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[MJC922]

I'm a huge fan of access but my primary db did outgrow it. I think there's a 2GB limit on the size of the db so when I reached that point I migrated to SQL server on the back end. I still use Access as my front-end where many of my queries are stored though. My primary DB is now up to almost 12GB. SQL on the back end will maintain itself better, Access doesn't do much housekeeping on its own.

For research purposes I pull samples into Excel and use solver quite a bit. Access as a file utility to slice and dice csv files is actually way underrated. You can do virtually anything to files in a folder with import specs, macros, update queries etc.

As far as queries go a lot of that (speed) comes down to your tables and what indexing you've setup. Keep in mind this is all a steep learning curve unless this is your day job. I'm in IT by day, not a DBA by trade though I was offered a DBA position at my current employer but I decided to stay within servers and storage instead. I've messed around with all of this stuff for 30+ years, books, youtube etc, that's the only way I've been able to keep somewhat of a handle on it.

Bottom line I would say yes Access is a good choice and if you do outgrow it you will have options.