Why you should learn Microsoft Excel now   by Max Thomas

in Education / Online Education    (submitted 2012-01-10)

Excel is probably the most important computer program in today's work place. More and more companies require their employees to have at least some Excel experience. Even if you have been in your career for a while, as the world moves more and more towards computer-aided systems, it is highly recommend to start learning programs such as Microsoft Excel. You may not need it now, but it will only increase your chances of either keeping your current job or landing the next job.

There are of course several groups of individuals for whom the use of Excel is even more crucial. Especially high school or college students should at least be somewhat familiar with the software. Homework problems in many different subjects are now handed out in Excel format. And most science-based classes use Excel in one way or another. As the world moves towards office based jobs, Excel will also be an indispensable tool for most job applicants, young or old.

If these reasons aren't enough for you to consider taking one of the many free online courses, look at the following uses of Excel outside of the workplace. There are literally hundreds of different ways to take advantage of this handy program, among others, you can:

• Manage and control your own finances like monthly budgets you set for yourself. Track monthly expenses such as groceries, rent or mortgage payments and deduct from income to arrive at your monthly savings or shortfall. Note that many expenses can be automatically downloaded in the Excel format so you don't have to manually enter them (see below)
• Analyze bank or credit card statements, many of which are now available online in Excel format
• Calculate your mortgage payments with one of many mortgage calculators available for free for Excel
• Create a calendar or use one of the pre-made templates available for free. This way you won't forget important items and always have a digital copy saved on your computer. For backup purposes, files can also be uploaded to websites such as Google Docs so they are stored online
• Simply use the program as a database to track and maintain phone numbers, birthdays, and other data
• Sort and filter through vast amounts of data that would require much more time if done manually

What are the steps one can take to get familiar with Excel?

There are countless books written on the subject but many people are visual learners so it is recommended to start out with an online tutorial or a video based training. Ideally you already own the software or download a trial version on the Microsoft homepage before starting a tutorial.

As with most programs, it is best to learn Excel by actually working on it. This is the most effective way of learning new programs. Many Excel Lernen Online Tutorials, DVD's and even some books come with practical lessons and sample files that help by putting the learnt material into practice. For specific problems and questions, I highly recommend simply consulting the internet and starting to google problems. Countless forums cover Excel in depth and most questions out there have already been answered so it should not be too hard to find an answer to your problem.

About the Author

Excel lernen Online with this free tutorial at www.excellernen.de