How long does Excel take to learn?

Google finished rolling out its helpful content update last month, which was supposed to provide us with better search results.

Well, it seems like it still has some way to go…

I search for: “how long does it take to learn excel?”

And the top result‘s description from Noble Desktop includes: “It takes most Excel users approximately 18-20 hours to fully learn this spreadsheet application.”

The article contains three other instances of “18–20 hours”.

The following sentence is repeated twice.

“Because of the vast range of tools and functions in Excel, some people estimate it takes approximately 18-20 hours to become proficient with this app’s advanced features.”

“Although it takes only a few hours to learn Excel’s basic features and become familiar with its interface, most learners study this application for 18-20 hours to fully understand its many capabilities.”

They aren‘t the only guilty party. Source after source grossly underestimates the time it takes to learn Excel.

I just wish there were some honest answers.