No Non-Sense SQL for Data Analysis.
A simple google search — “How to learn SQL” gives you a ton of results. That's a query you made. Google responds with so many answers.
Congrats, you have just written your first query. In fact, you already knew what to ask and how to get the data that you need. Voila.
SQL is easy to learn. It is just like plain English. No mumbo-jumbo.
Write a simple query, and the database makes you happy within no time.
But the hardest part? — To ask the right kind of questions.
That's a more important skill and area to focus on while dealing with data.
It would be incredible to have that ability to ask meaningful questions that serve you in exploring the data, find insights and solve business problems, all in a single query.
One might learn SQL for many reasons, and what we don't usually realise is there is a definite path for each role and purpose. SQL for hardcore database roles and SQL for data analysis can be quite different.
When I went out for the hunt to find “the right resource,” it was overwhelming. Bootcamps, courses, tutorials and whatnot!
So, how do we know ahead of the journey which course or book helps you in the data analysis part specifically?
It can be overwhelming to make the choice. But, is there such a thing, that magically transforms you into a skilled SQL programmer?
My experience says “No.”
While most of the courses and blogs are well documented and easy to follow, we barely hung on to at least one of them.
Finding the right resource and actually working on it is all it takes.
I struggled with this part as stumbled across a bounty of resources, I found a few of them, which are specifically geared for the analysis part.
Monkey mind might drift, but sticking to one resource would do the job. I am listing few resources which helped me.
A short and precise tutorial that gives you an overview and real-world usage of SQL queries.
https://data36.com/learn-sql-for-data-analysis-from-scratch/ — A blog version of the same content. You can follow along and apply the concepts.
https://www.sqltutorial.org/ — A short and sweet collection of concise tutorials. Practice along and you will be good in no time.
https://sqlbolt.com/ — An interactive website to learn and follow along.
https://www.studytonight.com/dbms/ — Another great source to learn SQL and additional DBMS concepts to learn about Keys, how schema is designed and implemented, Normalization etc.
While there is plenty of content out there to learn SQL, often we give up quickly as there is no proper learning path. “Structured learning” is important so that we can adapt to “unstructured learning” later on.
This article is solely to give the starting point so that one can learn based on their requirements.
I will be posting more on “SQL FOR DATA ANALYSIS,” so please watch this space.
If this has helped in some way, let me know in the comments. Share it around if you found value.
Happy learning.
