If you’re like a lot of people in today’s competitive job market, you’re looking for ways to develop your skills and stay current – maybe take an Excel course or two…
Your colleagues tell you that you should learn Excel VBA… but Visual Basic has been around for a long time.
Is learning VBA still worth it in 2023? Should you open the VBA editor and try your hand at coding?
In this article, we’ll explore whether VBA skills are still worthwhile.
Is Excel VBA in Demand?
You’re not interested in computer programming… why should you learn VBA?
Let’s break this down a little.
VBA stands for Visual Basic for Applications. VBA is a programming language that is tightly integrated into Microsoft Office applications like Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. According to Statista, Office 365 is used by over a million companies worldwide.
With so many organization using Microsoft Office, the ability to automate processes and enhance spreadsheets using a scripting language like VBA have become highly coveted skills.
Learning VBA gives you “next level” Microsoft Office skills.
Is Excel VBA Obsolete?
While VBA might not be the most modern programming language, Microsoft Office is still extremely popular in the business world. Excel still uses VBA to streamline repetitive tasks and processes.
Considering the number of spreadsheets that use VBA, it’s far from obsolete. I think learning VBA is entirely worth it.
Am I Better Off Learning VBA or Other Programming Languages?
VBA is the programming language included with Excel but does that automatically mean it’s the best choice? Here is a comparison between VBA and a few other popular programming languages you might consider learning.
Learning VBA
VBA is used for automating a broad range of tasks in Microsoft Office applications and it’s widely considered one of the easiest coding languages to learn.
Learning JavaScript
Even though Microsoft introduced Java Script API for Office Add-ins for Microsoft 365, these capabilities extend the capabilities of online applications, VBA is still the preferred way to customize Microsoft Office applications for the desktop.
Learning a Broad Programming Language Like Python
Python is one of easiest programming language to learn, it’s an open-source coding platform, and there are many ways to integrate it with Excel. If you’re starting from scratch, Python might be a good choice but, if you have to support existing code, you should learn VBA.
5 Reasons to Learn Excel VBA Programming in 2023
Here are 5 compelling reasons to learn VBA.
1) VBA Code is Used to Automate Recurring Processes
VBA is a great solution any time you need to automate repetitive tasks like hiding rows in a spreadsheet. You can use the macro recorder or write VBA code in the Visual Basic editor.
A little VBA knowledge will help you automate tedious tasks.
2) Excel VBA is Widely Used Across Many Industries
Excel users in virtually every industry use VBA to customize spreadsheets and streamline processes. Excel VBA is an easy automation solution.
3) Visual Basic Can Be Used to Build Custom Applications
Like other programming languages, Visual Basic can be leveraged to build an entire custom application.
4) Visual Basic is a Beginner Friendly Programming Language
VBA is an easy coding language to learn. It’s available anywhere Microsoft Office is installed. You can access it in the office apps on a PC or a Mac. No wonder so many people use VBA!
5) VBA Programming is a Valuable Skill on Your Resume
Hiring managers are always looking for people with experience using VBA. This fact alone makes learning VBA worth it!
The Verdict: Learning VBA Is Still Worth It in 2023
Acquiring a little VBA knowledge will definitely enhance your skill set. In this article, we have covered several factors that make VBA skills super valuable in the workplace. Even if you don’t know how to write code, it’s worth learning VBA skills.