We don't think the question is how to learn Excel. We think the real question is what kind of Excel you want to know. A first-year business analytics student with an eye on finance is already ahead of most peers by asking for guidance, but the advice they'll get online is often a trap. The internet is full of courses that teach you to build pivot tables and write VLOOKUPs as if the year is 2010. That kind of Excel is a necessity in the same way a typewriter was a necessity in 1985. It works, but it's not preparing you for the career you're actually pursuing.
Finance and analytics have changed. The calculation-intensive work that used to require hours of manual formula stacking can now be done with AI-native tools that understand your intent. A student who spends a semester memorizing nested IF statements is investing in a skill that will be partially automated by the time they graduate. The genuine courses are the ones that teach you how to think about data, not just how to click through menus. Look for programs that emphasize logic, data modeling, and the ability to ask the right questions, because those are the skills that survive the transition from spreadsheet to AI assistant.
We see this student's frustration as a signal of something larger. They're searching for the right path in a landscape where most tutorials are built for people who want to pass a certification, not for people who want to build a career. If you're in their position, ignore the courses that promise to make you an "Excel master" in two weeks. Instead, focus on understanding the principles of financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, and how data flows from source to decision. The tool you use to manipulate that data will evolve. The framework you build for thinking about it will not.
The practical takeaway is this: learn Excel, but learn it as a gateway, not a destination. Spend your time on the concepts that underpin finance and analytics, time value of money, risk assessment, scenario planning, and treat the spreadsheet as a medium for expressing those ideas. When you can do that, you'll be ready for whatever tool comes next. And something will. It always does.