4 professions where excel power users can thriveMicrosoft Excel is easily one of the most popular pieces of corporate software. It is used by companies across all industries. Capable of performing anything ranging from organizing data to automatically performing calculations for common business-related problems, Microsoft Excel is ubiquitous.

While many people are familiar with Microsoft Excel’s basic features, only about 5% of all the users are familiar with the software’s more advanced capabilities. These “Excel Power Users” bring a lot of potential business growth to the table, which makes them a highly sought after breed of employees. In fact, Excel power users usually earn more than average compared to their colleagues.

Learning how to make the most out of Microsoft Excel on your own can take a while but there are plenty of resources out there to help you. From free online courses and Youtube videos through to detailed articles on how to use business intel tools like Excel PowerPivot and Power BI there is no excuse not to teach yourself. Once mastered, you can expect to have a better chance of taking the following professions:

Banking and Finance Professional

Working as an analyst in an investment bank is a common goal for fresh finance and business graduates because it can guarantee a good stream of income in addition to giving them a good head start in a banking career. People who take this career path are considered by some to be set for life.

Common analyst tasks that require advanced Excel skills include using information from a company’s income statements and/or balance sheets to create analytical models for buyouts and discounted cashflow valuations. Excel can also be used to transfer graphs and charts to other Microsoft Office programs for better visualization.

Management Consultant

Another top choice for fresh graduates, is a job as a management consultant. This can be the start of another solid career path because there’s always demand for management consultants. This is especially true with large enterprises. These enterprises need support with data analysis and business intelligence experience to help them strategize for the future.

Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Excel allows management consultants to organize and interogate data. This helps them quickly pinpoint areas in need of improvement, as well as figure out which aspects of a business are performing well. This often involves using advanced Excel features such as data segmentation and regression analysis.

Accountant

Accountants may not be the most glamorous job out there for Excel power users, but the fact that there’s always demand for competent accountants makes the profession a very safe option for those who want to secure their future. This is because all businesses depend on accounting to monitor their gains and expenses. Accountants start off mostly recording data and carrying out cost analyses.

While accounting doesn’t require as much knowledge of Excel as the previous two professions, being an Excel power user still helps keep things accurate. In a job where the slightest mistakes can result to big miscalculations later on, it’s important to know how to resolve issues ranging from incorrect formulas to missing spreadsheet cells.

Marketing and Communications Consultant

Marketing is a crucial part of any business in the information age, which means the demand for skilled marketers have grown exponentially. When the Internet became mainstream, target audiences ballooned, and new forms of advertisement were developed in just a few years. Some marketers are hired for their creativity, while Excel power users are hired because of their ability to analyze data.

Microsoft Excel is mainly used by marketers to create surveys, study consumer trends, and compile results into a more intuitive visual representations. Charts and spreadsheets can give businesses a quick idea of how effective their marketing strategy is. The data from online marketing can be gathered and used to further refine the marketing strategy based on how the target market initially reacted.

A deep knowledge of Excel doesn’t just increase your chances of getting hired, but also the chances of you keeping the job or getting promoted later on. If you want to know how to make efficient use of Microsoft Excel, consider enrolling in special online classes or taking lessons in learning institutions.