Skill Path: Learn SQL Fundamentals

How will taking a SQL course help me?

Chances are, your company stories its data in some form of relational database (almost all companies do). And whether you use Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, SQLite, or some other form of SQL-based RDBMS, these systems all "speak" a common language: SQL.

Taking a SQL course will enable you to write and run queries to pull the data you want from these databases, filter it in any way that you require, and quickly merge data from different tables together to get the results you need.

You may already be doing some of this work with spreadsheets, but SQL skills will enable you to do it much more quickly, especially if you're working with large datasets.

And because it's a language rather than UI-based software like Excel, your work will be easily repeatable. If you do the the same tasks in Excel on a regular basis, there's a good chance SQL can save you hours, if not days, of work.

Read more about why you should learn SQL.

Will learning SQL skills get me a job?

If you're looking for work, or considering other career options, SQL skills are incredibly in demand.

In the data world, SQL is actually the single-most in-demand skill. We analyzed data job postings in the US on Indeed.com in late January 2021 and found that SQL was listed more often than Python, R, machine learning, or any other data skill.

In an increasingly data-driven world, SQL skills are in-demand even outside of the data science industry. In February of 2021, for example, 5% of all marketing job posts listed SQL skills — and that number is growing.

If you're looking for a new job, having real SQL skills on your resume can push you to the top of the pile no matter what industry you're in.

If you work with data, taking a SQL course will help your career.

How hard is learning SQL?

Not as hard as you might think! 

While learning any new technical skill can be a challenge, Dataquest makes it easy by taking all the hassles of setup out of the equation. If you can read this page, you've got everything you need to start learning SQL on Dataquest right now.

Our courses are designed so that you can start from scratch — no prior experience with SQL, programming, or statistics required!

We'll guide you through everything you need to know without making you watch boring lecture videos. You'll learn SQL by doing, writing real queries to acquire, filter, and analyze data from real SQL databases. Then you'll synthesize your learning with guided projects you can put on your resume!

What's the best SQL course for my resume?

For most people, the best SQL course is whatever course does the best job of teaching you real SQL skills.

Although there are many companies that offer expensive SQL certification tests, what employers typically want to see on a resume is proof of your SQL skills.

That means real-world SQL projects (like the ones you'll complete as part of this Dataquest course sequence). 

Read more about SQL certification and your career.

What are the prerequisites for these courses?

Our SQL course path is designed for total beginners, so there are no prerequisites! Even if you've never written a line of code before, you can dive in and start learning.

If you do have some prior experience, you can skip right past the beginner content and pick up wherever you last left off in your learning.

There's also no application process. Our platform is self-serve. All you have to do is sign up for a free account. You'll be writing and running your first SQL query in less than five minutes!

How can I get help with these SQL courses?

Learning SQL can definitely be challenging, but we're here to help! There are a few different ways you can get help when you find yourself stumped or confused in one of our courses:

First, you can opt to view a hint designed to help you with your current task. These hints won't give you the answer; they're just there to nudge you in the right direction.

If the hint doesn't help, you can also choose to view the correct answer. Sometimes, that's all it takes to help you figure out the thing you didn't understand.

But sometimes, there's no substitute for personal, one-on-one help. That's why we have an active learner community! You can post your questions there and get personal help from other students and our learning assistants. Over 99% of student questions posted to our community receive answers!

Those answers typically come fast, bit if you don't want to wait, you can also search through the post archives. Often, you'll find your question has already been asked and answered!