Why Excel skills are still important in today's AI world

以下が翻訳です： "Many jobs require Excel skills, and even if you don't have Excel skills yet, they are transferable. The value of having confidence in your Excel knowledge is significant. Basic Excel knowledge is required, and a little bit of knowledge is enough for you to use the Copilot optimally. AI is not perfect. Recently, I've seen comments from readers expressing concern about learning new Excel functions. This has made me wonder, 'Do we really need Excel skills in the AI world?' After some thought, I answered 'Yes!' for the following reasons. I couldn't find a winning ad under the zone in the first paragraph. I couldn't find a winning ad in the native zone of the content.

Many jobs require Excel skills.

If you're considering becoming an administrative assistant, HR manager, market researcher, accountant, financial analyst, statistician, or any other role, you probably need basic understanding of Excel. According to Indeed, 'Project managers, analysts, researchers, and other specialists use Excel to record, analyze, and visualize data using elements such as graphs and charts.' In reality, when searching for jobs with 'advanced Excel skills' on Indeed, there are over 52,000 positions in the US and over 4,000 positions in the UK. I often see people worried that they might be replaced by AI in the future. However, if you become overly dependent on AI and become lazy and stagnant, you may lose your job in Excel-based positions. Instead, you should find ways to work with AI and Excel together. This will allow you to create more value, maintain a leading position, and be seen as indispensable in today's AI world by your superiors.

Excel skills are transferable

By learning Excel skills, you can acquire transferable real-world professional knowledge. Whether you have obtained an official Excel certification or have experience operating programs using the HTG guide or online videos, you can learn or refine many basic and advanced skills.

• Mathematical skills
• Problem-solving
• Data organization
• Data interpretation
• Data visualization
• Time management
• Efficiency
• Critical thinking
• Programming, VBA, and Python skills
• And much more!

Excel is not just for accountants. For example, I use it at home for budget management, planning for the next vacation, and monitoring sports team statistics. It also functions in specific contexts, displaying and formatting data according to my needs. This allows it to capture subtle differences that Copilot might not understand.

Don't undervalue valuable emotions

Perhaps only me, but I enjoy the sense of accomplishment I get from learning new Excel functions, understanding their mechanisms, and implementing them in spreadsheets. Finding methods to simplify complex formulas, making small adjustments for different situations, and troubleshooting workbooks when unexpected results occur are all very enjoyable. Additionally, I enjoy the excitement of receiving old templates, organizing them, and making them more understandable. Excel is like art, starting from a blank canvas and creating something enjoyable with people close to me. I see Excel as a 2D version of Lego for adults. It alleviates an itch that I can't explain (if you know, you'll understand). I use any reason to start a new spreadsheet. I don't intend to stop this therapeutic brain training with Microsoft's AI assistant.

To use Copilot optimally, (some) Excel knowledge is required

Microsoft repeatedly states in its document that Copilot can be operated using 'natural language.' However, based on my experience answering thousands of Excel-related questions annually on online forums, it's difficult to express exactly what the questioner wants. In Microsoft's Excel Copilot FAQ, it advises, 'Be specific.' Technology companies provide tutorials on how to create great prompts. This suggests that to use AI to create spreadsheets, you need more than basic conversational language. Excel skills are still necessary. You need to absorb vague ideas, understand their meaning, and think of the best way for Excel to process them before executing them. Ultimately, if someone can't clearly explain to a human what they want, how can they create a complex database with Microsoft's AI assistant? In other words, Copilot might be a useful tool for people who already have basic Excel knowledge. However, for ordinary users who have never seen a spreadsheet, it might be too far ahead. Microsoft seems to be looking for ways to reduce the Excel expertise required for using Copilot. For example, in June 2024, Microsoft announced that users can now use Copilot without the restriction of being limited to tables within spreadsheets. This means you can use it effectively without needing to create formatted Excel tables. However, considering Copilot's youth, to fully use a programming AI tool, basic Exce