Find the Best Places to Learn SQL for Career Change or Data Projects
SQL or Structured Query Language can help you manage databases, extract information, and create reports. A powerful tool in data analytics, SQL has become an essential skill set for any career in data science, data engineering, business intelligence, and even data journalism.
SQL Basics
If you’re new to SQL, then you should know that SQL is a declarative language. It is used to manage relational databases, which are sets of tables linked by common columns.
You can use SQL to add, delete, retrieve, and update data in these tables. Why Learn SQL?
SQL allows you to join data from multiple tables, aggregate them, and filter them to create insights. Without SQL, you would need to use manual methods to extract data and create insights.
SQL allows you to automate much of this process and focus on analysis rather than manual data wrangling. Moreover, SQL is an industry-standard language that is used across different database management systems (DBMS).
You can use SQL with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite, and many other DBMS. Learning SQL is a transferable skill that can open up new job opportunities.
Where to Learn SQL? Now that you know why SQL is important, let’s look at the best places to learn SQL, how to learn SQL, and what SQL is about.
You can learn SQL from books, online courses, video tutorials, forums, and even practice problems. The best place to learn SQL depends on your learning style, your motivation, your budget, and your schedule.
Best Books for Learning SQL
If you prefer to learn from books, then here are some of the best SQL books for beginners and intermediates:
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SQL Queries for Mere Mortals by John L. Viescas
This book is a comprehensive guide to SQL queries. It covers the basics of SELECT, JOIN, GROUP BY, and HAVING clauses, as well as more advanced topics like subqueries, views, and triggers.
The book is easy to follow, with many examples and exercises.
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SQL QuickStart Guide
This book is a beginner’s guide to SQL. It covers the basics of creating and managing databases, tables, and columns.
It also covers how to use SQL to query and update data. The book is concise, with clear explanations and step-by-step instructions.
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SQL in 10 Minutes by Sam’s Teach Yourself Series
This book is a quick and easy introduction to SQL for beginners.
It covers the basics of SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY, and JOIN clauses, as well as some advanced topics like subqueries and views. The book is well-organized, with clear examples and short exercises.
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SQL Practice Problems
This book is a collection of SQL exercises for beginners and intermediates.
It covers a wide range of SQL topics, including SELECT, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY, GROUP BY, HAVING, JOIN, and subqueries. The book is perfect for practicing your SQL skills and preparing for job interviews.
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The Art of SQL
This book is a philosophical guide to SQL.
It covers the principles of relational databases, the SQL language, and how to use SQL to solve real-world problems. The book is well-written, with many examples and analogies drawn from Sun Tsu’s “The Art of War.”
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SQL Cookbook
This book is a collection of SQL recipes for intermediate and advanced users. It covers topics like PIVOT, UNPIVOT, Oracle’s MODEL clause, PostgreSQL’s GENERATE_SERIES function, and many others.
The book is perfect for solving specific SQL problems and learning new SQL tricks.
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Practical SQL: A Beginners’ Guide to Storytelling with Data
This book is a beginner’s guide to SQL for data storytelling. It covers the basics of SELECT, FROM, WHERE, and ORDER BY clauses, as well as some advanced topics like window functions and common table expressions.
The book is perfect for data journalists and other non-technical professionals who want to use SQL to create data stories.
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SQL Coding For Beginners (Audiobook)
This audiobook is a beginner’s guide to SQL. It covers the basics of creating and managing databases, tables, and columns.
It also covers how to use SQL to query and update data. The audiobook is perfect for auditory learners who want to learn SQL while on the go.
Conclusion
Learning SQL can be a game-changer for your career in data analytics, data science, business intelligence, or any other field that involves data processing. With the best books for learning SQL, you can get started quickly and efficiently.
Remember to practice what you learn and ask for help when you get stuck. Happy coding!
Best Places to Learn SQL: Courses and Video Tutorials
SQL is a powerful tool in data analytics and data science, but like any tool, it takes time and practice to learn.
Fortunately, there are many courses and video tutorials available online that can help you learn SQL. In this article, we’ll look at some of the best courses for learning SQL and the best video tutorials for learning SQL.
Best Courses for Learning SQL
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LearnSQL’s SQL from A to Z Course Track
LearnSQL’s SQL from A to Z Course Track is a comprehensive course for learning SQL.
It covers all the basics of SQL, such as SELECT, FROM, WHERE clauses and then covers the advanced topics like subqueries, joins, and aggregates. It includes video lessons, exercises, and quizzes to ensure that you’ve understood the topics.
With lifetime access, you can complete this course at your own pace.
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How to INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE Course by LearnSQL
How to INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE Course by LearnSQL is a course that focuses on the three essential SQL statements: INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE. The course introduces you to these statements; you’ll learn how to manipulate data in tables.
After completing the course, you’ll practice writing SQL queries that process data elements in more than one table.
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SQL for Data Science by UC Davis on Coursera
SQL for Data Science by UC Davis on Coursera is a course that is specifically designed for data analysts and data scientists. The course teaches you the SQL language and how to use it to work with large databases.
You’ll learn how to use SQL code to extract meaningful insights from databases.
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IBM’s Four SQL Courses on Coursera
IBM’s Four SQL Courses on Coursera offer a range of courses from beginner to advanced. These four courses cover Data Science Foundations, Databases and SQL for Data Science, Open Source Tools for Data Science, and What is Data Science.
The courses teach you how to connect to databases, write SQL queries, work with semi-structured data and connect to cloud data platforms.
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Analyzing Big Data with SQL by Cloudera on Coursera
Analyzing Big Data with SQL by Cloudera is a course that focuses on SQL in the context of big data. The course teaches you how to write SQL queries that work with big data systems like Apache Hadoop.
You’ll also learn how to optimize queries for better performance.
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The Complete SQL Bootcamp by Jose Portilla on Udemy
The Complete SQL Bootcamp by Jose Portilla on Udemy offers a comprehensive introduction to SQL. The course covers the basics of SQL, such as SELECT, FROM, WHERE clauses, and then covers advanced topics such as joins, subqueries, and aggregates.
After completing the course, you’ll have the skills necessary to work with SQL databases.
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SQL Fundamentals in MS SQL Server Course by LearnSQL
SQL Fundamentals in MS SQL Server Course by LearnSQL is a course designed specifically for those who want to learn SQL using Microsoft SQL Server. The course provides an in-depth look at the SQL Server Management Studio, that will help you work with the Microsoft SQL Server database.
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Practice Set Course by Vertabelo Academy
Practice Set Course by Vertabelo Academy is a course designed for those who want to practice writing SQL queries.
The course includes an SQL challenge that allows you to apply the SQL concepts that you’ve learned in a practical environment. You’ll also get feedback on your work.
Best Video Tutorials for Learning SQL
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Rebellion Rider YouTube Channel by Manish Sharma
The Rebellion Rider YouTube Channel by Manish Sharma is an excellent resource for learning SQL.
The channel focuses on SQL and PL/SQL with an emphasis on Oracle Database. The videos are well-explained and provide practical examples for beginners and intermediate learners.
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Bert Wagner’s YouTube Channel
Bert Wagner’s YouTube Channel is a great resource for advancing your SQL skills.
The channel provides many practical examples to solve SQL queries, especially for joining nulls. Beginners can also benefit from the informative and well-explained videos.
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James Vance’s YouTube Channel
James Vance’s YouTube Channel provides an extensive set of tutorials for learning basic and intermediate SQL, including practical examples of joining tables, filtering, and querying data.
James provides well-explained information and great examples to suit both beginners and intermediate learners.
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Programming with Mosh YouTube Channel
The Programming with Mosh YouTube Channel covers a range of programming topics, including SQL and MySQL. The SQL tutorials cover all of the basics of SQL syntax, and topics include selecting data, filtering with WHERE, joining with INNER JOIN, and manipulating data with group by and other functions.
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Joey Blue’s YouTube Channel
Joey Blue’s YouTube Channel’s “Learn SQL in 1 Hour” tutorial is a great resource for beginners who want to get started with SQL.
Moreover, Joey’s tutorials on SQL basics for beginners are well-explained and reliable.
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We Learn SQL YouTube Channel
We Learn SQL YouTube Channel offers many instructive videos on SQL programming suitable for both beginners and intermediate learners. Adrian Wiech’s teaching approach makes all difficult SQL concepts pretty much easy to understand with practical examples.
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Corey Schafer’s SQL Tutorial Playlist on YouTube
Corey Schafer’s SQL Tutorial Playlist on YouTube is a comprehensive and well-explained resource for learning SQL.
The playlist covers SQL basics and the SQL Server and PostgreSQL database including manipulating data with insert, update, and delete.
Conclusion
With these great resources on the best places to learn SQL, you are on your journey to mastering the SQL language. These courses and video tutorials offer a wealth of information on SQL programming concepts that suit the learners’ preferences and levels of experience.
In conclusion, learning SQL is critical in the field of data analytics, data science, and business intelligence. With a range of books, courses, and video tutorials available online, anyone can practice their SQL skills as per their preference and requirement.
The best places to learn SQL are the LearnSQL’s SQL from A to Z Course Track, SQL for Data Science by UC Davis on Coursera, The Complete SQL Bootcamp by Jose Portilla on Udemy, among others. The video tutorials by Rebellion Rider, Bert Wagner’s, and James Vance’s YouTube channels are recommended options.
The key takeaway is that SQL offers flexibility in managing databases, extracting data, and creating reports in the form of transferable skills applicable to different database management systems with numerous career opportunities.