In 1985 (for those who struggle with math, that was 40 years ago), Microsoft Excel was initially introduced and has become a staple in the lives of plenty of individuals.
It’s estimated that more than 750 million people worldwide use Excel. Many of them, including Dallas-area resident and financial analyst Kirsten Kraske, are either required to or choose to do so in their jobs. Kraske said she works on a financial planning and analysis team, and several of the team’s processes are in Excel. In her role, she uses it for budgeting, forecasting, comparisons, formulas, etc. and said she currently would not be able to survive and function well without it.
“If I didn’t know how to use this tool, my job would be very, very hard,” she said. “There’s not really another tool that compares to it, but with wider use of AI tools, I do think parts of Excel might start to dwindle away over time.”
For those who don’t know how to use Excel well, Microsoft provides support, and other free options, such as training on Coursera, offer free education and certification. Kraske said she appreciates the benefits the spreadsheet program offers on a day-to-day basis.
“I love how easy Excel is to use,” she said. “We have a lot of learning modules at work on how to use the tool. I love that it’s relatively fast, doing analysis is easy, and it helps with organization.”
But Kraske is aware that Excel is not completely flawless.
“I know there are workarounds to this, but I wish it was easier to collaborate with others on a worksheet, and I wish the ability to share it was easier,” she said. “Oftentimes, the files are too big to send over email, and thus, you need to find another way around this.”
Like Kraske, Dallas resident and project manager Erasmo Estrada helps keep Excel in business, as he said he uses it at least every weekday. In his professional life, he employs the tool for project budgeting, bid comparisons and analysis, invoice tracking, and organizing information that is mostly cost-related. For his personal life, he uses Google Sheets for personal finances, marathon training, car maintenance, creating travel budgets, and some cost analysis (e.g., comparing costs of vehicles), and he also enjoys tracking his own media consumption to reference what he’s watched and read, games he’s played, concerts and he’s shows experienced, etc.
Also similar to Kraske, Estrada said he finds Excel to be an essential component of his life.
“Living without it just seems to make things I use it for more annoying,” he said. “It’s like asking me to hand wash my clothes when I have a washer or to stop using spoons because they make eating cereal too easy. I’m imagining handwriting a project budget or fiddling around with a stupid table I force into Word, and it’s getting me riled up, and I don’t even hardly have a need for deeper Excel usage. I guess I should look at the bright side—Excel isn’t going anywhere.”
And despite his affinity for Excel, Estrada is also able to acknowledge that there are some disadvantages and improvements that could be made to the spreadsheet program.
“It requires a license, so I just use it through work, but that’s what Google Sheets is for personally,” he said. “Also, it may not be the best tool for a large, complex, or maybe specific task, and it often relies a lot on human entry—and we’re known to make mistakes.”
Excel also has its fair share of haters, including Dallas-area resident Stephanie Hone. Prior to her current role as a growth and development consultant, Hone held positions as an account manager and then client service consultant. The transition allowed her to escape the grip of Excel.
“Before I changed departments, I used Excel quite often—multiple times a week,” she said. “Now, I rarely need to use it, and that makes me happy.”
Hone was a teacher before making a return to the corporate world and said she used Google Sheets more than Excel while in education and would certainly choose it over the Microsoft software. However, in general, neither one is exactly conducive to her style and preferences.
“I dislike it because it’s tables and spreadsheets,” she said. “Some people thrive working in those. I don’t thrive. I don’t even ‘th.’”
While certainly not absolute, it’s possible that a person’s inclination for or aversion to Excel is tied to various aspects of his or her personality. Some people might opt to use it to track health and fitness metrics, plan a wedding, monitor expenses, and create schedules and lists, while others might have sticky notes all over the place, rely more on notes apps on their phones, or simply keep track of what they need to in their heads.
“Personality type being the driver of enjoying and using Excel is an interesting thought,” Estrada said. “If you’re an analytical person who enjoys organization, then I’d imagine you have a tendency to like Excel or at least appreciate using it.”
Kraske said she thinks everyone should learn how to use Excel for personal reasons, particularly in terms of budgeting, but she can see how more dependency on and preference for the tool can be related to one’s personality.
“I think more Type A, organized, structured-thinking people probably really love working in Excel,” she said. “Others who are more fluid probably prefer the more creative side of things, like creating an awesome PowerPoint deck.”
Hone, who might not really be much of a Microsoft person at all, said she definitely believes that Excel use can be indicative of personality type, as she sees the differences in the character trait dynamics of her own marriage.
“My husband works in Excel all day long—he’s an introvert,” she said. “I’m an extrovert. I don’t know much about much, but I feel that masterminds who love working behind the scenes are brilliant with Excel, and people who love to be in front of people and talking to them thrive by presenting—I guess in PowerPoint, which I also don’t like.”
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