Why Learn Excel? Here's 4 Good Reasons.

Excel is a powerful tool and Microsoft used to put out a line of Computer Based Training books they would sell at book stores so you could learn to navigate Excel as well as Excel VBA Macros. I learned via the Microsoft CBT's initially at my own pace. Excel has it's limits though as it is used primarily as a desktop analysis tool. Larger data analysis your going to need a mid-range CPU vs a desktop CPU, for example looking at Census Tract Data. Say you work at USAREC and examine Census Bureau data in deciding where to close Recruiting Stations and where to open new ones. Excel can't handle the dataset sizes and quickly chokes. So they are going to use higher level tools there like SAS, IBM DataStage, Informatica and the like on a mid-range or higher. I only say that to point out that Excel is not the end-all. It is a good tool on the desktop for decision support when you have smaller datasets or the figures already processed in their final format though.

I learned about using excel while tracking my 401k stocks then having them in a graph as I posted the values per day. It was fun after watching it graph out over 6 months. After 2 years keeping up on it I was able to predict time to redirect funds to different portions in my 401k up until 2009 that year I was just screwed

Sadly, it's true. Excel is the standard, an essential desktop app, in American business. Sadly? It is the sole survivor of the spreadsheet wars, not because it was the best, but rather because American business leaders weren't the smartest consumers. I used to teach desktop applications of all types as well as programming and system administration. I knew them all and Excel alone had a fatal flaw: It was the only one that could not calculate a circular reference. I'm not going to belabor the point with a long winded explanation of circular references. Suffice it to say that they are used in recursive calculations. Damn, that's a blind alley. Okay, try this: Circular references are used in high level mathematical calculations. If you need to accomplish one of those, see if you can find another spreadsheet program. Lotus 1-2-3 is a good choice. You may have to dig up an older version and blow off the dust, but you'll find that it's far better than Excel. Ultimately, I guess I'd advise student vets to learn how to use spreadsheets. Don't focus on the brand.