The question from Ujjwal is the right one, but the framing is too narrow. The real choice isn't between Power Query, Power Pivot, and VBA; it's between building on old assumptions or adopting a new mindset. VLOOKUP and Pivot Tables are foundational, but they belong to a world where you manually shape data to fit a rigid tool. The next step for any analyst is to stop treating the spreadsheet as a static canvas and start treating it as a live, queryable engine.
Power Query should be your immediate priority. It transforms data cleaning from a repetitive chore into a repeatable, automated process. Instead of manually deleting columns and filtering rows, you build a step-by-step recipe that refreshes with a single click. This is not a small upgrade; it changes how you think about data integrity. Power Pivot then extends that logic by letting you work with millions of rows and build relationships between tables without the fragility of nested formulas. VBA, meanwhile, is a trap for most analysts in 2024. It is powerful, but it locks you into a procedural, debug-heavy workflow that modern tools have largely replaced.
The practical takeaway for anyone following Ujjwal's path is this: learn to think in tables and queries, not in cells and ranges. The spreadsheet is not going away, but the role of the analyst is shifting from manual manipulation to strategic design. If you invest your time in Power Query and Power Pivot, you are learning a logic that transfers directly to Power BI, SQL, and Python. If you invest in VBA, you are learning a dying art. Choose the skills that let you work with data as it is, not as you had to pretend it was.