If you read yesterday’s feature on the ‘5 Skills that are you way out of the 9-to-5 Hell.’ Then you must have noticed becoming a number cruncher is one of the skills that could take you out of that 9-to-5 hell.
But how do you become an Excel pro on a budget? Not everyone has the time or resources to go to class to learn killer excel skills. The obvious answer to that question would be the internet. However, the internet is filled with nonsense just about as much as it is full of useful content.
Below, we have compiled a lease of the best online resource for Excel training. These resources have been rated the best by several authoritative news source privy to what it takes to become an Excel master. They are as follows:
Ø Microsoft’s Excel Training Center
Well, that’s a no brainer! Why should you start anywhere else other than from the source? Microsoft does have a help/training centers (help page) for virtually all their product, and an even detailed training center for one of their most needed product; Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft has an Office Training Center for the entire MS Office suite applications and services and a dedicated Excel Training Center just for the MS Excel application. It has lots of free tutorials, videos, and guides for using Excel on Windows, Mac OS, and even mobile platforms such as Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
The training is also offered based on learners’ difference in familiarity with the app; Beginners (basic math and chart creation), Intermediate (sorting and filtering data, VLOOKUPS, conditional formatting), and Advanced (pivot tables, advanced IF functions, password-protect worksheets and workbooks)
Ø The Spreadsheet Page
This site created by Excel guru John Walkenbach is full of pro tips on Excel. Walkenbach has over the last three decades been writing about Excel; to be precise, he has done over 60 Excel books for learners at all levels, written over 300 articles and reviews for magazines like PC World, InfoWorld, and PC/Computing…The Excel Tips tab on his site had in-depth information on formulas, formatting, charts and graphics, and printing. The Downloads tab has a bunch of download links to free Excel workbooks and add-ins he has created that you can download and practice on at your own time without having to create the workbooks and data from scratch.
Ø The Spreadsheets Page on About.com
You are probably familiar with the educational contents on About.com. You should also know the site has dedicated subdomain for spreadsheets too, where there are thousands of instructions on Excel. The content there is categorized according to every relevant thing you might want to learn about Excel from formulas, formatting, video, templates, and tool among others.
Ø Chandoo.org
The founder of Chandoo.org, Purna ‘Chandoo’ Duggirala blogs began in 2007, and as of today, it has over 450 articles and tutorials on Excel pro tips. You might have picked from the name, English is not his native language. Thus content found on his site is a little bit easier to grasp by non-native English speakers.
Ø MrExcel.com
Said by Excel experts to be the Excel online resource that is most in touch with the layman. MrExcel.com has an interactive message board that is constantly being monitored by a community of Excel gurus. This board is organized according to subjects such as general announcements, questions, and products. When you post a question, a member of the Excel gurus community will reply with an answer.
Ø EdX Excel Courses
EdX is a non-profit aiming at providing free education globally. When you enroll for its courses (those marked as “Verified”), you will have the option of paying for tutorials certified by an instructor and has the institution’s logo. The instructor will also verify your achievements thus increasing your prospects of landing a job. The fees paid are used to fund the courses, giving others the option to learn them for free but not with the help of an instructor who will also issue a bona fide certificate to paying students.
Ø Khan Academy
The site has learning contents from astronomy to algebra and in between powerful professional tips on spreadsheets. Just run a general search for ‘Microsoft Excel, ’ and in return, you will get search results that might look limited, by the explanation therein go in depth beyond just the fundamentals of spreadsheets.
Ø Annielytics
The site has a tagline ‘making data sexy,’ and that’s exactly what Annie Cushing, a web analytics data expert tried to do on the Annielytics blog and YouTube channel. The name might sound coy, but don’t let that fool you. The site has a plethora of useful tips especially if you are looking to get some knowledge to apply on marketing data reports.
The above are more than enough resources to get you to an advanced level of Excel use. Some of the sites given above do offer paid exams and certification, which will go a long way towards helping you score a job.
If you have information on some useful Excel learning sites not featured above, please share (sharing is caring) with everyone else by leaving it in the comments section below.
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