LinkedIn Learning, formerly known as Lynda.com, is an online learning platform that offers a wide variety of video courses on business, creative and technology topics. With over 13,000 courses taught by industry experts, LinkedIn Learning has become a go-to resource for individuals and organizations looking to gain new skills.
One of the most popular topics covered on LinkedIn Learning is Microsoft Excel. As the world’s most widely used spreadsheet program, Excel is an essential skill for office workers, analysts, and others. LinkedIn Learning offers numerous courses on Excel fundamentals, formulas, charts, pivot tables, dashboards, and more. For anyone looking to learn Excel or improve their skills, LinkedIn Learning provides a wealth of helpful video tutorials.
Excel Courses on LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning currently offers over 250 video courses focused specifically on Excel skills. These courses range from beginner level to advanced, allowing learners to start from the basics or focus on more complex functions as needed. Course durations also vary from 1-2 hours for introductory topics to 8+ hours for comprehensive training. Some of the most popular Excel courses on LinkedIn Learning include:
- Excel Essential Training
- Excel for Mac Essential Training
- Advanced Excel Formulas & Functions
- Data Analysis with Excel PivotTables
- Excel Power Pivot
- Excel Charts and Graphs
- Excel Tips Weekly
- Excel for Accounting Professionals
- Excel for Investment Professionals
- Excel for Finance Professionals
These courses and many more provide extensive training on using Excel for a variety of business and analysis needs. The platform’s robust filtering and search functionality make it easy to find an Excel course tailored to your specific learning objectives.
Course Features
LinkedIn Learning Excel courses provide step-by-step tutorials led by subject matter experts. Videos can be watched online or downloaded for offline viewing. Other standard course features include:
- Searchable transcripts of each video
- Downloadable exercise files to supplement lessons
- Mobile app access
- Discussion forums to engage with instructors and peers
- Certificate of completion upon finishing the course
- Closed captioning for accessibility
These features allow for an interactive and customizable learning experience. Learners can reinforce concepts through hands-on exercises, collaborate with others taking the course, and demonstrate new skills by earning certificates.
Course Instructors
LinkedIn Learning Excel courses are taught by credible instructors with deep experience in the subject matter. Some of the platform’s top Excel instructors include:
- Curt Frye – LinkedIn Learning’s lead Excel instructor. Frye is a Microsoft Certified Professional and author of multiple books on Excel.
- Chris Dutton – Certified Microsoft Office Specialist focused on Excel, Dashboards and Data Visualization.
- Darin Thomas – Excel expert with over 25 years of experience in data analysis and training.
- Liam Bastick – Director of SumProduct, a UK-based Excel consulting firm.
- Leila Gharani – XLOOK founder and Microsoft MVP for Excel.
- David Ringstrom – CPA and expert in accounting and auditing using Excel.
- Jon Acampora – Finance professional and creator of Excel Campus online training site.
These and many other skilled instructors help learners build Excel skills through practical examples and case studies. Their industry experience lends credibility and authority to the training.
Course Structure
LinkedIn Learning courses follow a modular chapter format, with each chapter focused on a specific set of skills. A typical structure for an Excel course may include:
- Getting Started – Excel interface, menus, basic navigation
- Entering Data – Populating cells, data types, formatting
- Formulas and Functions – Creating formulas, SUM, AVERAGE, IF functions
- Formatting – Styles, conditional formatting, fonts, colors
- Charts and Graphs – Chart types, design, interactive charts
- Sorting and Filtering – Sorting data, filter views, slicers
- Tables – Table formatting, totals rows, structured references
- PivotTables – Creating PivotTables, filtering, sorting, updating
- Advanced Formulas – VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, data validation, named ranges
- Power Features – Macros, Power Query, Power Pivot, collaboration
This modular approach allows learners to efficiently focus on the Excel tools and techniques most relevant to their needs. Chapters can be accessed sequentially or individually as a reference.
Use Cases
Here are some examples of how LinkedIn Learning’s Excel courses can be applied by various users:
Small Business Owners
- Learn how to set up financial projections and budgets.
- Track income and expenses, accounts receivable/payable.
- Manage customer contact lists, inventories, and other data.
- Gain skills to analyze sales metrics and create visual dashboards.
Office Professionals
- Increase productivity by learning shortcuts, formulas and templates.
- Organize data into tables and meaningful reports.
- Perform administrative tasks more efficiently like calendar management.
- Improve charts and visualizations for presentations.
Students
- Complete financial modeling and analysis for business courses.
- Learn methods for basic statistical analysis and data visualization.
- Organize research data and generate polished charts for reports.
- Adopt professional spreadsheet best practices for academic work.
Career Development
- Gain Excel skills to meet requirements for a new job role or promotion.
- Expand financial modeling capabilities to contribute more value.
- Learn advanced formulas like VLOOKUP to improve reporting and analysis.
- Adopt new techniques like Power Pivot to prepare for data science roles.
Whether hoping to become more proficient with Excel or gain completely new skills, LinkedIn Learning offers targeted video courses for many goals.
Course Software
LinkedIn Learning Excel courses support multiple versions of Excel including:
- Excel for Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
- Excel 2019
- Excel for Mac
- Earlier versions like Excel 2016, 2013 and 2010
Lessons are demonstrated using Windows and Mac platforms as applicable. The courses aim to provide broad Excel knowledge that applies across different software editions and versions. More specialized courses may focus exclusively on certain Excel editions like Office 365 to showcase the newest features.
Learning Pathways
Beyond individual courses, LinkedIn Learning offers bundled learning pathways that provide guided sequences for mastering Excel. Some recommended pathways for Excel include:
Pathway | Description |
---|---|
Become an Excel Data Analyst | 10 courses, 38 hours on Excel, Power Pivot, dashboards, statistics, visualization, and more. |
Advanced Excel | 7 courses, 10 hours on advanced formulas, macros, PivotTables, analysis, and shortcuts. |
Financial Analysis | 6 courses, 11 hours focused on business finance topics like accounting, budgeting, modeling and reporting. |
Excel for Marketers | 8 courses, 9 hours covering analytics, visualizations, customer data and digital marketing. |
These packaged pathways provide an efficient learning structure by integrating complementary courses into a cohesive program.
Certificates of Completion
Finishing any LinkedIn Learning course generates a shareable certificate to recognize the accomplishment. This provides motivation for completing courses and validates new skills to colleagues or employers. Some types of completion certificates include:
- General course certificate with instructor name, course name and date
- Certificate of completion with passing score for end-of-course assessments
- Certificate for entire learning pathway upon finishing all bundled courses
Certificates can enhance Excel skills on resumes and LinkedIn profiles. They also support continuing education credits for some professional roles.
Mobile Accessibility
LinkedIn Learning offers apps for iOS and Android to facilitate on-the-go learning. Key features of the mobile apps include:
- Stream or download courses to watch offline
- View transcripts and take notes while learning
- Receive notifications when new courses are released
- Control video playback speed from 0.5x to 2x
- Stay organized with bookmarked courses and learning pathways
Mobile accessibility enables users to learn Excel and other skills on their schedule. This can mean squeezed in moments throughout the day or viewing lessons during a commute.
Offline Access
In addition to mobile apps, LinkedIn Learning allows users to download course videos to watch offline on desktop computers and mobile devices. Offline access ensures learning is not disrupted in environments with limited internet connectivity. Common scenarios where offline access helps includes:
- Airplane travel
- International business trips
- Areas with unreliable mobile/WiFi signals
- Restricted networks that block streaming videos
With offline downloads, students can continue progressing through Excel courses even without an active internet connection.
Pricing Options
LinkedIn Learning provides individual and enterprise subscription options for accessing Excel and other courses. Pricing varies based on the country, account type and number of user seats. Some typical pricing options include:
Plan | Description | Estimated Price |
---|---|---|
Premium Personal | Individual subscription with full course library access. | $19.99-$29.99 per month |
Premium Teams | Enterprise team subscription starting at 4 users. | $24.98-$49.99 per month per user |
Premium Enterprise | Enterprise subscription for larger organizations. | Custom quoted based on company size |
Free trials are available to experience LinkedIn Learning before subscribing. Cost effective annual and multi-year discounts are also offered on paid plans.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn Learning provides a diverse and flexible selection of Excel courses:
- Over 250 courses covering beginner to advanced Excel topics
- Industry expert instructors and practical real-world examples
- Convenient video lessons accessible online and offline
- Interactive features like exercise files, quizzes and discussions
- Learning paths to help achieve Excel certification and mastery
- Applications for business, finance, marketing, data analysis and more
For professionals, students or anyone seeking to develop or expand their Excel skills, the platform offers quality instruction and content. LinkedIn Learning is a valuable resource for learning Excel online through structured courses tailored to diverse needs and experience levels.