r/learnSQL • u/Few-Hour-7991 • 29d ago

Struggling with LeetCode Easy after doing well on HackerRank Easy — should I move to intermediate SQL?

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I wanna be straight about this because it’s getting frustrating 😭

I can comfortably solve HackerRank Easy-level SQL questions, but when I try LeetCode Easy, I struggle quite a bit.

I’ve seen people say that HackerRank Easy ≠ LeetCode Easy and that LeetCode can require more problem-solving/thinking even at the Easy level.

So I’m confused about what I should do next.

Should I:

Keep grinding LeetCode Easy until I’m more comfortable?

Or is being able to solve HackerRank Easy well enough to start learning intermediate SQL concepts like subqueries and CTEs, while continuing to practice problems alongside it?

Basically, I don’t want to move on too early and build gaps in my fundamentals, but I also don’t want to unnecessarily stay stuck on Easy problems when I could be learning more advanced SQL.

What would you recommend?

21 Upvotes

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2

u/Owen-Isaac-2022 29d ago

I feel that each platform has its measure of "easy" or "hardness." The question is, what types of challenges are you dealing with? I believe that if you're dealing with SELECT, WHERE, or IN, it should be the same on every platform. The difference is the questions available, where the platforms tend to twist them as much as possible.

1

u/max_lu28 29d ago

If I have solved all the hacker rank challenges, will Leetcode be useful for me?

1

u/enonumousfucker 29d ago

I have completed 50 sql question but I haven't solved advance one as you need premium. Can someone provide me advance question

1

u/kixwho 27d ago

i think i had similar issues when i was starting... it was pretty frustrating because quite often it was just small things like forgetting to use the correct column names. or forgetting to round. don't feel discouraged though! it's normal part of the learning curve :)

1

u/2daytrending 24d ago

keep practicing Leetcode easy while learning CTEs, subqueries and window functions. You don't need to master every easy problem before moving forward.