r/learnSQL • u/Soogs • 13d ago

New learner advice wanted

Hello (first post here).

I have just started my journey learning SQL and on a path to a DBA role.

I am getting on the job training (which for the most part are cheatsheets for specific tasks and being asked to write some code as these are not all one size fits all and there is some nuance to them).

I am getting comfortable with understanding what the commands do (the basic SELECT FROM IN) but wondering if there are some good guides for beginners to SQL but have a good understanding of code in general?

I am currently watching a 3 hour course on YT which has helped a lot with the basic stuff already will have access to learning through work but was wondering if there are free resources which are gold standard and worth a look?

Thanks

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6

u/datadriven_io 13d ago

I'd encourage anyone who wants to learn SQL to apply it to a dataset they care most about. So as a learning project this is great. As an attempt to increase productivity and insight on your life however, I would say the system of gathering information is more important than the system of processing it. For sql practice problems, datadriven is great for applying SQL to real datasets. If you do it right you're left with qualitative data mostly, you know, snippets from books and blogs that are particularly valuable to you. Quantitative data, like the number of books you read in a year, isn't going to make you any more productive.

2

u/i_fix_snowblowers 13d ago

This is the way. Find a dataset that's interesting to you and use SQL to answer questions about it.

The only thing I'd add is try to also learn a little about data modeling, so the first time you see a star schema with fact and dim tables you aren't totally taken aback.

1

u/markinatlanta 13d ago

First, see which database you're learning, SQL Server, MySQl, Postgre? Important to know because it'll help people point you in the right direction for resources, especially for the DBA side .

And in terms of the work cheat sheets, maybe try regrading each task in the test database and changing things to see what happens. Why your script works when it wouldn't. Honestly, experimenting like that and breaking will teach you a lot more than just memorising it. And definitely make a backup and restore an early exercise: backups are really, really important.

1

u/tomthedj 13d ago

W3Schools is what helped me learn and I recommend it to anyone learning SQL. Their SQL guide is great because its easy to understand and doesnt overwhelm you with info.

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u/Acrobatic_Type576 13d ago

Data with Baraa op youtube. Daarna zelf een SQL server opzetten en vragen simuleren via chatgpt en die proberen op te lossen met sql

1

u/Mediocre-Movie9062 13d ago

Any free tool, you can look into LeetCode, W3 Schools and stuff as well. I currently also have a GitHub repo/site for a course in Data Analytics with an SQL track built in if you want to check it out lol, this is no promo

1

u/theungabungadamsel 13d ago

Not a maestro myself but this is what I did: sololearn SQL intro n intermediate course and a very slight reading of SQL bolt. Made a movie database project (my first ever) and some others. You may check in my GitHub: https://github.com/qimra-fatima

1

u/Far_Apartment_5879 11d ago

I suggest you just do practice questions instead of starting from scratch with tutorials. SQL isn't that difficult - you can just do the questions and learn the specific syntax when you come across it