[BMW F22]

In my line of work I use Excel on a daily basis. However, it seems that whatever skills I pick up are often on the job. I want to be an Excel wiz. Anyone here an Excel guru? Can you point me in the right direction as to how to be a master at Excel? I see people using crazy formulas, macros, etc. and I really want to be able to do the same regardless whether or not I will actually use it on the job.

[metrickid]

Watch a bunch of tutorials?

http://www.lynda.com/search?q=excel

[BMW F22]

Been watching YouTube videos and pick up whatever I can and hope that some day I will use them. Did not think about Lynda.com so thank you for that!

[Axius]

I use a lot of basic data transfer and macros, a lot of my vlookup macros were set by the guy who was here before me, but I really want to figure out how the fuck to get it to work.

I've read tutorials and looked at my formulas but for whatever reason I can't get it to work when I run my own report. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[Red Bread]

Mr Excel and even the MS forums. Best bet is to get crappy systems, they'll force you to learn lookups, pivot tables and VBA just to survive. Good systems don't require as much Excel buffoonery.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by Axius

I use a lot of basic data transfer and macros, a lot of my vlookup macros were set by the guy who was here before me, but I really want to figure out how the fuck to get it to work.

I've read tutorials and looked at my formulas but for whatever reason I can't get it to work when I run my own report. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Haha I feel your pain. At the previous place I couldn't get a file to update because of some macros that were created by someone else. For some reason only certain people can update it. I checked everything and asked pretty much everyone I knew and nobody could give me an answer. So then whenever I need it to be updated I had to ask someone else to do it for me. pita. Good thing it was very infrequent.

[EALm4]

I use Mr Excel and browse around Excel is Fun's youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ExcelIsFun

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Mr Excel and even the MS forums. Best bet is to get crappy systems, they'll force you to learn lookups, pivot tables and VBA just to survive. Good systems don't require as much Excel buffoonery.

Yeah for sure. I am pretty comfortable using Excel (pivot, vlookup, IF). But when people talk about modeling and using crazy formulas or complicated files (parsing from other files) I feel like I need to improve.

[SDH]

Another vote for mr excel.

Best way to learn is to just have a go yourself, and ask others on excel forums. Been on many courses for excel and it always feels like I know more than the people "training" us.

I love a good excel challenge (I'm better with vba than formulas) if you need some help send me a file and I'll try my best to help out.

[Taskmaster]

Take a class on it.

Seriously.

[hz_diesel]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Take a class on it.

Seriously.

+1 Take it even if you think you know it all, get the certification for it. It's what everyone here is saying, you learn from experience with excel.

[MChat]

(The following applies to learning in general, as well as learning software)

Find reasons to use the stuff you learn from any online video, forum or tutorial.

Without finding a purpose your brain will just classify the information as "useless knowledge" and file it away with all of the other useless trivia you've collected over the years.

With each thing you learn, ask yourself: How can I use this? This tells your brain that the information you just learned is important and it "files" it differently.

As for Excel, if you get stumped and want to know something, I've done more with Excel than probably 99% of the people who use it daily, so ask away.

[BMW F22]

Thanks Everyone! I'm checking out some videos on youtube to see if I can pick up new skills. I will be sure to ask if I'm stumped with something in the future.

[ASAP]

What would you like to know specifically?

I would say almost anything in excel (in a business setting) can be accomplished using Vlookups, SUMifs and Pivot Tables lol...

I kid you not. If you know those 3, almost anything can be done.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by ASAP

What would you like to know specifically?

I would say almost anything in excel (in a business setting) can be accomplished using Vlookups, SUMifs and Pivot Tables lol...

I kid you not. If you know those 3, almost anything can be done.

If you know how to code in VBA, Excel pretty much can do anything. You can also use "SUMPRODUCT" for complicated, multi-conditional SUMIFs. I work with a lot of CSV data dumps in Excel and SUMPRODUCT can be a God send.

As far as learning Excel, anything by John Walkenbach is a great resource.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by ASAP

What would you like to know specifically?

I would say almost anything in excel (in a business setting) can be accomplished using Vlookups, SUMifs and Pivot Tables lol...

I kid you not. If you know those 3, almost anything can be done.

I kind of agree. Really those were what I used in my former job. I'm just saying that many employers nowadays look for those that are experts in Excel. To have a leg up/competitive edge I would like to be an expert at it as well. I do know that most companies/jobs never use that many features/functions in Excel though.

[catcher22]

Originally Posted by ASAP

What would you like to know specifically?

I would say almost anything in excel (in a business setting) can be accomplished using Vlookups, SUMifs and Pivot Tables lol...

I kid you not. If you know those 3, almost anything can be done.

This is true. If you master the topics in MS Excel (Vlookups, if statements, and Pivot Tables), you pretty much have everything you will ever need with Excel in the business environment. Now, you may need to create crazy formulas that reference other tabs and perform calculations, but that's almost always just trial and error to get the formula correct (unless you already know the formula).

The only way I learned was on the job - I had a task, report, or data that I needed, and then began lots of trial and error, reading, and messing around with the data to see how it is output. I once spent 16+ hours straight on an excel spreadsheet getting the crazy formulas corrected. Something like 8AM-2AM at work....straight thru (it was year end)

If you need to do more than the three functions above, you need to learn how to use MS Access or a more sophisticated tool. Excel is a powerful tool but has its limits.

[BwoodBMW]

Excel is an incredibly powerful tool and please do strive to get better at it. If you are in finance just don't lose sight of the fact that it is one of many skill sets you need to be developing and as your career progresses it will likely become less and less important to your path while the other skills become more and more important. I've hired and subsequently fired multiple excel whizzes because it was the only thing that they were good at which in my case doesn't cut it.

If you aren't in finance ignore what I'm saying because it may not apply to you.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by BwoodBMW

Excel is an incredibly powerful tool and please do strive to get better at it. If you are in finance just don't lose sight of the fact that it is one of many skill sets you need to be developing and as your career progresses it will likely become less and less important to your path while the other skills become more and more important. I've hired and subsequently fired multiple excel whizzes because it was the only thing that they were good at which in my case doesn't cut it.

If you aren't in finance ignore what I'm saying because it may not apply to you.

I work in finance and I agree 100%.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by BwoodBMW

Excel is an incredibly powerful tool and please do strive to get better at it. If you are in finance just don't lose sight of the fact that it is one of many skill sets you need to be developing and as your career progresses it will likely become less and less important to your path while the other skills become more and more important. I've hired and subsequently fired multiple excel whizzes because it was the only thing that they were good at which in my case doesn't cut it.

If you aren't in finance ignore what I'm saying because it may not apply to you.

What other skills would you prize more? Are you talking about analysis?

[UncleWede]

I got ASAP Tools installed, then followed what it did to learn how to do stuff.

But I don't use it much, and like mentioned above found it easier to use Access to create a CSV then display the tables/graphs as needed. I'm NOT in Finance.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

What other skills would you prize more? Are you talking about analysis?

I would think analytical thinking, a very solid understanding of financial concepts and the ability to make rational decisions while managing people are things you would want to excel at. No pun intended