The Best Way to Learn SQL (Learn SQL Step-by-Step)

By Avni Singh 07-Sep-2022
The Best Way to Learn SQL (Learn SQL Step-by-Step)

Want to become a professional in database administration, development, or analysis? You need Structured Query Language (SQL) skills to enhance your career in this domain. These skills will help you develop and maintain complex data and database solutions, skills that have a growing demand today. 

Learning SQL may not be difficult with the right approach. You need to understand what to learn as well as how to learn SQL. If you have enough time and someone to guide you effectively, it won’t be long before you have the skills and certification to become a database professional.

Introduction to SQL:

SQL refers to a standard programming style used for designing, creating, and managing relational databases. A relational system consists of sets of tables with columns and rows of data. Every column within the table represents one data category, like the customer's name, address or contact. Every row is made up of data values for the column that is intersecting. 

SQL serves many functions in the daily operations of a data company. These include:

  • Database index and table structure modification

  • Operations to add, update and delete rows of data

  • Information retrieval from databases to process and analyse transactions

  • Generation of tables or other projects

SQL has been in use for the past five decades and is going to be a tech essential in the years to come. This universal coding language helps make the transition to other languages easier, like Python and JavaScript.

You don’t need experience with programming to learn SQL. This makes it a great way to enter the world of programming. There are also several free resources without much guidance that you can find online. 

But with so many resources and programs available, how do you get started?

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How to Learn SQL?

To make a successful career with SQL, you need to start by learning SQL basics and making a strong foundation. Here are a few steps you can follow:

  1. Start with small steps:
    Whenever you are learning something new, there is a natural tendency to learn quickly and move to implementation. The same happens while learning SQL too. But don’t ignore your basics. Focus on the simple queries first and take it slow. Until you’ve got a complete grasp over these, don’t get into the complex queries. 

  2. Learn from tutorials:
    Microsoft offers a free tutorial on SQL Database Fundamentals. It provides a deep understanding of and introduction to terminologies, concepts, and skills vital to SQL. Several other websites have partnered with Microsoft to create courses and tutorials for online SQL learners. These tutorials allow you to build queries and manipulate data while testing your SQL skills.

  3. Learn SQL through online courses:
    You can always learn the basics of SQL and get an overview for free. However, to grow your skills and acquire new real-world SQL skills, you need to take structured SQL classes. When you learn the fundamental concepts of SQL through hands-on work and training, you will be better prepared to learn SQL fast and come one step closer to a successful career in the database domain.

  4. Install a free SQL database:
    One great way to grasp any concept, including SQL fundamentals, is through practice. Install a database that runs on free, open-source code and write and run simple queries through personal information. One popular database you can use is MySQL. It’s free and compatible with almost every OS.

After you have understood the SQL fundamentals and become comfortable with query executions, you are ready to get a certification. 

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How Long Does Learning SQL Take?

Learning SQL basics online or in a classroom setup is easy and can be done quickly. Some complex concepts could take weeks to master, but with a little practice, there’s nothing you can’t do. When you have hands-on experience working with SQL, you will be ready to write SQL code in less than a year. 

Benefits of SQL Training and Certifications:

After you have learned SQL comfortably, it’s time for the next step. To validate your skills with SQL and establish credibility with your employers, you need a professional SQL certification. 

An SQL certification creates a distinction between skilled and amateur candidates during the hiring process. A certification shows how technically proficient you are and that you are dedicated to the domain and a career plan. With an SQL certification, your salary can increase to 10% higher than India’s national average. You also move to higher-paying jobs much faster than non-certified professionals. 

Take a look at some of the average salaries for SQL careers in the US:

Database Developer: $84,000 p.a.

SQL Developer: $88,800 p.a.

Database Engineer: $129,000 p.a.

Database Administrator: $93,000 p.a.

Administering SQL Database Infrastructure Certification Course:

Administering SQL Database Infrastructure' is a training course offered by Koenig. It provides the knowledge and skills you will need for maintaining and managing an SQL server database while you operate on SQL database infrastructure. This certification course is designed for candidates who administer SQL databases or develop apps for extracting SQL server database content. The SQL Database Infrastructure Administration Course teaches you different concepts and aspects of SQL database operations. This includes authenticating, ensuring data security and integrity, managing data access permissions, exporting and importing data, data backup and data restoration, among other things. 

Also Read: 5 Best SQL Certifications to Have in 2022

Skills learned through the ‘Administering SQL Database Infrastructure’ course:

  • Implementing database management operation automation

  • Authenticating and authorising user access

  • Assigning database and server roles 

  • Encrypting and auditing data to ensure secure access

  • Importing and exporting data

  • Implementing backup strategy and a data recovery model

  • Backing up and restoring SQL Server databases

  • Managing SQL Server security

  • Managing alerts and notifications

  • Administering SQL Server via PowerShell

  • Monitoring and troubleshooting SQL Server infrastructure

Get ready to take your career to the next level and enroll in a certification course to learn SQL today. Explore new paths, job opportunities, learning and growth avenues and higher-paying roles when you get an SQL certification with Koenig.

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Avni Singh

Avni Singh has a PhD in Machine Learning and is an Artificial Intelligence developer, researcher, practitioner, and educator as well as an Open Source Software developer, with over 7 years in the industry.