My Experiences with Excel

I remember filling out a job application once and being asked if I had any special knowledge/expertise in some particular computer areas, Excel included. At the time I wondered why it was really even that big a deal, but now I am starting to understand. I have never been that great with computers, but I figured I could get by. Now that I know that’s no longer good enough, (I did fail that computer skills exam after all) I’m glad to be receiving this chance to better my skills. I always had the basic idea of Excel and could manage it whenever I needed to. This class, however, is finally revealing to me exactly how complicated Excel can be and how to finally tackle it in the most efficient way. Because of the true-to-life examples we’ve had in class, I now know how Excel can help in making spreadsheets, an important process for collecting data together and analyzing it. Teachers, for instance, can use Excel to enter in student grades, while the average individual can update their finances and income statements via Excel. Excel is also useful because of its ability to perform mathematical calculations with ease and create graphs and tables with a simple click of the button. Already, I am using Excel quite frequently in my Biology Lab, since it requires a number of statistical analysis. Once data and observations are collected, my lab partners and I can enter the information in Excel and figure the results right away. My group is always one of the first done with our in-class assignments, and I can thank Excel, and my new-found knowledge of it, for speeding up a normally complicated process.