larger subscriber base would give you the chance to interact with others and learn from their experience.
- You can follow different channels to get familiar with Excel from different perspectives.
- The content is free as it is ad-supporting.
Cons
- Learning from YouTube would not give you any certificate which you can use to optimize your social and professional profiles.
- Although YouTube offers a lot of options but finding the right one that fits your preferences may sometimes become time-consuming.
- Books and Blogs
There are lots of great books and blogs which you can read to learn Excel in general or focused on a specific industry. For example a blog focused on general Excel is: Excel Exposure.equally if you are focused on using Excel in finance WallStreetOasis is a great blog to follow.
Great examples of Excel focused blogs
It’s just a question of finding the right one that suits you and your way of thinking.
Pros
- Books and blogs are easy to follow due to their well-defined structure.
- Some well-known publishers and sites also provide working files that you can use to follow along with their articles.
Cons
- Finding the right blog can become time-consuming.
- There is generally no support offered if you get stuck with something.
- Classroom-Based Learning
Classroom-based learning is still one of the most preferred methods to learn technical skills like Excel.
Many organizations prefer this method to enhance the skills of their employees as it is quick and efficient, even if it is more expensive than the other options mentioned above.
Pros
- You can discuss issues with the instructor meaning that you don’t get stuck.
- The instructor will make sure that you complete all the coursework with complete satisfaction
- Attending a training centre ensures that you focus 100% on the training for the day and don’t get distracted.
Cons
- Once you enroll yourself in classroom-based training you must have to commit full time to complete the coursework.
- This method is more expensive than other methods mentioned above
Final Thoughts
There isn’t really a right and a wrong way to learn Excel.
Find the way that suits you best. Hopefully the ideas in this article have inspired you to have a go.