Become proficient in Microsoft Excel and go from beginner to pro with our hands-on Excel Bootcamp. Learn functions, formulas, Pivot Tables, macros, and time-saving techniques to conquer all the key skills needed to excel in Excel.
Join us for a beginner Excel workshop where you'll learn the essentials of Microsoft Excel, including calculations, basic functions, graphs, formatting, and printing. This comprehensive course is perfect for those with limited experience looking to expand their proficiency.
Learn intermediate Excel functions like VLOOKUP and SUMIFS, and how to summarize data with Pivot Tables, Sort & Filter databases, and split and join text. Gain the skills needed to utilize complex Excel functions and prepare for more advanced training.
Learn advanced Excel functions, macros, and data analysis to improve efficiency and manage complex data in any job setting. This advanced course is ideal for Excel power-users.
In this hands-on course, learn how to automate repetitive tasks in Microsoft Excel using VBA programming. Develop macros, custom commands, and new worksheet functions to streamline your Excel workflow and increase productivity.
Boost your resume with a Microsoft Excel Certification. Our program offers three courses, private training, the Specialist Exam fee with free retake, lifetime access to Excel video courses, and free exam proctoring.
Microsoft Excel has been the primary spreadsheet tool for most computer users since the 1990s. If you have to work with spreadsheets for home or business projects, chances are you have some familiarity with Excel.
Microsoft introduced the software as Multiplan in 1982, but it soon evolved into the much more sophisticated Excel program we know now. Today, Excel is part of the powerful Microsoft Office 365 Suite, available through subscription services for small businesses, enterprise organizations, and individual users.
With its many formulas and functions, Excel works with essential programming languages like Python and JavaScript, making it one of the best programs to know for tech professionals in every field. While you cannot make a living from Excel alone, the software is crucial to many positions. Read on to learn more about this versatile spreadsheet editor.
Once the basic spreadsheet program for businesses with a single admin, Excel has grown into one of the most essential Microsoft Office tools for organizations of every kind. Excel training is helpful if you want to track items at home such as a list of stocks you own or an informal database of companies where you have applied for work.
However, Excel is essential for many workplace functions, and professionals from Administrative Assistants to Data Analysts often use the program for daily tasks. Consider some of the following projects where you might need Excel proficiency.
Office Administration—You need Excel skills as an Office Administrator, Administrative Assistant, or Office Manager. Day-to-day responsibilities like invoicing clients, paying bills, and recordkeeping can fall to many office workers, and Excel is the preferred method for many of these professionals. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a Certified Public Accountant to use Excel for such tasks.
Data Visualization—Although some tech professionals use advanced tools like Power BI or Tableau to create charts and graphs, Excel is the default data visualization tool for many others. Most Tableau and Power BI users learn Excel first. You can create data visualizations with Excel, and upload Excel data into Tableau or Power BI Desktop, an essential benefit for Business Analysts, Data Analysts, and Financial Analysts.
Inventory Management—Whether you run an ecommerce site or a physical location, inventory management can be an essential part of your work. Excel inventory management involves Excel features like its built-in formulas and fixed asset depreciation calculator. Professionals who use Excel for inventory management include positions like Inventory Control Clerk, Inventory Manager, or Purchasing Inventory Specialist.
Other projects you can do with Excel include creating budgets, forecasting models, and interactive dashboards, to name a few.
What you learn in an Excel class depends on factors like the course length, if you train online or in-person, and whether Excel is the primary focus or one among multiple skills in a bootcamp or certificate program.
Most Excel fundamentals classes cover topics like functions, formulas, and formatting. You might also gain insights into how to use Excel with other Microsoft programs like Word or even how to create data visualizations with Excel, like charts or graphs. Consider some of the most likely topics in an Excel fundamentals course:
Formatting is a big part of Excel training. You will learn to format cells, rows, and columns, whether you need to create basic spreadsheets to track tasks or a database with formulas and other formatting. The Excel main menu bar is similar to the Microsoft Word menu bar, making it easy to learn if you are familiar with the Word interface.
Conditional formatting allows an Excel user to add conditions to your queries. For example, if one thing is true and another is true, another will be false. Or if one thing is true and another is false, another will be true. Excel allows for endless permutations of these conditional statements, so consider limiting them to a few—typically AND, OR, and IF statements. A good Excel fundamentals course will cover formatting, including conditional formatting.
VLOOKUP is one of the Excel functions you will typically learn in a class that features intermediate or basic Excel fundamentals. Some courses cover the XLOOKUP function, an improved version of VLOOKUP, and others will focus on how to use VLOOKUP to organize data. Once you have mastered the Excel interface and know how to work with cells, rows, and columns, you will likely have to look up values. VLOOKUP can help with these tasks. You may also learn how to build the VLOOKUP syntax in advanced Excel classes.
The SUM function in Excel adds values and the SUMIF function will add values in a range you specify. For example, if you create a column with three items worth $10,000 each, you can add them with the SUM function. However, if you specify additional criteria for the sums, then the SUMIF function will help you define your terms and search through data to find answers that meet your criteria. While AutoSum or SUM may be part of a basic Excel program, you will not likely encounter SUMIF unless your class is an intermediate or advanced course.
COUNTIF is one of the many statistical functions you can use in Excel. This function allows you to count the number of cells within a range that meets your predetermined criteria. Excel provides multiple variations on the COUNT function, including COUNTA and COUNTBLANK. When you want to find something like the number of times a particular city appears in a customer list, you can use the COUNTIF function. Variants like COUNTA and COUNTBLANK are more relevant to counting cells that are empty (or not empty). Like SUMIF, COUNTIF is typically part of intermediate Excel training.
Depending on the Excel class, you might learn advanced formulas and functions beyond the best-known ones. For example, though many online articles list VLOOKUP and SUMIF as advanced, they are among the most common intermediate functions. Advanced Excel users like Financial Analysts and Business Analysts may benefit from knowing formulas like INDEX MATCH, TRIM, and CHOOSE, to name a few. Check the course syllabus of any Excel training you plan to take, and you can get a better idea of what formulas and functions it will cover.
Although you will not necessarily learn soft skills in an Excel class, you need several to succeed in the workplace. Jobs requiring intensive Excel use appeal to people with logic, organizational, and analytical skills. Among the most essential attributes you must bring to the table is your ability to be detail-oriented. Ideally, you can emphasize that you always pay great attention to detail when recruiters or hiring managers interview you. However, your close attention to Excel training will benefit you during and after the course.
How much of a challenge learning Excel presents will depend on several factors. If a student has some Excel experience, it can benefit them, but they may need to unlearn a few things. If someone comes to Excel training with no experience, the complexity of the software may surprise them. However, there is a difference between becoming familiar with a skill and becoming an expert in it.
Students with a strong mathematics or statistics background may benefit when taking those skills into Excel training. If someone has experience with other Microsoft programs like Word, familiarity with the interface can also help. The main menu bar, which Microsoft calls the Ribbon, has similar icons in Excel and Word. Whatever experience a student brings to Excel, learning fundamentals is not difficult and prepares them for intermediate and advanced training.
One of the most challenging aspects of learning Excel is determining the difference between functions and formulas. That should be an essential piece of your initial training. Your instructor may give the class plenty of information to differentiate between them, but many online articles use the terms formula and function interchangeably. On a basic level, a function is a predefined Excel formula. Excel has hundreds of predefined formulas. However, you can also use formulas with or without functions. Learning to tell the difference and using functions and formulas properly is one of the first challenges for new Excel users to master.
Experimenting with Microsoft Excel is easy if you have a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription. However, acquiring Excel expertise takes more than an hour or two. A full-day bootcamp may be enough to learn the basics, but consider enrolling in beginner, intermediate, and advanced level courses to be proficient in this essential software. Examples include the Excel Level I: Fundamentals, Excel Level II: Intermediate, and Excel Level III: Advanced courses from Noble Desktop. You can also save by taking all three as part of their immersive 3-day Excel Bootcamp.
One of the first decisions you have to make when choosing Excel training is the type of class you will take. Several factors can influence your decision, from budget and schedule to personal learning style or preference. Although traditional classrooms offer significant benefits, you may also consider other options. Take a look at the three most common types of training programs:
Training in the traditional in-person classroom offers a unique set of advantages. Some students prefer this setting to any other alternative. Learning in-person gives students the highest level of engagement possible. They can interact with the instructor and their classmates, and many report feeling more connected to the material when they have to be present in a classroom. If in-person training has a disadvantage, it may be that students have to commute and find parking or take another means of transportation to attend class.
In recent years, however, the option to learn live online has become more popular than ever. Online training offers engagement similar to training in the traditional classroom, and many course providers offer an online option. Some provide live online classes exclusively, whereas others offer in-person and live online training. Others host courses live online with the option to use their computer labs for students who live nearby. An additional advantage to training live online is that it increases the number of training options. Your city or town may offer little or no in-person classes in your chosen subject, but you can take live online classes from anywhere, from the comfort of your home or office.
Asynchronous, or on-demand learning, is another alternative with unique advantages and drawbacks. On-demand training typically includes pre-recorded videos, and some courses include other supplementary materials like workbooks or on-demand study groups. On-demand training may appeal if you have a non-traditional work schedule, like the second or third shift, or family obligations that make in-person or live online training challenging. With on-demand videos, you can pause training whenever you need to, and many on-demand programs are less expensive than traditional in-person or live online programs.
The greatest drawback is that on-demand training has the lowest level of engagement of all the options. Some students report feeling unmotivated when training by prerecorded video, and the lack of feedback from instructors or peers can be a downside. If you must learn Excel fundamentals on-demand, consider rearranging your schedule to attend live classes for your intermediate or advanced training.
Many new Excel learners like to get oriented to the software through free online resources. Videos like those found on the Noble Desktop YouTube channel, articles, and blog posts can all be excellent sources of information. For example, their YouTube Excel playlist includes videos like Top 10 Beginner Excel Tricks You Need to Know, Creating a New Workbook, and Editing a Pivot Table.
However, remember that developing a professional-level Excel skill cannot be learned for free. Anyone who wants to work in business analysis, financial analysis, or a comparable field requiring Excel expertise needs formal training. A bootcamp or certificate program that features Excel or includes it within a broader curriculum will give you the best value for your educational investment.
The skills and tools you learn alongside Excel may depend on how and where you plan to use the knowledge you gain. Some skills commonly complement Excel, whereas others will come to mind only if you know them as part of a broader curriculum.
For example, if you plan to work in data analytics, you might start learning Excel through a program like the Data Analytics Certificate from Noble Desktop. This immersive course opens with an Excel for Data Analytics course, then proceeds to related topics like Python, SQL, and Tableau.
However, if your specific area of expertise is financial modeling or analysis, then you might prefer to learn Excel through a course like Noble’s Financial Analyst Training Program. The program combines fundamental and intermediate Excel with a Financial Modeling Bootcamp in a targeted, beginner-friendly package.
Lastly, you might prepare to sit for Microsoft Excel Certification. In that case, consider options like the Excel Specialist Certification Program. This course combines the three Excel units (Fundamentals, Intermediate, and Advanced) and adds private training, the Microsoft Excel Specialist exam, and proctoring for the exam. Graduates can retake any or all units for up to a year at no additional charge.
These are among the many Microsoft Excel training options, and different career paths require different skills and knowledge besides Excel. If you work in finance, healthcare, or manufacturing, you may need to learn Excel VBA and macros. If your role is data analysis or business analysis, you might need to master SQL, Python, Tableau, or JavaScript. Check listings in your industry for the most common job requirements.
The Atlanta metropolitan area is home to numerous Fortune 500 and,000 companies, from Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines to United Parcel Services (UPS). Atlanta is also a growing, vibrant city with multiple industries that lead the region. Its essential industries encompass successful national and international businesses, from clean technology to advanced manufacturing. If you plan to live or work in Atlanta, consider some of the following top sectors that can require Excel proficiency, among other skills and tools.
Atlanta is a top city for clean energy, with battery manufacturing and recycling, green office space, solar energy, and electric vehicle production leading the way. According to the Atlanta Metro Chamber, Georgia is the number seven state in the country for solar energy production. Many companies in this sector need multiple Excel-proficient workers, from Administrative Assistants to Accountants. Most positions in front offices require Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel. If you plan to work in CleanTech, consider Excel among the top priorities before you apply to positions here.
Atlanta is one of the best-known creative hubs in the American Southeast. Georgia is the number one state for film production, and Atlanta boasts the largest film production studio in the country, Tyler Perry Studios.
Creative positions in TV and film production are legion, but these companies also need employees with accounting, marketing, and administrative experience. Many such positions require Microsoft Office Suite proficiency: Excel, Word, Outlook, and Access, among others. Media and publishing companies also need marketing and advertising producers, and some of these roles also demand Excel expertise for managing production deadlines, scheduling, and other essential functions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is among the many Atlanta healthcare and life sciences organizations. The CDC is also one of Atlanta’s biggest employers, with about 15,000 employees. However, the CDC represents one aspect of healthcare here. The Atlanta metro area hosts top medical universities and hundreds of digital health companies, from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology to innovators like Alcon and Sharecare.
Excel plays an essential role in numerous healthcare and life sciences roles. Chemistry Lab Technicians, Inventory Specialists, and Administrative Assistants are among the positions that can require Excel expertise. Search online for Excel jobs in Atlanta, and you will find many healthcare-related roles that specify Excel in the job description.
Atlanta is an essential American transportation hub, with an importance reaching well beyond the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As a supply chain giant, Atlanta has railroads, highways, and ports crucial to companies like Amazon, Home Depot, and UPS, to name a few.
Work in the supply chain comes in numerous forms: Vendor Relations Specialists, Production Managers, Inventory Managers, and Procurement Contract Specialists are among the many positions required among such massive organizations. Most of these roles demand Microsoft Office Suite proficiency, particularly Excel. Spreadsheets, data analysis, and visualization are among the top Excel uses in the supply chain.
The same holds for advanced manufacturing. Production Supervisors, Quality Control Engineers, and even Assembly Technicians may need Excel proficiency to qualify for a position—including those that require only a high school diploma. Microsoft Office skills remain a high priority, especially in supply chain and advanced manufacturing roles.
Besides the CleanTech sector, technology in Atlanta is another leading industry. Tech giants like Microsoft and Alphabet (Google) have opened permanent Atlanta locations, but the importance of technological innovation here goes far beyond the well-known multinational corporations. The Atlanta region also hosts The Georgia Institute of Technology, a.k.a. Georgia Tech. Top FinTech companies with an Atlanta presence include Global Payments, Inc., Greenlight, and NCR Corporation.
Excel is essential for tech companies worldwide in FinTech and other tech positions. From ecommerce Marketing Analysts to Systems Support Technicians, tech workers may need intermediate to advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Teams, and Access, not to mention other tools like Azure Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
While these sectors are among the most essential in Atlanta, you can seek plenty of other opportunities to use your Excel expertise here. Run a quick Google search for Excel jobs in Atlanta, and you will find everything from trucking companies to design services, real estate investment trusts, and insurance agencies. As long as there is office work, you can count on Excel, Word, and popular Microsoft-owned subsidiaries like GitHub and Skype to be essential to the office space.
Careers that require Excel proficiency range across nearly every industry and sector, from finance to manufacturing. Some employees use Excel mainly for accounting or office administration, whereas others use it for data organization, analysis, or visualization. As a primary Office tool, you can expect Excel to be a given for many jobs in Atlanta.
The Atlanta metro area is a top destination for many American tech professionals. Metro Atlanta is among the largest in the US, and the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metropolitan statistical area is home to over six million residents. With its Falcons NFL team and Braves MLB team, Atlanta is a major player in professional sports, but the area is also known for business. Move to the Atlanta area, and you will find a diverse population, numerous job opportunities, and a rich cultural history.
The following section lists salary ranges for positions in the Atlanta metro area. Remember that these can also vary by industry, though estimated total pay figures represent a median or midpoint that includes additional compensation like bonuses, profit sharing, or other compensation.
An Executive Assistant position typically pays much better than an Administrative Assistant or Administrative Coordinator role. These skilled professionals may need Excel certification to get hired, and many have years of experience working directly with executives. They must have proficiency in additional tools like Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and the company’s social media platforms. An Executive Assistant in the Atlanta metro area can expect to earn an annual salary between $62,000 and $94,000, with an average estimated total pay of around $76,000.
You might expect the Production Supervisor role to pay more than jobs with titles like Data Analyst or Business Analyst, but this is only sometimes the case. In the Atlanta metro area, the average annual salary for this position is between $64,000 and $103,000, with an estimated total pay of about $81,000. However, in companies where the production management career path runs Production Supervisor I, II, and III, the difference between one level and the next can be substantial. These positions often require everything from setting up production teams to managing product quality and delivery. Check job postings in your industry to get a more specific salary range if you plan to launch a career in production.
Data Analysts may use Tableau or Power BI more than Excel for their data analytics and visualization needs. However, many companies require Microsoft Office proficiency, including Excel and PowerPoint. Data Analysts share charts, tables, and other graphics with management to make recommendations that can move an organization forward. A Senior Data Analyst may need intermediate to advanced Excel expertise, leadership skills, and data mining and storage skills. While an Atlanta metro area Data Analyst can expect to earn about $73,000—$116,000 annually, their estimated total pay is around $91,000.
Like Data Analysts, Business Analysts can qualify for positions in varying industries. They use data to analyze challenges and propose solutions. While some organizations use the titles interchangeably, these roles differ as Data Analysts tend to work with data more than Business Analysts. The Business Analyst role can also require more analysis of IT structures or production processes. In Atlanta, a Business Analyst can anticipate earning an annual salary between $78,000 and $120,000, with an estimated total pay of around $97,000. Other titles for Business Analyst may include Revenue Operations Analyst, Sales & Operations Analyst, or Business Process Analyst, to name a few.
The Financial Analyst role typically falls more into finance than the Business or Data Analyst role. Many specialize in financial planning, but others help organizations manage budgets, cut costs, and provide forecasts. Senior Financial Analysts may need Excel and other Microsoft program proficiency, management skills, and a finance-related degree. A Financial Analyst in Atlanta can expect an average annual salary from about $84,000 to as much as $118,000, with an average estimated total pay of around $99,000. Depending on the type of position, additional compensation can come through bonuses, commissions, or profit sharing.
A Quality Control Engineer or Quality Assurance Engineer is responsible for strategic planning to improve product quality while increasing productivity. Like the Production Supervisor role, the salary for a Quality Control Engineer position can be substantially higher if the career path runs Quality Control Engineer I, II, and III. These skilled professionals often hold advanced degrees and have expertise in everything from the Microsoft Office Suite to specialized manufacturing tools and skills. An Atlanta-area Quality Control Engineer can expect to make from $80,000 annually to as high as $133,000, with an estimated total pay of around $103,000.
These positions represent a small percentage of the many jobs that require Excel proficiency, whether in Atlanta or elsewhere in the United States. Many roles like those above require advanced Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio skills, and some demand expertise in programming languages ranging from Python to JavaScript.
Finance-related Excel roles require accounting software knowledge, like Intuit QuickBooks or NetSuite, and data analytics positions may require expertise in Tableau, Power BI, or another data visualization tool. Many of the best-paying roles that require Excel proficiency also demand familiarity with a customer relationship management (CRM) platform like Salesforce, Zoho, or HubSpot. While Excel is essential in many careers, it is one of many tools and skills you will need to succeed.
Although you can find many classes held live online via teleconferencing, you might prefer to look for in-person Excel training close to home if you live in or near Atlanta. Some of the most popular options are face-to-face, whereas others are virtual programs. Consider the following Excel classes you can take in-person in the Atlanta metro area or live online from anywhere.
Would your employees benefit from expanding their Excel knowledge base? If so, consider onsite and corporate Excel training from Noble Desktop. Noble provides multiple training alternatives and can tailor a program to your needs and preferences. Corporate and onsite training is available live online via teleconferencing, and expert Noble Desktop instructors can even conduct training at your location.
If you want your team to have more flexibility with their Excel training, Noble offers discounted vouchers for its open-enrollment courses. Employers get a discount when they purchase the vouchers in bulk, providing a convenient option so an organization can select the training format that best suits its needs. Classes include basic, intermediate, and advanced Excel, Excel Programming with VBA, and multiple bootcamps and certificate programs.
Want to learn more about the different Excel training alternatives Noble Desktop can provide for your team? Contact them today for additional information and a no-obligation consultation.