The ability to work with spreadsheets is one of the most valuable and indispensable technical skills you can have today. In fact, most multibillion-dollar companies cannot function without them. So, it’s no surprise spreadsheet modeling is a highly sought-after skill! If you’re interested in up-leveling those skills, keep reading… because I’m sharing my top spreadsheet modeling course recommendations.
Benefits of Taking a Spreadsheet Modeling Course
It’s no secret that the job market is becoming increasingly competitive in today’s environment. And, there’s no shortage of candidates applying for the same positions as you. Hiring managers can have their pick! Spreadsheet modeling is one important skill that definitely stands out and will ensure that your resume gets shortlisted.
Why? Like I said, most businesses can’t function without spreadsheets. Modeling is used as a means of making decisions, forecasting numbers, analyzing company operations, and much more! So, a little time spent learning this highly desirable skill will surely give you a leg up on the career ladder!
What Spreadsheet Modeling Courses Cannot Do
There is no doubt that taking a course will help you improve your skills. But, it won’t help you overcome the BIGGEST challenge spreadsheet modelers face…
… low performing tools.
If it’s new opportunities you’re hoping to achieve (like a promotion), you need a high-performance spreadsheet that can keep up with your ninja-like spreadsheet skills.
But, before we go into that, let’s check out my top…
Spreadsheet Modeling Course Recommendations
I’ve scoured the internet to find some of the best courses out there, so you don’t have to…
Coursera – Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models
- Cost: 7-day free trial, then £65 per month thereafter
- Duration: 7 hours
- Attendance Format: self-paced online
Coursera has teamed up with the University of Pennsylvania (aka Penn), to bring to you the “Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models”.
With the help of this course, you will become familiar with basic spreadsheet tools and formulas so that you can analyze your current data and predict the future of trends you discover within that data. You’ll learn how to use spreadsheets and how to build models and decision trees through short, easy-to-follow demonstrations.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to progress on to various Specializations or Professional Programs, such as Business and Financial Modeling Specialization or Finance & Quantitative Modeling for Analysts Specialization (all as part of your Coursera subscription).
Key course takeaways:
- Spreadsheet and model basics
- How to organize and lay out model elements
- What-if analysis and scenarios, sensitivity analysis, and other classic models
- Addressing uncertainty and probability in models
- Implementing Monte Carlo simulations as well as linear programs for optimization
What others say:
“I began this course with very limited knowledge about data modeling and ended it with a great overview of its different aspects. Prof. Don Huesman explains concepts elegantly and at the right pace. The content and teaching were engaging and easy to follow. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who wants to gain a good knowledge on how to create data models.” – Agasthya R
Udemy – Spreadsheet Modeling
- Cost: £189.99
- Duration: 1 hour
- Attendance Format: self-paced online
Udemy’s Spreadsheet Modeling online course is a great intro to the world of modeling. You’ll quickly learn how to use analytics to demonstrate effective decision-making with respect to pricing, marketing spends, and product launches.
On a technical level, you’ll learn four predictive techniques: time-series forecasting, event impact analytics, regression, and business simulations. Each lesson begins with a discussion of detailed theory, followed by a case study and an analysis of the results.
Key course takeaways:
- Analytics and data science using Microsoft Excel
- Demonstration of effective decision-making using analytics
- Predictive analytics and simulations
- Time-series forecasting, event impact analytics, regression, and business simulations
What others say:
“I learned new terminologies and different ways for analysis of data sets with easy-to-understand case studies. This course is a good starting point for analysis enthusiasts.” – Gaurav P
eCornel – Spreadsheet Modeling (Certificate Program)
- Cost: $3,750 or $988 per month
- Duration: Course length = 2 weeks (6-8 hours per week), program = 2 months
- Attendance Format: live online
The Spreadsheet Modeling Certificate Program at eCornel gives students more hands-on experience. As you work through the course, you will create dashboards and models that enable you to evaluate decision alternatives.
With this course, you’ll learn how to convey raw data into one that’s complete, clean, and ready for use. Using Excel’s analytical capabilities, you’ll create user-friendly dashboards that can help your team uncover and diagnose problems. Additionally, you will learn to develop evaluation models that incorporate uncertainty and tradeoffs.
Last but not least, you’ll learn how to use optimization functions and VBA-guided heuristics to solve problems and make decisions. This program will not only improve your spreadsheet skills, but also give you the tools to effectively communicate relevant insights to stakeholders.
Key course takeaways:
- Creating a dataset that is clean, organized, and ready for use
- Building dashboards that partition, extract, visualize, and summarize data dynamically
- Developing models to evaluate and optimize decision alternatives
- Creating flexible selection and assignment tools using VBA with Excel
What others say:
“One of the things that really stood out to me about the eCornel program was the small class sizes and having a live professor working through the course with you. The instructors were really thorough and gave great feedback.”
Data Camp – Financial Modeling in Spreadsheets
- Cost: Free
- Duration: 4 hours
- Attendance Format: self-paced online
For those interested in creating a cash-flow model, understanding the stock market, or planning for retirement, Data Camp’s Financial Modeling in Spreadsheets is a great place to start.
As part of this course, you will learn how to create a framework for your goal (e.g. understanding investment growth), and then how to update that framework using current data. Business modeling is also featured, focusing on cash flows, annuities, loan amortization, and saving for retirement.
By the end of the course, you will be able to perform referencing and function operations that can be applied to a variety of models.
Key course takeaways:
- Modeling financial statements basics
- Financial model functions by creating investment models with the fv, pv, pmt, and nper functions
- Planning and investing models
- Problematic models (i.e. stock market models)
What others say:
“DataCamp provides the best experience because you learn by doing, which gives you time to try the methods on your own.” – Ofentswe L
Deciding if You Need to Take a Spreadsheet Modeling Course
Okay, real talk time! If your software is underpowered, taking ANOTHER modeling course is not going to give you the results you’re looking for! As mentioned earlier, it’s not your skills that need improving, it’s the tools you’re using.
You see, the likes of Excel and Google Sheets, just don’t cut it in the modeling world. They’re slow, clunky, and just not capable of handling large datasets.
Unlike other spreadsheets that freeze and crash every time you go to analyze a large dataset, SheetRocks works because it’s been engineered for high performance from the ground up.
Features of SheetRocks Spreadsheet
- 400+ built-in Formulas
- Real-Time Collaborations
- SOC 2 Compliance
- XLSX Compatible
- Familiar, Convenient Formulas
- Charts, Plotting & Formatting
- Scripts & Automation
- Programmable API
Sign up for our free beta trial today to discover how our high-performance spreadsheet solution helps modeling experts and enthusiasts quickly analyze large datasets without writing a single line of code.
