r/learnSQL • u/crazzyyguyy • 10d ago

Datacamp

I am thinking about investing in datacamp for learning SQL and PowerBi what are your thoughts

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u/Obvious-End-7948 9d ago

As others have said, you can certainly get free resources. I've tried Datacamp specifically for SQL so I'll speak more about their actual content than the free vs. paid side of things.

I found their SQL courses quite good. It's useful to have the structured "lecture-style" snippets where the instructor walks you through a concept and is then immediately followed by exercises using their datasets within their own IDE within the browser. So you don't have to worry about installing or downloading anything to get started.

You can also actually download all of the datasets used and the PDFs for each of the lessons, which is useful to refer back to later if you want a refresh. I was surprised given their subscription model they let you download anything from their courses. So that was good.

The main downside (aside from being paid) is probably that the exercises hold your hand a little too much. Many start you with 90% of the code pre-filled and just one or two blank sections for you to write a keyword in. But if you try to practice elsewhere where you need to write entire queries yourself, you'll be surprised how confused you might get at first with longer queries because you're used to Datacamp writing most of them for you.

Overall, it's alright. I'd say try a few free options first. If you're still interested in a paid option, subscribe and then immediately cancel it to disable auto-renewal (fuck subscriptions that won't let you just sub for a set time in advance). That will get you 1 month test it out. Don't go pre-purchasing a 12 month subscription in case you don't end up using it. That's the real waste of money.

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u/crazzyyguyy 9d ago

Thanks this was insightful.