VBA is a programming language used by Microsoft Office 365 apps like PowerPoint, Access, Excel, and Word for writing programs and making customizations. An important aspect of receiving professional VBA training to set yourself up for a career change is learning what fields and industries that training will help you find work in. Each industry has different requirements and expectations for prospective employees, and you should consider these expectations when you start training. This is true for students who have an idea of what kind of work they want to do and for students who aren’t yet sure what path they want to take after learning VBA skills.

What is VBA? 

VBA, which is short for Visual Basic for Applications, is the standard programming language Microsoft created to be used in several Office programs, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. VBA provides Microsoft users additional customizable features beyond those typically included in Office apps. Although VBA isn’t a stand-alone program, it can alter various graphical-user-interface features, including menus, dialogue boxes, and toolbars. Additionally, VBA has applications for automating different computer calculations and processes, accessing Windows APIs, and designing user-defined functions.

Because VBA is an event-driven tool, it can tell the user’s computer to execute one or more actions. To do so, you create custom macros (which is short for macroinstructions) by entering commands into a module devoted to editing. Macros are comprised of various characters whose input causes an output (an additional series of characters) that is capable of accomplishing different computing tasks. When using a Microsoft app, VBA allows users to perform various functions that extend beyond word processing or spreadsheet management. By using macros, Microsoft users can make repetitive tasks easier to accomplish. There’s no need to purchase VBA software separately since it’s included with Microsoft Office.

Read more about what VBA is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with VBA Skills?

VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, is Microsoft’s internal programming language for apps like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. This versatile language allows users to further customize Office applications beyond the options typically available using host apps. VBA functions by manipulating features of the graphical user interface, like dialogue boxes, menus, and toolbars. It also has applications for creating user-defined functions and automating computer calculations and processes. 

Because it is an event-driven tool, you can use VBA to instruct the computer to perform one or multiple actions. By entering commands into an editing module, Office users can create custom macros or sets of characters that, when entered, result in a new output that can perform specific computing tasks. A few examples of repetitive tasks VBA can automate are data cleaning and formatting, capitalizing text, creating a table of contents, merging multiple worksheets, and solving complex calculations.

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Common Industries That Use VBA

VBA is a popular tool across industries because it helps reduce the human involvement required to perform critical tasks and processes and increase output and efficiency. The following sections will briefly explore how VBA is used by professionals in industries like finance, manufacturing, business, and healthcare, as well as the job outlook for these professions.

Finance

Over the past several decades, the finance industry has continued to adapt to the ever-growing volume of data created. Calculators have been replaced with laptops, spreadsheets have grown more popular than ledgers, and dashboards have been used in place of hardbound financial models. Careers in finance, such as Financial Analysts, now require individuals to stay abreast of the latest trends and developments in finance. One such trend is using automation to create VBA financial models. 

With the help of VBA, Financial Analysts can analyze huge amounts of corporate data, create financial models, and ensure that the internal business processes within an organization are performing as efficiently as possible. VBA also helps organizations consolidate data into the cloud, which ensures it can be located anywhere. Financial Analysts use VBA in Excel to design and work with complex models for risk management, trading, and pricing, as well as to create financial ratios and forecast earnings and sales. It’s also a powerful tool that helps these professionals perform scenario analysis on various possible outcomes.

Financial modeling is used across the financial world in many ways. Investment banks create financial models for mergers and acquisitions to better understand whether a deal is viable. Corporate finance professionals work with financial models to examine a company’s long-term financial health. Project finance professionals work with models to make estimates and forecasts about capital outflow. Private equity firms that handle large sums of money for projects work with financial models to calculate the return on investment on a given value for a specified time period; Excel VBA functions can provide them with insights into potential returns. Equity research firms create various financial models to anticipate how stocks will fluctuate. Large corporations with their own finance departments use Excel and VBA financial modeling to evaluate internal growth numbers and forecast future performance.

Financial Analysts earn approximately $95,000 a year. The job outlook for this profession over the next decade is strong, with an expected 9% job growth rate.

Manufacturing

Those working in the manufacturing sector use Microsoft Excel for various tasks. They record data on spreadsheets, then convert these numbers into information to share with others. Manufacturers work with VBA to drastically reduce the time required to perform many routine tasks. Manufacturers use this language to communicate with vendors, edit or upgrade commonly used applications, and track errors. It also helps manufacturers perform troubleshooting to locate any problems in the supply chain or other operations. 

Those who work in the manufacturing sector rely on Excel automation features to help them keep track of supply chain and procurement data. When entering this data into an Excel spreadsheet, automation features enable auto-fill-in, which makes it much easier to add information about suppliers and partners. It also helps with the data retrieval process. The inventory reconciliation process can also be automated in Excel, making it much easier and faster for Manufacturers to manage inventory and ensure that in-demand products are kept in stock.

Business Analytics

Business Analysts are involved with determining how their organization is currently performing and providing suggestions to improve various systems and processes. They perform data analysis and research tasks to find solutions to business problems and present these solutions to internal stakeholders and clients. Business Analysts work with VBA in Excel to create customized visualizations, summary tables, graphs, and comprehensive slide presentations that convey their findings. These tasks take just seconds to perform these tasks using VBA rather than the hours that would otherwise be required.

Although not all Business Analysts are trained to use VBA, this programming language is a time-saving tool for those with the skills to use it for automation purposes. One of the main tasks of working as a Business Analyst is preparing daily, weekly, and monthly reports. Even though these reports contain different information, using VBA for formatting tasks can drastically reduce the time it will take to generate these reports. Additionally, VBA helps these professionals with tasks in other Office 365 apps, like designing PowerPoint slide decks, reports using Word, and summary tables in Excel. Because Office is integrated, Business Analysts can easily combine or transfer information from one application to another. This allows them to create a weekly data report using Excel, then automatically create PowerPoint slides with bullets to present the findings. 

Business Analysts earn approximately $80,000 a year. 

Healthcare

Healthcare providers handle large volumes of patient data. They often use Excel spreadsheets to do so. This provides a way for them to cross-reference patient data with other information pertaining to medications or providers. With the help of Excel automation and VBA, it’s much easier to manage this information and keep track of treatment options, appointments, and follow-up visits. In addition to managing patient data, Excel helps those in healthcare perform tasks like managing reimbursement and insurance claims, creating patient charts, presenting health-related data to patients or professionals, and providing accurate disease diagnoses.

Hospitals that take advantage of Excel’s automation capabilities monitor how infection or disease spreads. VBA allows healthcare professionals to schedule surgeries and work shifts for doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. Excel templates allow healthcare professionals to easily keep track of patient health values like blood pressure, glucose levels, or heart rate. Medical professionals rely on automation capabilities when analyzing lab results and researching drug interactions to ensure patients receive the most effective treatment. Patients can also use Excel independently to track their personal health markers, such as sleep patterns, caloric intake, and exercise. They can create Excel charts, then, that visually depict their health journey.

Learn VBA Skills with Noble Desktop

A great way to learn about VBA is to sign up for in-person or live online VBA coursework. Noble Desktop’s Excel Programming with VBA Bootcamp is a hands-on course that teaches students fundamental VBA concepts, such as applying macros to real-world situations and performing Excel automation for repetitive tasks. This class is offered in the live online format and in-person in Manhattan. Although prior VBA knowledge isn’t necessary to take this course, participants should have intermediate Excel skills, such as familiarity with VLOOKUP, IF statements, and Pivot Tables. All participants have the option of a free class retake to brush up on course material. 

Key Takeaways

• VBA is used in many industries and professions, in particular those that keep track of customer or client data. VBA provides these professionals with a way to perform routine tasks much faster and more effectively, improving customer satisfaction, patient care, and business outcomes.
• In financial and business analytics, Excel VBA helps professionals evaluate their organization’s performance and offer suggestions to improve operations. It also has applications for creating financial models to anticipate future performance.
• VBA can help manufacturers to communicate with vendors and to ensure the supply chain runs smoothly and in-demand inventory is kept in stock. Healthcare professionals also work with VBA to improve patient outcomes, streamline billing and insurance claims, and ensure that hospitals are staffed at peak times.
• Noble Desktop offers comprehensive training in VBA. You can study this programming language in the in-person or live online environment.