Why Excel Still Dominates The Tech Job Market
In the midst of Silicon Valley's artificial intelligence frenzy, where companies are engaged in fierce talent wars, a surprisingly traditional skill remains the most coveted in the tech industry. It's not a complex programming language or a niche machine learning framework—it's Microsoft Excel.
A Surprising Leader in Tech Skills
Despite being first released nearly four decades ago in 1985, Microsoft Excel stands out as the most frequently cited skill in tech job listings. A recent review of over 12 million tech job postings on Indeed by Course Report, an organization that tracks the tech education industry, revealed some startling numbers.
Excel appeared in an astounding 531,000 job listings. This figure completely overshadows skills typically associated with the AI boom. For comparison:
- Python, an essential language for AI development, was mentioned 67,000 times.
- SQL, a language for data management, showed up in 60,000 listings.
- Machine learning expertise was sought in 31,000 postings.
- AI itself was mentioned in just 25,000 listings.
The Data Backbone of the AI Revolution
The reason for Excel's enduring relevance is simple: the entire AI boom is built on data. The relentless hunt for unique data is pushing companies to explore every possible avenue, from risking copyright violations to creating synthetic data from scratch. And at the heart of managing, cleaning, and analyzing this data, you'll often find a spreadsheet. Tech companies need Excel wizards to handle the fundamental ingredient of their most advanced projects.
Insights from Industry Leaders
Experts in the field confirm that Excel's role isn't diminishing—it's evolving. Rajoshi Rhosh, cofounder of the tech unicorn PromptQL, believes Excel's interface is too deeply embedded in business operations to be replaced.
"The interface is too deeply ingrained in how business users think and operate. What will change is how the data gets into Excel," he explained. "As AI matures, its real role is to deliver accurate, contextual data directly into the tools people already trust: like Excel."
Pukar Hamal, CEO of SecurityPal, echoes this sentiment, noting that behind the sophisticated facade of AI chatbots and agents lies the practical reality of spreadsheets.
"We keep pretending the future arrives through new interfaces," Hamal said. "For most B2B companies, the last mile is the same. You either dress up an Excel model with a UI, or you give buyers a way to take your data back to Excel. That is where real decisions and real dollars move."
A Tried-and-True Skill for the Future
While tech giants like Meta, Google, and OpenAI offer million-dollar packages to top AI experts and are willing to pay premiums of up to $200,000 for machine learning skills, the demand for foundational abilities remains strong. Even unconventional skills like vibe-coding and prompt engineering are creating lucrative roles.
In this dynamic landscape, Excel may not offer the same flashy payday as a top-tier AI research role, but its universal demand makes it a highly relevant and stable skill. It proves that even at the cutting edge of technology, mastering the fundamentals is as important as ever.
