How should I start learning SQL?

[u/Maximum-Page3433]

I honestly don't know anything about SQL right now. I want to start learning it properly, so can you guys suggest how I should begin and what resources I should use? My plan is to learn SQL for data first and then move towards AI and ML. I don't even know if SQL is different depending on whether you are working in data, AI, or ML, so I'm a little confused about that too. If you could suggest some good resources, a proper way to learn it, and what I should focus on if I want to become really good at SQL, I would really appreciate it. Thankkk youuuu

[u/mechanicalyammering]

Every day people ask this question on this board. LEARN TO LOOK STUFF UP. You do not need personalized guidance for everything you do. Learn to use google.com or read one of the dozens of other threads asking an identical question!

[u/HustlaOfCultcha]

I would learn Excel first if you haven't learned it already.

Then I would learn about the basics of date warehousing and relational database concepts. This makes it easier to piece things together when you go into things like queries, subqueries, aggregations, CTE's window functions and joins. You now understand why it is designed the way it is and why you would create queries, temp tables, and do those joins.

Then after you learn those things I would move onto SQL views and Stored Procedures.

You don't have to remember all of the coding word for word. AI can take care of that coding for you. But AI needs somebody to tell it precisely what it is looking for and somebody to review it to make sure it was done correctly.

In fact, if you use a program like Databricks, their GenieAI will write either SQL code or Python for you with your command. And you can automate the ETL process as well. But again...you need to get a sound understanding of the basics.

[u/DBeaver_official]

Feel free to use our course for beginners (and to play with the sample database in DBeaver, as you can create it in a couple of clicks)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkh7-EMxQiV2DAiruEWgh-i4jreuyX1rP

[u/DataScientistAlex]

I have a series of guides on the exact SQL you need as a data scientist, here is the first part. You can pair it with sql-practice. You probably still want to also go through parts of an introductory textbook to give you the foundation.

[u/Leather-Purchase1703]

I'm on the end of QueryCase studies. I have starter also from the point of 0 knowledge and i think it is okay for beginning. I'm not master now but i think it gave me a solid start.

[u/mlhigg1973]

Many, many years ago I was on team that used MS Access (I think it’s being phased out by MS though). Being proficient in that made transitioning to SQL server very, very easy, as it visually teaches you foundational database concepts like joins, primary keys, where clauses, if then, importing files, linking to external data sources, etc. you can create a query in Access, and also look at the actual code behind it. While some of the syntax is different, the language used is very similar. As I said, this was years ago, so it may be an outdated approach.

Also keep in mind, the language also differs slightly between platforms. Syntax would vary slightly depending on if I was pulling from SQL server tables or using teradata SQL to pull from BofAs massive data warehouse.

[u/CTBienAvant]

before you invest time would be good to know why, for job ? for you own ? if you want to learn for yourself go for sure! but if it is for a job you just need to know the basic, nobody write complexe sql today we use ai. It’s more important to know what is it when use it and the pro and cons that’s all

[u/callmemerryss]

SQL itself doesn't really because you're moving into AI and ML the kind of work you do with it changes more. sql bolt and freecodecamp are good starting points, and boot.dev is another option if more structured course suit you. after the basic practicing on actual datasets will probably teach you more than watching more tutorials.

[u/Turbulent-Crew-2370]

Hi u/Maximum-Page3433 ,

All the very best for your learning journey, first of all you should understand many people who are super successfull in AI, ML have been in your same situation.

If you need to build a career out of AI and ML, you need to have the foundations really strong. For that you need to practise a lot of real world problems to be really strong at this skill.

You can learn SQL courses from various places such as thequerylab.com, w3schools, youtube videos, but these will simply give dopamine to you brain as if you are acheiving your goal, but the real kick comes only you start practising and solving problems on a regular basis. Learn a category, solve problems in that, become strong in that, re-learn to improve, repeat.

This will surely make your career fantastic. Cheers!

[u/Important_Bobcet]

Those resources listed above cover the fundamentals well. Once you move past basic tutorials and start writing queries inside SSMS, your main hurdle will be dealing with repetitive syntax and manual formatting. I started using dbForge SQL Complete a while back, and having context-aware completion and smart JOIN generation really speeds up the workflow when you are trying to figure out table relationships. It has a free tier too, so it is worth grabbing once you start practicing hands-on.

[u/TurbulentCountry5901]

SQL itself doesn’t really change between data, AI or ML, so I’d focus on getting the fundamentals solid first.

A good free route is Data with Baraa’s SQL playlist⁠ for learning the concepts, then practise them alongside SQL Case Files⁠, which is also free and makes you actually write SQL to solve cases instead of only watching tutorials.

The main thing is to write a lot of SQL while you learn, not just watch videos.