I have been a professional Excel programmer for longer than I can remember. I was actually a Lotus 123 programmer before I was a Microsoft Excel Programmer, that is how long ago I started down this road. I can even remember the exact day they installed Microsoft Excel on my machine, as the others in my department looked on in envy, as they had to stay with Lotus for many more long months.
The life of an Excel programmer can vary greatly. Much more than you think. Most Excel programmers are not actually freelance programmers but actually work as traditional employees, working 40 or so hours a week, like everyone else, onsite, at a desk, getting benefits, and all that entails. They are often financial analysts, accountants, business analyst, etc. They are typically people in positions that involve manipulating and reporting on large amounts of data. It really does not matter what the data is, be it rivets or laptops, data is data, though the business owners like to think differently. What matters is who the data a is treated, what formulas are used, how accuracy is achieved, etc. 
What is really is interesting is that these types of positions actually create Excel programmers out of everyday normal people. Incomes an associate financial analyst for instance, which is what I was, the person then uses Excel, and in this case Access, to do their job, and as they improve their Excel skills they do their job better. They learn more about Excel, and they do their job better, and they learn more about Excel and they do their job even better, so they go from associate financial analyst to financial analyst to senior financial analyst to financial systems analyst to senior financial systems analyst, etc.
Most Excel programmers stay in traditional employment, which is the safe and secure thing to do. You have a somewhat secure job, you get benefits, you can expect to get paid, etc. If you work hard, there is the possibility of a promotion, and you can expect to retire someday. Others however prefer to take the risk to go it alone and to become a freelance Excel Programmer.
When you hire an Excel programmer you may find that they have a traditional job Monday thru Friday and that they do the programming after hours. I actually did this for 6 years when I first created Central Data Financial Systems. I worked 50+ hours a week as an Excel programmer and Access programmer for an international consulting firm and then I had my freelance firm that I ran after work and on the weekends. I worked over 100 hours a week for much of that time. It was a very long hard time. I worked every holiday except Christmas.
During that time I built a large client base which allowed for a substantial amount of repeat Excel programming business. It was during this time that I faced a new problem, I had too much work, I had more work than I could possibly do. So I had to hire other expert Excel programmers to work with me at my firm. As I did the business grew even more from there. Each programmer that joined the team added new clients to the client base. As they did I had to hire more freelance Excel programmers.
Eventually I would have over 10 Excel programmers working with me. I now have some amazing talent working with me, such as Jacob, the most amazing Excel programmer I have ever worked with.
Clients such as Toyota, Honda, BMw, Union Bank, Merrill Lynch, American Express, AT&T, Verizon, Southern California Edison, United States Postal Service, Social Security Administration, Department of Treasury, U.S.Army, Veterans Administration, San Diego Police Department, Charles Drew University, Orange Coast College, University of Arizona, Association of COmmunity Colleges, etc., to name a few of our larger clients.
Being an Excel programmer can be very rewarding. It is a job where you can continue to learn and grow as an individual. Being a freelance Excel programmer can be even more rewarding and can provide an even more rewarding career path. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take charge of their future.
