where to start with sql reddit - Brave Search

If you had 30 days to learn SQL - how would you do it?

reddit.com › r › SQL › comments › qhpq3v › if_you_had_30_days_to_learn_sql_how_would_you_do

I'd suggest solving exercises on https://pgexercises.com . It has exercises with increasing levels of difficulty and also recommends books you can read to get better at SQL. Answer from Deleted User on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/sql › if you had 30 days to learn sql - how would you do it?

r/SQL on Reddit: If you had 30 days to learn SQL - how would you do it?

October 28, 2021 -

I would like some direction for learning SQL. I come from Python background (self-taught). Job application (that I want) is due in a month and requires familiarity with SQL! Thanks.

I'd suggest solving exercises on https://pgexercises.com . It has exercises with increasing levels of difficulty and also recommends books you can read to get better at SQL.

https://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_mysql_getstarted.asp A really good site. Learn the basics here.

reddit.com › r/sql › complete beginner - where do i start?

r/SQL on Reddit: Complete beginner - Where do I start?

July 27, 2021 -

Hello, I am completely new to the world of SQL and would like to get my journey started! Where do I start? I don't mind paying for courses, I am just looking for the best possible place to learn SQL. I apologize in advance since I am sure this question has been asked before, but I was hoping to get the most updated response.

in the sidebar on the right side of this page is a section called Learning SQL there are two links... follow them, you should

https://www.reddit.com/r/SQL/comments/g4ct1l/what_are_some_good_resources_to_practice_sql/fnx11mc/

reddit.com › r/sql › best way to learn sql

r/SQL on Reddit: Best way to learn SQL

March 13, 2023 -

Hi everyone

I would like to start learning SQL and I don't really know where to start. Can someone please describe me your journey on how you became proficient with the tool? I am working as a Product Manager, so some basic skills are definitely needed.

Thanks!

I will provide you some valuable tips to rapidly learn SQL and become a professional within few months Create your own database and practice on it. Solve SQL puzzles and challenges available online. Participate in online SQL communities and forums. Use online SQL tutorials and courses. Attend SQL workshops and webinars. Practice SQL queries on real-world datasets. Analyze and manipulate data from different sources. Create and use SQL stored procedures and functions. Work on SQL projects and collaborate with other SQL professionals. Follow best practices and guidelines for SQL optimization and performance. To get you started, I will highly recommend you look at these articles. They will guide you through : What you need to know to get started: https://link.medium.com/kz9qL7TtCAb 10 tips you should know: https://link.medium.com/NsrPQF1tCAb SQL query Optimization: https://link.medium.com/LwrtUV7tCAb Sql queries for complex business reports: https://link.medium.com/Cbi6fRbuCAb The power of sql case statement: https://link.medium.com/rY2G7UfuCAb Advanced SQL queries for mysql workbench series: PART 1: https://link.medium.com/Ab6QXnmuCAb PART 2: https://link.medium.com/mMo35opuCAb PART 3: https://link.medium.com/DXVhGKruCAb Understanding SQL inner join with practical examples: https://link.medium.com/8MYnwLtuCAb Unleashing the power of SQL aggregate functions: PART 1: https://link.medium.com/ZKZtBMAuCAb PART 2: https://link.medium.com/xpA0E7DuCAb PART 3: https://link.medium.com/7xKteHFuCAb PART 4: https://link.medium.com/zmMc91IuCAb

I would start with doing SQL bolt. Then watch either a YouTube series on SQL or do a Udemy course, I personally like Alex the Analyst's series, I recommend just starting with his basic and intermediate series. Whatever database system your company uses watch a couple tutorials on it, if it's something like MySQL or Microsoft SQL server you can set up an instance on your own computer at home and practice using it. Then start doing SQL problems on hackerrank, do them in the database system that you'll be using. Once you're at the point of being able to do all the basic stuff on hackerrank and some of the intermediate I would say you have a good starting grasp on SQL.

reddit.com › r/sql › recommended sql learning path. from beginner to expert.

r/SQL on Reddit: Recommended SQL learning path. From beginner to expert.

January 31, 2022 -

Hello all.

I want to increase my SQL knowledge and master this.

I am looking for a good learning path that I can follow to master SQL.

As it's a broad subject. I'd prefer to get your top suggestions on what to learn first.

I can do this on my own. But would like to avoid spending too much learning something I may never use.

It would also be cool to learn how someone would first approach a query. So any good blogs would be great.

Much appreciated.

Steven.

If you want a straightforward learning path for SQL, start by mastering the basics like SELECT statements, filtering, sorting, and joins. This article goes over UC Davis’ SQL course, which walks you through each topic step by step and includes hands-on exercises to help you really get how queries work. Once you feel good about the fundamentals, you can move on to aggregations, subqueries, and more advanced joins. Practicing with sample databases and building small projects will make it a lot easier to master SQL and use it in real-life situations.

https://sqlzoo.net/wiki/SQL_Tutorial Then https://mode.com/sql-tutorial/ Then All the leetcode database questions! https://leetcode.com/problemset/database/

reddit.com › r/dataengineering › how and where did you learn sql from and become good at it?

r/dataengineering on Reddit: How and where did you learn SQL from and become good at it?

November 12, 2021 -

I want to learn and become really good at SQL (and Python too!).

This sub seems to have both DEs and SWEs. Could I get some guidance on how and from where I should learn SQL and Python to become a skilled and competent engineer?

Thank you everyone

Edit: I forgot to mention this. Most tutorials and courses seem to focus on the querying part of SQL. Where and how do I learn to design, structure and create Data and databases?

https://sqlbolt.com

I don't claim to be very good at SQL, but my advice is to take some reports from analysts and see the queries they use. From my experience analysts sometimes have to use some hacks because of bad data modelling. Here is a sample problem: Say you have login info for all users of the first 100 days of an app. How do you calculate 7d/14d/30d retention rate? How do you calculate survival rate? A second one that is easier: How do you calculate DAU by seniority (seniority can be breakdown into a few buckets)? A third one: You have a table that has three columns: userId, dateTime and userLevel. Write a query that calculates the median number of days need to reach a certain level. For Python I can't say much. We use it for pipelines but they are not difficult to write. I think the more important question is how to design a pipeline and what precautions to do.

reddit.com › r/sql › how to start learning sql?

r/SQL on Reddit: How to start learning SQL?

April 19, 2024 -

I'm planning to study database but college it's really expensive and I can't see if it is really worth it. So I was wondering if there's any detailed guide or a really good option that doesn't requires college. I don't know anything about programming or languages, and don't know where to start either.I found this guy from freeCodingCamp.org, it looks good but I'm not sure if that's all I'm going to need. Urgent advice required.

Doing cs50 sql now, its pretty good tbh. U get notes, exercises, good explanations of topics

What I did/am doing: SQLbolt.com then move on to leetcode

reddit.com › r/sql › best resources to learn sql and what should i focus on to get a job?

r/SQL on Reddit: Best resources to learn SQL and what should I focus on to get a job?

September 28, 2023 -

I'm currently learning SQL in my spare time, polishing up on my Excel skills and after SQL, I want to learn PowerBI. I have NO EXPERIENCE in SQL.

Which books, mock test, website, youtube channel would you recommend? I want to learn from basic to expert level no matter how much time it takes?

You could start with the SQL section of w3schools.com. It's a big picture overview of SQL and it has some pages focused on how to accomplish things specific to different database programs. Get comfortable with that first. The rarely spoken truth is that SQL isn't very hard to pick up. Your value will largely depend on your ability to translate business logic into SQL. Practice. Pick an industry/type of business. It might be best to start with one you're very familiar with on your first run through. Set up your database environment. Securely store all the information required in your set up. Ex: authentication type, administrator account user/pass, database name, etc Gather information on what the business would need to store in a database. Ex: an animal shelter would need a pet table, a kennel/cage table, immunization/medical information table, license/tag table, a table to store people who surrender or adopt .. you get the picture. Make it as detailed as you can, if it's realistic, talk to someone in that line of work, but don't get caught up in making it perfect. 5-10 tables should be enough for the first time around. Design the tables in the database. Pay attention to data types as you go. You'll want to consider the data as it is today, and accommodate for growth. Ex: your table has a field, char(10) as the data type. The data stored is currently 10 characters long. Business needs change, and this field now needs to store 12 characters. Save yourself the headache and start with making it varchar(20) at creation. Also pay attention to keys and how you intend to join tables. I strongly advise putting primary keys on every table and setting them to auto-increment. This gives you a quick out when it comes to duplicate records. Generate data for your tables. Google "data generator" and find the one you like the best. I've used https://generatedata.com/ in the past, it's not terrible but I recall a lot of tweaking to get exactly what I needed. Research. Chances are there's something easier out there. If dropping money on it is not an issue, Regate has a SQL Data Generator for a yearly subscription price of $264. Probably easier to work with. Load your data into the database. Ideally, the data generator provided you with a SQL script that runs a bunch of inserts, one click and done. But it's possible you got a csv or Excel file. Most dbms's come with an import tool of some kind, this the perfect opportunity to learn how to use it. The rest is the fun part. Conjure up potential business scenarios your business might encounter. In the animal shelter example, a couple things might happen: animal adoption, animal surrender, kennel change, new license/tag, etc. Consider what would be most important if you needed to report on these situations, put some queries together, maybe create some views. When you're pretty comfortable with that, start looking into how you'd update data. An animal surrender wouldn't just be entering into the pet table, you'd also want to store the person who surrendered the animal and assign them a kennel. Also: retaining historical data for record changes is a valid business requirement. If it didn't come up in your original design, figuring out how to implement it is good practice. Sorry so long, but it should get you started and introduce you to some situations you're going to encounter later on. Lots of luck!

W3 schools is a great resource and it is free so you can explore all you want before focusing on ay flavor of SQL.

reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › a good site to learn sql.

r/learnprogramming on Reddit: A good site to learn SQL.

May 19, 2022 -

I (27m) want to switch my exhausting current job to programming.I heard that learning SQl can provide you a good chance to land a data analyst job. Also are there any other languages that i should cater to as well.

u/PopGroundbreaking966 I highly recommend using https://sqlbolt.com/ Very easy to follow mini tasks that you complete on the site itself to give the basics of understanding tables, columns and rows and the most basic SQL statements. Do yourself a favour and spend 20 minutes on it today. Used it when I got into software engineering.

Freecodecamp has free resources and different focuses you can choose from, that and YouTube can point you towards some lesser known ones too.

reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › how to learn sql for complete beginner? and how to get entey level job after learning it?

r/learnprogramming on Reddit: How to learn SQL for complete beginner? And how to get entey level job after learning it?

April 23, 2021 -

Please advise me some ways to learn SQL, some resources and what will be the procedure to get job after completing it.Any advice will be super helpful to me.

Try on the YouTube Chanel Freecodecamp, there is a course of 10 hours of SQL for beginners.

Try Datacamp - SQL for beginners, it's free until 30th of April for all courses. It's a mix of theory with practice, it's really good

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

reddit.com › r/sql › best place to learn sql for a beginner?

r/SQL on Reddit: Best place to learn SQL for a beginner?

March 10, 2023 -

Simple question, I'd like to learn SQL. I'm still in university atm and I'd like to learn it outside of university, self learn. I know there's a tonne of resources and what not, but the problem with that is that I don't know which is the best one and which isn't, no idea where to start. Anyone know the best resources for a complete beginner (no programming background) to learn SQL?

Thanks,

Edit: I'm very computer literate, just not literate when it comes to programming and languages, SQL will be my first experience in this and my first time.

Also, thanks to everyone for their suggestions, I didn't expect this many people to see this.

Start with codeacademy basic course, then go to hackerrank

Just complete a personal project (or ten) where you use SQL.

Imagine at an interview saying "yeah I did Cobra Academy for SQL"

Versus

"yeah, I used SQL for this complex hobby project"

If you take a course and it leaves you with a rough portfolio, you don't want it to be the same one everybody else has.

I find it super easy to learn stuff when I need to. In order to make an interactive forum, you need SQL (you can do it without, don't kill me). As you complete the task you learn the skill.

Personally, I never generally set out to learn things. I set out to do things. You learn along the way if you complete the task.

Envision a cook concept or project and just tackle it. Handle edge cases and deploy something workable.

"Here is my pizza delivery app" never went far in the real world. Instead of taking (x course) and ending up with (y resume component), just cut out the middle man and do something unique.

A man does not say "I want to learn the hammer!", He builds ten houses and somebody needs a person good with a hammer for their new house.

reddit.com › r/sql › best free beginner course to learn sql?

r/SQL on Reddit: Best free beginner course to learn SQL?

January 7, 2025 -

Hello! I am looking to learn sql as I feel it will be valuable for me to learn. I was unsure where to start though, and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to a great free site/course for me to start at? Thanks!

To practice SQL, you can use www.sqlclimber.com . It is free, but there is no theory, only practice.

I did the SQL Tutorial - Full Database Course for Beginners from FreeCodeCamp like 4 years ago. That a shit ton of google and playing with a bunch of databases helped me.

reddit.com › r/dataanalysis › ways of learning sql as a complete beginner

r/dataanalysis on Reddit: Ways of learning SQL as a complete beginner

April 26, 2024 -

I’m currently employed but my company doesn’t use any form of database. I’m having to funnel monthly spreadsheets into 1 fact table on a Sharepoint for each department and then loading all of those into PowerBI. Not great but it’s been a good way of learning PowerQuery and automating the process where possible.

But because there’s no industry standard form of a database here it means I have 0 exposure to SQL, something I would really like to learn asap. Is there a way I can do this (as cheap as possible) where I can learn code, try it and see the results?

I’ve already talked to my company about implementing a proper database and they’ve said they don’t want to pay the costs so I can’t install software that would allow for using SQL.

I know MS Access can use SQL but it’s a very outdated program so I’m hesitant to use it (despite being able to). Could this be a valid method?

I’m seeing lots of courses but can’t figure out a way to test and apply what I’m learning.

Am I better off finding a new job with a company that have these resources or is there a method I’m missing? Apologies if this is a painfully easy question to answer I just find getting started with coding to be the hard part so any advice/direction would be much appreciated (:

Edit: thank you everyone for your comments, lots of resources I’ll definitely be taking a look at! Much appreciated!

Microsoft SQL has a couple of free versions. You can install it and use the “Northwinds” database which Microsoft created as a fake company. It’ll run fine on your laptop or home pc. Or you can create your own database and build a whole relational system.

I learned SQL in one weekend (well enough to query only, not build databases but that’s all I needed) by using this roadmap from Data Lemur: https://datalemur.com/blog/learn-sql-in-30-days-roadmap It says 30 days, and he also has a condensed 7 day version. I did all 7 days in 2 days and I haven’t needed to do a single additional lesson since. After my cramming, it’s been enough for me to learn by trial and error actually doing my job.

reddit.com › r/sql › how hard to learn sql from scratch?

r/SQL on Reddit: How hard to learn SQL from scratch?

January 30, 2021 -

Hi all,

I have zero programming experience, the most I can do is some very basically html. I work in marketing which means sometimes analysing data but I use excel for this (again, at a basic level as Ive never had proper training). I’ve seen a job ad that asks the marketer to use SQL. On a scale of 1-10 how hard is it to pick up?

Its really easy, nothing more than pratice, a lot of resources as well

I had zero programming experience too when I started off as an analyst in my present company. There is quite heavy use of sql so I took upon myself to learn SQL. I started learning in 2020 and I am confident to say that I am at a medium level. You can do it too. The only thing you would need to do is start. I took two SQL linkedin learning courses and started off daily SQL challenges in sites like leetcode, hackerrank,SQLpad. Currently trying out challenges in advancedsqlpuzzles.com .

reddit.com › r › learnSQL

May 15, 2014 - r/learnSQL: Adventures in the most popular database language

reddit.com › r/sql › sql beginner course recommendations

r/SQL on Reddit: SQL beginner course recommendations

March 22, 2023 -

Hey guys I recently started a Google course and finished the first one, as much as I liked it, but it's a very long course & I need to learn SQL fast, I know it's going to take time, but I need some courses/resources that focus only on SQL and easy to follow any recommendations ?

This question just never retires

https://selectstarsql.com https://mode.com/sql-tutorial/ I started learning sql from these sites

reddit.com › r › SQL › comments › 2utd2s › where_to_start_with_learning_sql

r/SQL - Where to start with learning SQL?

February 6, 2015 -

If I want to get started with learning SQL, what other resources (preferably free) are helpful? I'm unsure where to start (Oracle, Microsoft SQL... etc). Which ones are commonly used or are most helpful to learn? I am starting W3Schools but it seems somewhat limited.

After I become acquainted with SQL, how can I gain experience and apply for an entry level job? I am seriously considering changing careers. SQL is something that I love because it helps expedite a process and I would like to know which steps are critical, helpful and hopefully efficient to see if it's the right fit for me.

Thanks Reddit!

Well YouTube obviously has crazy amounts of videos. I'd recommend downloading SSMS express editions on your PC/laptop, attaching the free databases (northwinds etc) and following along YouTube videos for the fundamentals.

If you have money to spare you could consider Lynda.com

From a job perspective the titles can fluctuate. However, business /data analyst is a very common search term that I've encountered. I think from an experience perspective you have to open up and consider even simple roles like DBA assistant or the like (not a common name for a position, but extremely small companies tend to be creative with their I.T postings). Basically, any real hands on time out of the confines of the SSMS environment that lives on your laptop, that you can apply to real life is key. Learning the fundamentals of T-SQL and how other variations differ can be something you can learn actively as well as you are getting the experience in.

Feel free to p.m if you'd like to discuss more. Good luck!

It's hard to beat SQLZOO. The tutorials give you example SQL statements and then ask to to modify the SQL to achieve a slightly different result. It lets you try out SQL without having to install a database server. You can select from several different popular database engines as well.

reddit.com › r/learnsql › what are the best websites or apps to learn sql as a complete beginner?

r/learnSQL on Reddit: What are the best websites or apps to learn SQL as a complete beginner?

July 9, 2025 -

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m just starting to learn SQL and I’m looking for some solid websites or apps that are beginner-friendly. Ideally, I’d like something interactive or hands-on rather than just reading theory. I’m not aiming to become a full-on data engineer—just want to get comfortable writing queries, understanding databases, and maybe do some small projects.

Any recommendations for platforms (free or paid) that helped you when you were starting out? Bonus points if they have exercises or real-world examples!

Thanks in advance! 🙌

Hi, the website I used is https://www.sqlservertutorial.net/ , what also helps is to have a roadmap so you can know where you are and what information to target. All the best

How about getting answers when you get stuck? I can assist with giving you those answers

reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › where to learn sql?

r/learnprogramming on Reddit: Where to learn SQL?

February 18, 2019 -

I don't see SQL resources here often so I just wanna ask where can I learn it online? Do you have MOOC suggestion? Javascript and Python but mostly JS/ES6 is what I use for in my projects and I think it'll be better if I can get my hands on a bit of database.

Khan Academy and CS50 on Open Courseware.

You can start with syntax on many different sites, virtual academy, etc. O'Reilly has a nice book 'Learning SQL' for beginners, it explains basic principles. I like sql-ex for training, it has a bunch of exercises pretty close to what you may see irl.

reddit.com › r/sql › how do you learn sql

r/SQL on Reddit: How do you learn SQL

July 16, 2024 -

Do you watch hours of tutorials or prefer to have a project and search for how to do the current task in a 2-5 minutes video or text - website.

Would you prefer to find a website where you see the solution ready to use like on stack overflow?

Do you prefer writing the queries from examples but by typing not copying statements?

I ask this because I'm trying to make a learn SQL video series that is watchable and so far the long video 1h talking has viewer skipping like crazy. No memes or entertaining bits every 5 seconds. Plain old desktop recording doing stuff and sharing tips from working almost 20 years with MSSQL. They're not watching it so was thinking of bite-size sql tips instead of long boring videos.

Any feedback is welcomed.

SQL Zoo first and then Data Lemur second. Then you should be good for most entry level jobs interviews. You learn the rest on the job.

Use w3 schools Sql as a reference and then sign up to places like Leetcode and analyst builder to solve challenges

reddit.com › r/learnsql › looking for sql learning roadmap & best resources (from a to z)

r/learnSQL on Reddit: Looking for SQL learning roadmap & best resources (from A to Z)

September 11, 2025 -

Hi everyone,

I’m starting my journey to learn SQL and I want to build a strong foundation — from the very basics to advanced concepts.

I’d love your advice on:

The best free or paid resources (websites, books, courses, YouTube channels, etc.)

A structured roadmap or step-by-step procedure to go from beginner → intermediate → advanced

Any practice platforms or real-world projects that helped you

Common mistakes to avoid while learning

My goal is to understand SQL deeply, not just for interviews, but so I can actually apply it in real-world data scenarios.

If you were to learn SQL from A to Z today, how would you do it?

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Start with the basics and get comfortable with the syntax: Here is what I would do: Start with Interactive Webistes: 1. https://datalemur.com/sql-tutorial 2. https://sqlzoo.net/wiki/SQL_Tutorial 3. https://mode.com/sql-tutorial/introduction-to-sql 4. https://sqlowl.app/ (I made this as a side project and this is free. I will be coming up with new and more detailed content going forward. Still in beta so have kept it last) Youtube Tutorials: There are many options but this one is the most extenisve one. 1. https://youtu.be/SSKVgrwhzus Start practicing scenarios which are closer to real-world development: 1. Setup postgres on your local machine using docker 2. Set this dataset up (https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-getting-started/postgresql-sample-database) 3. Start practicing. You can pass in the schema and description available on the link to openai/claude and tell it to generate questions which can help business. Try to find answers to those questions. Build a capstone project (Bit more effort involved) 1. Get a dataset (example: https://archive.ics.uci.edu/dataset/352/online+retail) 2. Import it in database of your choice using docker (Another option is to use neondb or motherduck free tier) 3. Connect that DB with a BI tool (superset, power BI) 4. Create a dashboard (Which can serve as a capestone project) (My recommendation would be use motherduck for datawarehouse and preset for manager apache superset to build the project which will be free of cost and can be showcased.) Consolidate your knowledge and reinforce your learning + bridging the knowledge gaps by solving various problems on the below platform: 1. stratascratch 2. leetcode 3. hackerrank Good luck.

Udemy ramesh Retnasamy its ultimate gold