Think Python or AI are the hottest tickets in tech hiring? Think again. According to a new Course Report study, Excel remains the single most requested applied skill in the industry — nearly 40 years after its launch.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Analyzing 12 million job listings on Indeed, Course Report found:

Excel appeared in 531,000 postings.

Microsoft Office overall was mentioned 344,000 times.

By comparison, Python (67,000 mentions) and SQL (60,000) trailed far behind.

Machine learning skills showed up in 31,000 listings.

AI was mentioned just 25,000 times.

(Source: Course Report, Business Insider)

Why Excel Still Rules

Rajoshi Rhosh, co-founder of PromptQL (a company building Fortune 500-grade, “non-hallucinating” AI systems), says Excel isn’t going anywhere soon:

“AI’s role in the future will be to deliver accurate, meaningful data into the services people already trust — like Excel.”

He adds that in most B2B companies, the “last mile” remains the same:

Either you hide the Excel model under a sleek user interface,

Or you deliver the data directly in Excel, where clients already know how to work with it.

️ The Takeaway

Despite the hype around AI, LLMs, and new interfaces, Excel continues to be the default universal language of business data. It’s not glamorous, but it’s everywhere — and knowing it could still be the best career move in tech.