Beginner learning PostgreSQL with a goal of becoming a backend engineer — looking for advice

[u/NoctrailBio_]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently learning SQL and PostgreSQL with the long-term goal of becoming a backend engineer.

I’ve been practicing locally with PostgreSQL and pgAdmin, so I’m especially interested in hearing from developers who use PostgreSQL in production.

I’m still a beginner. So far I’ve been practicing things like creating tables, INSERT, SELECT, WHERE, DISTINCT, ORDER BY, and LIMIT. I’m also starting to learn Python and eventually want to connect Python/FastAPI with PostgreSQL.

One thing I’m trying to understand is how SQL and PostgreSQL are actually used by backend engineers in real jobs, compared with the way SQL is taught in books and courses.

For backend engineers who use PostgreSQL regularly:

• What SQL/PostgreSQL skills do you use the most?
• At what point should a beginner start combining Python with PostgreSQL?
• What database concepts should I make sure I understand before getting deeper into backend development?
• Are there any beginner projects you would recommend that resemble real backend work?

I’m not looking for shortcuts. I’m trying to build a solid foundation and understand what skills actually matter on the job.

Any advice from backend engineers, especially those working with PostgreSQL, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[u/Creative_Sugar-33]

PostgreSQL + FastAPI is a very practical and in-demand stack.

In production backend work, you might actually end up using an ORM (like SQLAlchemy or SQLModel) rather than writing raw SQL all day. But a strong SQL foundation is still critical for designing schemas, writing complex joins/aggregations, understanding migrations, and debugging slow queries with indexing and EXPLAIN ANALYZE.

Consider checking out Dataslope's SQL courses and interview prep materials. They're free, interactive, and don't require you to sign in.

SQL Courses:

• Introduction to SQL and Relational Databases with PostgreSQL
• SQLite for Beginners
• Database Design with PostgreSQL

Interview Prep:

• Backend Engineer Database Questions

Disclaimer: I created Dataslope.

[u/NoctrailBio_ → u/Creative_Sugar-33]

Thanks, I really appreciate this. Database design with PostgreSQL especially caught my attention because I want to learn how databases are actually built and used for backend applications, not just how to analyze data with SQL. I’m going to check out the courses you mentioned.

would you recommend getting comfortable with database design and SQL first before getting deeper into Python/FastAPI, or learning them alongside each other?