Career Development Advise regarding Excel skills

Can anybody please provide some career development advice. I know product knowledge is very important such as CFA, CAIA, but it is equally important to be a guru in excel. So my question especially in finance is it a requirement to be a expert in excel in these following topics if you are thinking of a career as a buy-side analyst in the hedge fund or Asset Management field. Jobs such as: trading analyst or research analyst in FX or Future market in front or middle office. The topic I am focusing are: 1) Financial Modeling using Excel, 2) Data Analysis using Statistic via Excel, and 3) Visual Basic using excel.

What is the best way mastering these following topics. One way is have an independent studying approach by buying Amazon books that includes practice problems via CD. Second approach is go to a class setting that will cost over 3000 dollars in NYC and even then they won't cover all the topic and final approach is locate a trainer which can be found at craigslist at a hourly rate.

Couple of books I am thinking to start reading are recommended by financial professional:

1) Financial Modeling using Excel

http://www.Amazon.com/Financial-Modeling-3rd-Simo…

2) Data Analysis using Excel

http://www.Amazon.com/Data-Analysis-Using-Microso…

3) Visual Basic using Excel

http://www.Amazon.com/Excel-Programming-blueprint…

Any recommendation regarding books and any advice would be appreciate. Please I request no nasty comment. Everybody is here to help each other.

Thanks

2 Comments
 

I think the best thing to learn alot of this is to ask questions and try and solve them urself but forcing yourself down a certain path.

I would most definately learn VBA in Excel at least on a basic level in case you use someone else's macro and it breaks on you for some reason. VBA is also really helpful for anything you plan on doing more than once(e.g formatting, data manipulation)

 

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