Want to learn how to use Excel PROPERLY?! Help please.

A19B1C12 · 21-05-2014 11:23AM #1

Hey all,

I really want to learn how to use excel properly; be able to web scrape, create probability models, analyse data (my own and scraped) create graphs, charts, understand the functions and anything else it can offer me.

Is anyone aware of any online course, tutor around Dublin, book or website or even someone on boards.ie that can teach me about using excel and all its features?

Thanks for your help guys

coylemj · 21-05-2014 01:57PM

Any computer shop and most of the bigger bookshops will have training books, including 'Excel for Dummies' and similar titles.

In case you're offended by that, there are dozens of 'xxx for Dummies' books covering all aspects of IT.

uberpixie · 21-05-2014 02:01PM

Fas do a good online excel course for about €60. A mate took it after having to use excel more in his day to day job generating reports and recommended it. Starts from the very basics all the way up to the very complicated.

Steviemoyne · 21-05-2014 02:42PM

uberpixie wrote: »

Fas do a good online excel course for about €60. A mate took it after having to use excel more in his day to day job generating reports and recommended it. Starts from the very basics all the way up to the very complicated.

Just make sure they're not teaching you Excel on an out dated version. I've three certificates as part of different courses for Excel all taught on different versions.
You wouldn't believe the hassle I have looking for something similar on the newer versions. Same with all microsoft products, I keep forgetting where the different break options are since they decided to put them under "page layout" and have a separate page break under Insert.

Used to use a "Section Break" to split up landscape and portrait pages, that's now its own area called "Section Breaks" and I've to choose "Next Page".

Same can be said for any course that uses software / techniques really. Make sure they're up to date with current releases and techniques.

CRenegade · 29-05-2014 12:41PM

Has anyone used http://www.filtered.com/ for excel courses? Thinking of it myself.

Overheal · 29-05-2014 03:03PM

MIT must have a course on it. Go to their website they offer almost all of their course materials online for free

5uspect · 29-05-2014 05:44PM

Forget about excel, it's a load of useless ****e IMO.
I would never let any of my students use it.

Learn to code. Something like Python with libraries like numpy that offer Matlab like functionality will be infinity better.

Start with Code Academy for basic Python and then get into numpy.

Overheal · 29-05-2014 05:55PM

5uspect wrote: »

Forget about excel, it's a load of useless ****e IMO.
I would never let any of my students use it.

Learn to code. Something like Python with libraries like numpy that offer Matlab like functionality will be infinity better.

Start with Code Academy for basic Python and then get into numpy.

How many companies will your students graduate into that will be using excel? In fairness.

boombang · 29-05-2014 06:05PM

I think Excel is a fantastic allrounder of a programme. It's easy to learn and offers basic coding extension through vba. I've never taken a FÁS course but would imagine it would be useless (too basic/ general) for the application you have in mind. I would take a look at the MIT course and get using the online forum sites such as stackoverflow. Your skills will have that clunky self taught element, but should serve your needs.

boombang · 29-05-2014 06:05PM

Double post

shootermacg · 29-05-2014 06:09PM

Excel is a doddle, I did a course in it at Intel because it was going at the time. Guy who thought it knew very little about macros, other than the recorded type.

I've since wrote many many macros for it and find it pretty easy to understand.
You have columns and rows [ranges = col/row to col/row] and functions [functions operate on a cell or a range of cells] and that's pretty much it.

Everything else you can pick-up on the go, google will pretty much do it for you.

5uspect · 29-05-2014 11:21PM

Overheal wrote: »

How many companies will your students graduate into that will be using excel? In fairness.

They're PhD and Masters level so they'd be expected to code everything themselves. Excel would be considered a soft skill TBH.

For me it's nothing more than a numerical note pad and not something I'd consider using for anything serious anymore.

A bit of basic coding ability is a more transferrable skill.

Want to learn how to use Excel PROPERLY?! Help please.

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