Post: #26

Excel gets messy fast, if you don't implement any VB scripts inside the sheet. Implementing automated data processing without script knowledge is almost impossible.

Post: #27

As said already, you're expected to at least be proficient in Excel since a lot of reporting is done in it and a lot of data you will receive will be in csv format. That being said, unless you want to be an accountant it is not something you want to be an expert in.

Powerpoint on the other hand is a tool that is very useful to master and the ability to give engaging presentations. Corporate culture is so full of time wasting presentations, but they are expected at every level, from working with client to briefing co-workers.

Powerpoint is the much better career advancer as sad as it sounds.

Post: #28

There are no immediate benefits to being an Excel "expert" UNLESS you are at a job OR looking for a job that requires you to be one.

I work in Finance. I have used Excel for almost 10 years. I have not gone beyond pivot tables and v-lookups. These are great skills but not necessarily useful unless you're dealing with shit loads of data.

This being said, if you are in professions that require you to process SHIT TONS of data, then knowing some "macros" and more "advanced" functionality will get you far.

Overall, depends on what you need it for and always assume that everyone you're competing against will likely have "non-advanced" skills already BUT they can be learned easily.

Post: #29

You can carve out a good niche for yourself being the "reports guy" - especially if you learn some VBA.

But really you should man up and learn Access and then onto SQL Server or Oracle (but SQL Server is the database to know). IT is booming right now and YOU need a slice of the pie.

Post: #30

I'm in software- VLOOKUP is the most advanced function I've ever had to use. The rest is rather intuitive and self-explanatory.

Post: #31

(05-07-2014 04:42 PM)TopPanda Wrote:  You can carve out a good niche for yourself being the "reports guy" - especially if you learn some VBA.

But really you should man up and learn Access and then onto SQL Server or Oracle (but SQL Server is the database to know). IT is booming right now and YOU need a slice of the pie.

SQL is in general for heavy duty data analysis. Unless you want to specialize in Business intelligence or data analysis, it really isn't necessary for most people. Even for larger data sets, there are some pretty decent BI tools that make it easy for people who are used to excel to get their data - Tableau for instance.

That said, I do agree with you if you want to always have a job, learning SQL is a major asset. As for VBA, i havent really needed to use it. Im usually using pivot tables, which may or may not be linked to Access databases, and on very rare occasions using a recorded macro in Excel. Otherwise for anything that requires a large amount of data processing or automation, id switch to R/SAS/python with a large amount of SQL within those programs.

Post: #32

You could make a $80-100/hr in the Financial Industry (NYC) as an expert VBA programmer in Excel. I get recruiters trolling me all the time for this.

Post: #33

Finance guys - what's a good way to get credentials and break into this? I'm working an entry level processing job, CFA track, average at Excel, no current SQL/ VBA / programming experience but planning to brush up over the summer.

Are there well-rated grad programs or certificates (Oracle and the such) worth looking at that would help break into high consulting or finance? For instance I know Bentley U is starting a MS in data analytics but the placement opportunities seem mediocre

Post: #34

Quote:Finance guys - what's a good way to get credentials and break into this? I'm working an entry level processing job, CFA track, average at Excel, no current SQL/ VBA / programming experience but planning to brush up over the summer.

Are there well-rated grad programs or certificates (Oracle and the such) worth looking at that would help break into high consulting or finance? For instance I know Bentley U is starting a MS in data analytics but the placement opportunities seem mediocre

CFA can be helpful.

MBA from top 15 school as well, but would likely need better work experience for admission.

Perhaps a masters in finance or management from the likes of Duke, LBS, LSE, etc

Post: #35

(05-07-2014 09:52 PM)Onto Wrote:  You could make a $80-100/hr in the Financial Industry (NYC) as an expert VBA programmer in Excel. I get recruiters trolling me all the time for this.

Dayyuum.

Could you pick up VBA skills through online (youtube etc) demonstrations?

Or is it more advanced - needing to do a course?

Post: #36

(05-08-2014 01:51 PM)3extra Wrote:  Dayyuum.

Could you pick up VBA skills through online (youtube etc) demonstrations?

Or is it more advanced - needing to do a course?

It's a scripting language that at its most basic allows you to automate behavior in Excel and in a more complicated function, do much more. I've written VBA scripts that hook into databases and run dynamic SQL queries to pull values out based on something in the Excel file, and even threw a control file together to automate distributing reports (other Excel files) to the field via email when our vendor quoted us an outrageous price for the same task.

With any computer programming language, VBA being a more simple example, having a fundamental understanding of basic computer science is good and the rest you should be able to pick up by practicing and writing code. Crack open Excel, record a Macro, hit Alt-F11, and start understanding how the behavior you recorded on-screen is being translated into the VBA code behind the scenes.

But that said, nobody is paying 80-100/hr in the financial district for a guy who's watched a couple Youtube videos. Chances are not only do they want a solid tech background but they also want someone with some finance background too, who can speak the language with whatever analysts will be requesting the work.

Post: #37

of all the classes i took in undergrad, the one that seemed the stupidest at the time was 'business applications' i.e Excel.

after a few years working i realized it was the most useful out of all of them

sure you can pick it up over a few day, but to being to a)do the analysis and then b) make it work in the spreadsheet and c) make it look professional takes time. lots of time.

it is 100% must have skill for most business related jobs.

I am CFO / ED of a $10MMish company and I have excel open on my computer every day. I've had it open every day for 15 years or more.

Post: #38

I got bored quickly learning Excel in the finance classes I had in college but am kicking myself for not mastering it quicker. I handle the online advertising for one of the larger weight loss companies in the US (nutrisystem, weight watchers, etc). I'm making investments in different advertising platforms with their own reporting interfaces, and then merging their stuff with our in-house data sources, but everything has excel export so that's how I look at everything in one place on short notice if I need to.

I think if you are pulling a lot of reporting of any kind in your job, it really helps when everything becomes "second nature" so you can whip up stuff quickly and arrange the data how you want to, and are not searching around on youtube to learn how to do what you want to do. You definitely separate yourself from the pack in an interview for a data-driven type job, especially if there is a presentation component and you whip out some stuff that shows you know your shit.

For the guys saying just put it on your resume that you know it even if you don't - that plan sounds all well and good but you better learn it fast. If you come in around other people that do know Excel and it's obvious you can't do shit and lied on your resume/interview, kiss your ass goodbye. I saw that happen two distinct times at the last company I worked in.

Especially for guys trying to get a foot in the door in a "big data" type of field- it something that isn't that hard to learn, I'd say it's a solid move to focus on getting proficient off the bat, especially if you have time to do so.

Post: #39

(05-09-2014 06:36 PM)poledaddy Wrote:  I got bored quickly learning Excel in the finance classes I had in college but am kicking myself for not mastering it quicker. I handle the online advertising for one of the larger weight loss companies in the US (nutrisystem, weight watchers, etc). I'm making investments in different advertising platforms with their own reporting interfaces, and then merging their stuff with our in-house data sources, but everything has excel export so that's how I look at everything in one place on short notice if I need to.

I think if you are pulling a lot of reporting of any kind in your job, it really helps when everything becomes "second nature" so you can whip up stuff quickly and arrange the data how you want to, and are not searching around on youtube to learn how to do what you want to do. You definitely separate yourself from the pack in an interview for a data-driven type job, especially if there is a presentation component and you whip out some stuff that shows you know your shit.

For the guys saying just put it on your resume that you know it even if you don't - that plan sounds all well and good but you better learn it fast. If you come in around other people that do know Excel and it's obvious you can't do shit and lied on your resume/interview, kiss your ass goodbye. I saw that happen two distinct times at the last company I worked in.

Especially for guys trying to get a foot in the door in a "big data" type of field- it something that isn't that hard to learn, I'd say it's a solid move to focus on getting proficient off the bat, especially if you have time to do so.

Hopefully you guys are writing scripts that merge all that stuff automatically and dumping it into a database, (preferably not access), since I've seen that becoming a bitch real fast with all those spread out excel files.

Also, Excel is hardly "big data". Hell, even SQL and other traditional databases arent really big data, which shows how misued that term is. It's usually hadoop and other NoSql stuff (mongo db, cassandra, etc).

Post: #40

I've seen most use Excel in finance and office environments. Usually basic stuff like sorting, calculations, and formatting. Cobra has the right idea with some pivot tables for summaries and vlookups for lists and comparisons. My experience has been in programming, most apps that I write, users usually want data export from a database as an Excel file (or .csv). Learning Excel has been helpful to me as well as using libraries like PHPExcel that dynamically creates Excel files from a database via the web.

Post: #41

I use Excel extensively at work, and have been for the past few years. I've only learned functions insofar as they were useful - often I'd want to do something, and the functions I knew were insufficient.

Stuff I've found useful:

Scenario Analysis, Goal Seek, Vlookups, Data Analysis Toolpak, adding trendlines to graphs, string operations. Lol now that I think about it, not very much.

Then again, I already had the job.

Post: #42

If youre using excel for analysis of large datasets, id reccomend learning python, and the pandas library. It can also work with * excel/csv files, data visualisation (graphs, scatter diagrams etc)
* live stock prices, time series etc
* databases, (postgres/mysql/sqlite/oracle)

If you're getting good mileage out of vba and excel, I'd highly reccomend learning python, and the pandas library, as well as the numpy/scipy libraries


a link to general pandas tutorials : http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/sta...rials.html
heres a simple tutorial on creating excel charts with pandas http://pandas-xlsxwriter-charts.readthedocs.org/

and a tutorial on plotting time series data http://wrobstory.github.io/2013/04/panda...eries.html