# How do I become a Excel / VBA Guru?



## dbmathis (May 16, 2005)

I thank all of you that have been helping me lately in the forums. I have always loved working with excel and I am ready to become a MS Excel VBA guru.

I willl call myself a beginner. What books do I need to read and in what order?

Thanks


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## Jay Petrulis (May 16, 2005)

dbmathis said:
			
		

> I thank all of you that have been helping me lately in the forums. I have always loved working with excel and I am ready to become a MS Excel VBA guru.
> 
> I willl call myself a beginner. What books do I need to read and in what order?
> 
> Thanks



What books?  At the beginning stage, NONE!

First, become really strong with the native Excel environment.  Become a wizard at Excel and you will reap far more benefit from that strong foundation.

Next, find yourself an actual project that requires building a full model in Excel.  It should be rather complex -- incorporating the advanced knowledge that you have obtained in the first step.

I think that this is the most critical step -- to become comfortable building solid, replicable models that work and are efficient.  For me, this requires an actual project that needs a solution -- not merely an example to follow but a  project where you have to figure it out for yourself.

When you become good at building a worksheet/workbook, do so with the macro recorder turned on.  Then study the resulting, inefficient code.  You will learn the basics of Excel VBA.

Now is the time to buy a book.  Avoid the advanced books for now -- the Bullen and Green book(s) come to mind as more advanced at this stage.  Start with some of the MrExcel offerings, the Walkenbach books, or the Kofler books.  They can be quite complete, so give a glance at a bookstore or library before buying.  What is good for one person might not be good for another.

Throughout your journey to guru, take advantage of the MrExcel board and the newsgroups.  You will learn a ton -- even some new ways of doing things you already know.

Good luck.


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