<p>So there is an Excel class being offered at my college (once a week, two hours) and I'm wondering if I should take it or not. The reason why I'm considering taking it is because it could come in handy, as I've only used Excel for simple graphs and stuff for my econ classes, but I already know C++ so I'm guessing I could probably easily learn Excel on the job if I ever need to.</p>
<p>This is the class description: </p>
<p>"This course covers beginning through advanced spreadsheet topics, including spreadsheet design and manipulation, advanced function use, charts, use of multiple worksheets, database features, macros, integration with other applications, configuration, customization, and troubleshooting."</p>
<p>Is it worth the time and money to take this class? (I will also need to buy/rent the book, which is pretty expensive.)</p>
<p>Visual Basic is really useful. If it isn’t covered I wouldn’t take the time honestly. You could probably teach yourself the logic statements and other simple functions. I’m a ChemE and used VBA extensively in an internship last summer.</p>
<p>To be honest, I wouldn’t take the course if it isn’t required. Excel is easy enough to pick up on your own that you should be able to do it without much issue. There are tens of thousands of articles online that can help you.</p>
<p>The way I learned Excel is by creating a workbook to manage my finances. It started out very simple as a spreadsheet with a sum function to see what my account balances were, and it has evolved into a complex tool that I use to model my spending in such a way that I can forecast future spending. As I put in more information, I needed to organize it (it’s easy to organize in your head when there are a hundred things in front of you… much less so when there are a thousand or more). To organize it, I looked to the native functionality in Excel; as my data set grew with time, opportunities for organization and analysis grew. It became a great way to learn new things, and now I use it as my guinea pig any time I want to try something new for work!</p>
<p>If you find it hard to make some practical uses for Excel, then a class might help you to discipline yourself and actually learn it. Otherwise, forget the class and just work on it on your own!</p>