# Off Topic > The Water Cooler >  >  Microsoft MVP Stories

## benishiryo

I know some members here are Microsoft MVPs & I was just hoping if you guys can share your stories like:
1) what jobs did you do?
2) how did you manage to attain the skills you have?  Courses, helping out in forums, etc
3) how many years have you been using Excel before becoming an MVP?

certainly not an MVP myself, but it's a dream of mine since i started to fall in love with this green little fella.  i'm an accounting graduate & i started work in 2009.  i had close to zero knowledge of Excel & my department then was using Excel pretty extensively.  they were using array formulas, OFFSET, INDIRECT, etc.  and it's not really common people use that in regular life outside of this forum.  i guess i was pretty fortunate in a sense that i was exposed to such formulas.  never in my later jobs, except for the current one, did i see such formulas.  

i began to love how formulas can significantly simplify my work & joined my current company that does Excel stuff back in 2012.  that's when i began to get more involved in this forum & found myself improving.  still not there yet, but i'm hoping 2-3 years later, i'll be able to shamelessly nominate myself with confidence if i'm not yet an MVP.   :Wink:   not sure if that's too soon or too long.

hoping you guys can share too.  =)

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## alansidman

Love the picture.

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## benishiryo

@alanisdman:
failed to show it in the thread, so i removed it

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## alansidman

Perhaps you should make it your avatar.

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## benishiryo

*grinz*  you reckon eh?  anyway, here's the pic alanisdman is talking about (for those who are reading & have no clue)

do share your story with us too, if you're interested

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## JosephP

last I saw it was estimated there are over 500,000 excel users in the world and only about 100 mvps (openly listed, anyways). considering some of the folk out there who _aren't_, I think most people would be nuts to _expect or plan_ to become one. on the other hand, considering some who _are_, ya never know ;-)

I reckon anyone who nominates himself/herself had better be pretty darn special to be that _confident_. I know a couple mvps in different areas of expertise and not a one would do that

no harm in dreaming though :-)

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## benishiryo

@JosephP:
ahhh thanks for the realistic take on that.  but i don't think there are 500,000 excel users like us contributing actively?  of course, it's still something very insane considering there are only about 100 MVPs.  

but yeah, i would still love to work hard enough & make that dream come true.  even if i don't become one, i would definitely improve through that process & i don't see any harm doing that.  the self nomination is just a joke though.  not that confident a person to do that

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## romperstomper

1. Too many to count.
2. Trial and error, books and forums. Never _taken_ an Excel course.
3. About 14 or so.

I like the picture too.  :Smilie:

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## shg

1. I started out doing digital circuit design 40 years ago, and loved it -- there is _nothing_ like the smell of truth tables in the morning. I read an article in a trade rag shortly after I graduated that said electronic calculators would soon become available _with all the functionality of a slide rule for less than the price of a small B&W TV_ -- I was _stoked_ in anticipation. I started with spreadsheets in the late 80's with VisiCalc and have seldom touched my HP12c since (though it still works and always has fresh batteries).

2. Just daily use. To me, the joy of Excel is that it's easy for a beginner to do something useful, and they more you learn, the more it can do. I have always been fascinated with tables of numbers. VBA was a revelation to me in the late 90's: Wow, a programming language to _operate_ on those tables of numbers! 

3. 20-odd years. I would add that romperstomper was the first MVP I ever heard of, and I regarded it as the most elite award one could imagine. Maybe less so now that they have accepted me.

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## romperstomper

The group is the richer for your inclusion.

"Elite award"? Even with the tattoos?  :Wink:

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## benishiryo

@ romperstomper:
thanks for starting the ball rolling haha.  the picture's from deviantart if you're interested.  
http://caiomm.deviantart.com/art/Super-Excel-170213919

@shg:
thanks for sharing too.  you guys have really been using spreadsheets for ages.  it is indeed a joy to use Excel.  outside of this forum, i surprise many people when i claim to love Excel.  and yeah, it's really the most elite award one could imagine.  the surprise & joy when notified of the nomination must have been immense.

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## FDibbins

Thanks for sharing your stories, I look forward to hearing from more MVP's  :Smilie:   I am really curious to though, to know what it was (if just 1 thing, or was it a number of things?) that got you nominated in the 1st place?  I mean, what exactly earned that prestigious award?

I cut my teeth on supercalc and lotus123, and knew some guys that used visicalc, and watching 1 of my colleagues use his 12c prompted me to get a 15c, which was later stolen and replaced with a 21c, which I still have in mothballs somewhere  :Smilie:

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## benishiryo

@FDibbins:
i read it quite awhile ago from this MVP on lots of people asking how he got the MVP.  he mentioned that it is a very secretive process & he didn't know what got him nominated.  it just happened.  haha.  maybe they'll provide another insight.  we shall wait~

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## Tony Valko

I was working in a chemistry quality control lab in the early 80's to mid 90's where we used spreadsheets extensively. We were still using paper and calculators/slide rules until we got our first PC to be used to compile database info.

I was the one that began to realize what we could do with spreadsheets so I started automating in spreadsheets what we did by hand with paper and calculators.

I learned most of my formula skills through trial and error while working in the lab. 

I later moved to a new department as a Process Supervisor where we hardly ever used spreadsheets. I still used them for things like building employee schedules and reporting forms.

How I got to be a MS MVP, I'm not sure (and there's probably a lot of other folks that would like to know that as well!  :Wink: ).

I've had a PC in my home since the mid 80's. I got it specifically so I could develop apps that we could use on the job. Once the internet was created I started participating in Excel help forums. I was surfing one day without a specific destination and I landed at the MS newsgroups where I saw an Excel forum. I knew a bit about Excel so I started answering questions. It started out as a couple of questions a few days a week and it gradually increased to a daily activity with 100's of posts per month. If I counted all the posts I've made in all the forums I've participated in over the years I would imagine my post count would be in 50-60K count range.

Apparently this forum used to "mirror" the MS newsgroups and if you go way back in the archives you'll be able to find some of my posts under the name of Biff. I later decided to use my real name as I thought it was more "professional".

I was nominated for MS MVP and awarded in July 2007. I don't know who nominated me but I thank them for their support and belief in my skills/ability to help people.

After all these years, I'm still learning new things about Excel!  :Cool:

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## benishiryo

@Tony:
great to have you here sharing too.  and coincidentally, i did saw your name "biff" when i was searching something today.  and since i got you here, i wanna ask if you got the link where daddylonglegs explained the logic of using INT & WEEKDAY to count workdays.  i was asking him yesterday & he mentioned you sometimes link the explanation.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

yeah the great thing about Excel is that we can never finish learning about it, can't we?  it's a lifelong journey~

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## Tony Valko

> i wanna ask if you got the link where daddylonglegs explained the logic of using INT & WEEKDAY to count workdays.  i was asking him yesterday & he mentioned you sometimes link the explanation.



See if this is what you had in mind:

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542039

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## benishiryo

thanks tony.  that should be it
=)

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## Andy Pope

Left school to do engineering apprenticeship with the Mailing machine manufacturer Pitney Bowes (Uk). Moved into the Advanced Methods department (CNC milling machine programming and EPROM programming of postal rates for electronic weighing scales). This gave me my first real exposure to computing, in the shape of an Apple II pc and a DEC VAX. The programming language of choice then was Fortran. I did this for about 2 years.
Moved to current job in 1986, as junior Fortan programming in a data processing bureau. Over the years I have done all the IT related roles within the company.
Currently spend my time using Office VBA to write inhouse reporting systems. 

Self taught by trial and error. online contributions via MS newsgroups (nowadays the web forums), Ozgrid, and EF.

Only a few years.


whilst the actual criteria required is unknown it is based on knowledge and your willingness to share it, via whatever medium. The more original/innovative your contributions the better.
http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/becoming-an-mvp.aspx

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## benishiryo

@AndyPope:
it's really interesting to hear the different jobs you all hold & how all of you guys are actually self-taught.  and wow, you've been in your company for close to 30 years then.

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## oeldere

@benishiryo

I like the topic you started.  :Smilie: 

Not a MVP myself (of course not)  :Smilie:

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## benishiryo

@oeldere:
thanks.  was always very interested to know about it.  =)

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## Pete_UK

As I understand it, you can't nominate yourself (going back to Post#1) - you are nominated by another MVP who has "noticed" you. Makes you wonder who nominated the first MVP ??

Not an MVP myself, but have been put forward twice (and rejected, presumably).

Pete

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## romperstomper

I believe you can nominate yourself. Whether it's likely to help your cause, I don't know. You can also be nominated by anyone, not just an existing MVP. (I have no idea why I became one or who nominated me)

I've made a few nominations myself - not all successful, so there are no guarantees.  :Wink:

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## benishiryo

@Pete_UK:
like what romperstomper mentioned, here's how:
http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/nominate-an-mvp.aspx

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## benishiryo

@romperstomper:
question.  i was trying to nominate someone here as an MVP (it's really weird he isn't one) & i realised they needed to know the First/Last Name & Email of the nominee.  so whenever you see someone really good in Excel, you have to ask for their details?

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## romperstomper

Yep. I don't know if this is a throwback to the old newsgroups or just easier for MS.

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## Colin Legg

1. I worked in finance companies. Up to the point when I became an MVP in 2009 I worked on the business side, using Excel and VBA many hours each day. 
2. Completely self-taught in Excel. I bought a couple of good VBA books and I learnt a lot from answering questions online and reading other people's answers. I rarely post on any of the forums now because I just don't have the time, but I try to write a technical blog post each month.
3. About 7 years in anger.


I know that I was first nominated by an extremely well regarded MVP, which stood me in good stead for the rest of the process.

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## Tony Valko

> i was trying to nominate someone here as an MVP (it's really weird he isn't one)



Some MVPs choose to not make their status public information.

So, it's possible that the person you're thinking about may already be an MVP but doesn't make it public.

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## benishiryo

@Colin Legg:
it's a pity I don't see you post here anymore.  not that those who have higher reps/posts ratios are inferior (can be due to asking OP to upload file, thank yous, moderator messages, etc), but your reps/posts ratio is just insane~  you have a rep for less than a post!  
7 years in anger is not that long.  =)

@Tony Valko:
nah, I verified with him & he's not one.  not sure if I should just say who he is.  anyway, you guys would nominate him if you think he deserves it.

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## TMS

Perhaps the Excel Forum should introduce its own EF MVP, as some other forums (fora) have?  Maybe not quite the same high status as a MS MVP, but ...   Now that should cause a stir.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

TMS

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## Andy Pope

To some extent that is what the Guru's are, no?

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## JosephP

> Maybe not quite the same high status as a MS MVP, but ...



_Maybe_?? ;-)

I agree with Andy-isn't that what the 'guru' title is meant to be?

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## TMS

> Maybe?? ;-)



That was kind of tongue in cheek.






> To some extent that is what the Guru's are, no?



Yes.  But I think the way that all happened sort of took the edge off it and caused some confusion.  Who knows what the ranking means but us?  Expert/Guru, Guru/Expert ...  And I'm pretty sure (TIC) there are are some, maybe a lot of, Experts who are way more knowledgeable than the Gurus.  I know that is by choice and I don't want to open old wounds.

Anyway, just throwing out the bait to see what it catches.

Regards, TMS

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## romperstomper

Imagine the T&C you'd have to agree to to become an EFMVP...  :Wink:

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## Andy Pope

@TMS, that pretty much reflects the ms program. nobody really understands the entry rules and why some get in and others don't.

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## TMS

@RS: I'm thinking contracts signed in blood, pounds of flesh ... and to never utter a word of disagreement or defiance to the owners or administrators, or anyone, really.  Or pull funny faces, laugh, giggle or smile.

@Andy: OK, so I'm in with a chance then  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Regards, TMS

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## romperstomper

I reckon there'd be a sacrifice of the first born child involved.

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## TMS

I knew there was (at least) one I was missing  :Smilie:

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