Saito and I were drinking beer in the staff room after work.
“What are you thinking about? As a worker, I guess you’re feeling a bit stuck, aren’t you?”
“Hmmm, I guess so. The only thing I was able to properly process today was the VLOOKUP, which had been possessed by the ARRAYFORMULA, and to be honest, that was quite dangerous.”
“Well, that’s fine, that’s not too bad for a worker. You were able to process ARRAYFORMULA and you’ve come to understand the unique functions of Google Spreadsheets.”
“I’ve certainly come to understand a little bit about functions that aren’t in Excel. But, today I realised that more than that, there are functions in Excel that I hadn’t used before either, like CELL and ROW. I’ve also seen users successfully use functions that I rarely use myself, such as INDIRECT, so to be honest, I’m a little unsure of myself. I was called an Excel expert at work, but I don’t even have this level of knowledge. Now I feel a bit presumptuous to call myself and Excel expert…”
“What, you’re quite sensitive. That’s the path all workers go through. First of all, Excel is usually full of information that cannot be shown to the outside world, such as information about money or customers. You don’t often get the chance to see Excel sheets created by others. Most of the information you have would have been found in books and what you find on internet is usually fragmentary how-to information, not exactly what you’d see in the field.”
That was certainly true. I sometimes used Excel to communicate with advertisers, but it would usually just be the finished report with functions and pricing taken out.
“You become a worker without knowing anything about the outside world. Then, as you visit various workplaces, you end up thinking the same thing. I’m no good at all.”
“Was that the case with Saito-san?”
“I’ve already forgotten, but I guess you would be right. Well, I’m fine with that. What’s important is that you are now here as a worker. Google isn’t stupid either. You have to have had the qualifications. They won’t bring in people who have very little practical experience or who have only updated sheets made by someone else. Takahashi, you’re here because you were recognised by Google as an Excel expert. Don’t forget that.”
I was a little excited as it felt like my life was being recognised. I felt really embarrassed, so I drank the rest of my beer before speaking.
“I understand, I will continue to do my best, so thank you for your continued support.”
Part 2 End.
Author’s Note
When I started writing volume 2, it was going to be 10-20 chapters in length. That was what I though, but it turned out to be longer than expected and I ended up writing 35 chapters. next time, I would like to move onto a different topic. I will continue to do my best, so thank you for your continued support.