Microsoft Excel is one of the most used applications that comes with MS Office. Whether you’re into coding, marketing, or even event planning – knowing how to use Excel to manage your data can definitely come in handy. An Excel spreadsheet has the power to stratify data, analyze it and collate final results for you, provided, of course, you know how to use it properly. Excel spreadsheets find use in most kinds of professions but especially if you are in a corporate set up or work in a field that is data intensive, knowing Microsoft Excel is an absolute must. Unfortunately, however, this is not a skill that is taught generally in schools or universities. Those who do pick these skills up, either do it on their own time or have done specialized courses that teach them how to use Excel. The good thing, however, is that you can avail of different ways to learn Microsoft Excel. The following are some of the best online Excel courses that you can consider.
Udemy
The Microsoft Excel course for beginners on Udemy is one of the best online courses you can consider for yourself. The tutor is Kyle Pew, a Certified Trainer with Microsoft who comes with more than 18 years of experience in a classroom, live as well as online. With his experience and years of training, Pew takes you through the nitty gritties of Microsoft Excel step by step. The course takes you through the details of Microsoft Excel and is divided into four different levels. The first is the Microsoft Excel 101 course, which is the introductory course. The next is the intermediate level course, followed by the advanced-level course, and finally the projects you can do on your own.
Price: $6 (at a discounted price!)
Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel
The Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel is an excellent online course offered by Rice University. The course is offered as a part of the Business Statistics and Analysis Specialization by the same university. There are two types of students who are the ideal candidates for this course. One is a student who knows the basics of Excel and wants to hone their skills to become better at the application. The other type of student is someone who uses the application regularly but needs to up their game to impress the boss or colleagues at work! In other words, even if your skill level with Microsoft Excel is elementary, you can take this course and learn something new. The program has four different modules that you will be expected to complete.
Price: Members can enroll for free
Data Visualization with Advanced Excel by PwC
Data Visualization with Advanced Excel is a course offered by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The course is offered on Coursera and is one of the best online courses you can take to learn advanced Excel. This course, too, comprises four modules that allow you to acquire in-depth knowledge about Excel. The modules will also provide you with hands-on instructions regarding what you need to do with the application. You will be taken through some of the built-in tools that Excel comes with, like Solver, Goal Seek, Scenario Manager, etc. The four modules are called ‘Preparing a Professional Excel’, ‘Advanced Scenario Analysis’, ‘Data Visualization’ and ‘Dashboarding’.
Price: Members can enroll for free
Excel Exposure
Excel Exposure is another great place for you to pick up your Excel skills. This is a short course but it will take you through all the important things that you need to know when you are using Excel. Once you take a look at the website, you will find that there are several hours of video tutorials for different aspects of Excel that you may want to go over. It is a self-paced training course that allows you to take your time and learn at the pace that you feel comfortable. You will find that the website offers all the lessons that you may want to explore to become better at your job and perhaps even use the application for your personal use, like keep track of expenses, tallying a balance sheet, etc.
Price: $147
Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Excel
Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Excel is a course offered by Microsoft on edX. Excel is one of the best and most comprehensive ways of analyzing complicated data. You can collate all the data you have into a single spreadsheet and make all kinds of comparisons, make cumulations, subtractions and more. The great thing about Excel is that you can work with data but you do not need to make any calculations manually. There are tools to make all kinds of assessments on an Excel spreadsheet. This course offered by Microsoft is, therefore, has data science at its core and guides you through all the new tools in Excel 2016 so you can do your job more effectively. The course is taught by an Excel Product Team expert from Microsoft, so you know you are in good hands.
Price: Free, but you can add a certificate for a certain fee
Microsoft Office Fundamentals: Outlook, Word, and Excel
Microsoft Office Fundamentals: Outlook, Word, and Excel is a course offered by Microsoft. This is an ideal training course where you can learn the basics of Microsoft Word, Outlook and, of course, Excel. The training allows you to make optimum use of all the Microsoft Office operations. You can collate data, carry out calculations, construct graphs and tally your spreadsheets. Most offices that you may work in will require some use of Microsoft Excel. Even if it is not an official requirement, you may find that it is simply easier to do your work more effectively if you know how to put Excel to good use. You will find a lot of personal benefits even if your office does not require you to use Excel as a policy.
Price: Free, but you can add a certificate for a certain cost.
Excel, Intellezy
Excel 2007 offered on Intellezy is the ideal course for beginners to learn how to use Excel. This is a 3-hour-long class that teaches you the basics of Excel 2007 and introduces you to all the keywords and terminology you may require to be acquainted with Excel. Through this course, you will be able to learn how to navigate spreadsheets, workbooks, and worksheets in this class. You will also be taught to work with formulas, values, pictures, etc. and save them in various formats. But apart from the more complicated things, you will also be acquainted with easier functions like printing, navigating large and heavy worksheets, basic formatting methods and more.
Price: Free trial/$14.95 per month
Excel 2016 Essential Training
Excel 2016 Essential Training is, as the name suggests, a course that provides you with all the essential knowledge you require for mastering Excel 2016. The course is taught by industry expert Dennis Taylor who will take you through all the tricks of the trade and equip you with smart ways of using the tool. You will learn how to manage multiple worksheets at the same time, build pivot tables, format cells, and a lot more. With this program, you can learn how to make optimum use of an Excel spreadsheet.
Price: Free trial/$29.99 per month
eLearnExcel
eLearnExcel offers an Ultimate Excel Course Bundle which is a great collection of courses that will teach you everything you need to know about Microsoft Excel. This application is one of the most important in most offices and no matter how much you need to deploy it at work, having this skill will only help your professional career. At the end of the course with eLearnExcel, you will also earn a certificate that will designate your skill level as better than 99% of most other Excel users. You can also opt for individual Excel courses if you do not want to take the whole bundle of courses. Microsoft Excel is a skill that will come in handy not only in your professional life but also to keep your finances and data in order.
Price: Free trial/$47 per course
Learn iT!
Learn iT! has an incredible Excel training program that allows you to learn Microsoft Excel step-by-step and take every lesson as it comes. There are five different types of courses that you can choose from, which include ‘Intro to Data Analysis’, ‘Excel Power User’, ‘Programming with VBA’, ‘Pivot Tables’, and of course, a more elementary Excel course for those who are beginning to learn about the application and would like to improve their skills. Each course consists of a few different modules so they are all broken down into easy, approachable and manageable lesson plans. One of the best things about this online service is that you can either opt to learn from an in-person tutor, participate in a live online classroom with other peers, enjoy a custom-made session just for you and also explore interactive e-learning courses.
Price: $130/module
