In the era of AI and advanced technologies, it might seem surprising that a straightforward querying language like SQL remains so widely used. Yet, the simplicity and efficiency of SQL make it indispensable for data analysis. More and more industries are hiring SQL experts to manage and interpret growing volumes of data.

Here are the top 10 industries to look out for as an SQL expert in 2025. While some of these industries are rather obvious, there are others that even I found surprising during my research.

With a high level of competition in the job market, it’s a good idea not to limit your options to standard SQL positions like that of a data analyst, or database engineer. Industries you’d probably never think of are actively utilizing SQL and other data-driven tools to keep up with the digitalization of the world. Let’s start by answering an initial question.

Why SQL Skills Matter in Today’s job Market

Imagine a business that’s tracking thousands of customer transactions every day. How do they organize all that data and pull out useful information? The answer is SQL.

SQL solves a universal problem: manipulating and analyzing data efficiently. And, in 2025, there are a handful of industries hiring SQL experts,  because they have the skills to handle data-related tasks with speed and precision.

“Why do so many professionals use SQL?”, you may ask. You see, raw data is often disorganized and difficult to work with. SQL makes it easier by providing a straightforward way to sort, filter, and analyze information. It’s a tool for uncovering trends, tracking performance, and preparing data for modern tools like AI or business intelligence apps.

If you are completely new to SQL, or haven’t had much experience with this querying language, it’s best for you to consider enrolling in our SQL from A to Z learning track. It’s a set of 7 courses designed to walk you through everything you need to know about SQL, in a practical, hands-on manner.

Why SQL is Still Important in 2025

Despite the growing popularity of NoSQL databases and cloud-based technologies, SQL remains a cornerstone of data management.

According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, SQL remains a heavily used programming language, especially among professional developers. This highlights SQL's critical role in enterprise data operations and its enduring value as a must-have skill in the tech industry.

Even with a wide selection of advanced tools available, data professionals – whether analysts, scientists, or engineers – rely on SQL more than ever. A 2024 Forrester Research report on AI and SQL integration identifies SQL as the most widely used language for connecting machine learning models to databases. If you’re aiming to work in AI or big data in 2025, you’ve got some SQL learning to do.

Data analysts and scientists use SQL daily for tasks like querying large datasets, modifying existing data, and optimizing machine learning models. This demonstrates just how fundamental SQL remains, even when artificial intelligence and machine learning take center stage.

SQL – a key Skill for Data Tools and Processes

SQL remains highly relevant because it integrates seamlessly with tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Excel. While using these tools, you’ll need SQL to access, organize, and analyze data efficiently. Whether building dashboards or performing real-time analysis, SQL will be the ace up your sleeve in the 2025 hiring season.

Beyond technical tasks, SQL is also used to interpret data accurately, automate repetitive processes, and improve operational workflows. It makes handling data easier, so you can focus on delivering clear and practical results.

With its adaptability and compatibility with modern analytics tools, SQL continues to be a reliable and practical skill for anyone working with data. And if you're looking for a job, here's a list of industries actively seeking SQL specialists.

1. Technology Industry

It comes as no surprise that SQL is heavily involved in IT. The technology industry needs SQL for managing data efficiently, especially with the growing focus on cloud computing, AI, and data analytics.

Here’s how SQL is used across the tech industry:

• Cloud computing: databases hosted on platforms like Amazon RDS or Google Cloud are structured and maintained using SQL, enabling scalability and smooth operations.
• AI data preparation: data used to train machine learning models is organized and cleaned through SQL queries, ensuring accuracy and reliability.
• Business analytics: trends and patterns that guide decision-making are uncovered by analyzing datasets with SQL-based tools.
• Application development: developers design applications that interact with SQL-based databases, ensuring data storage and retrieval processes are optimized.

As you can see, database administrators, data engineers, data scientists and data analysts all depend on SQL to make sure their work is backed by solid, data-driven decisions – especially as we head into 2025.

If you are looking to upgrade your SQL knowledge before heading into a job interview, or shifting your career into a role that is heavily dependent on SQL, you might benefit from taking our SQL for Data Analysis Track.

This is a bundle of 4 certified courses, which consist of hands-on, real-world SQL challenges, and should take you about 48 hours to complete in total. If you are hesitating, enroll by setting up a free account so that you can try out the exercises for free and explore the platform.

2. Healthcare Industry

Did you know that healthcare organizations rely on SQL to manage patient records, improve operations, and make smarter decisions? If you’ve ever wondered how massive amounts of medical data get organized and used effectively, SQL is the answer.

Here are some of the key ways SQL is transforming healthcare:

• Electronic health records (EHRs): with the help of SQL, large datasets in EHR systems are being organized, allowing healthcare professionals to securely and quickly access vital information like medical histories and lab results.
• Medical research: researchers use SQL to analyze clinical trial data, evaluate treatments, and monitor drug effectiveness during trials, helping to advance medical science.
• Hospital performance tracking: medical analysts use SQL to track performance metrics, identify inefficiencies, and optimize resource allocation across departments.
• Healthcare analytics: SQL also comes into play when it comes to uncovering patterns in patient data, helping healthcare organizations make data-driven decisions that enhance care quality and operational efficiency.

In 2025, SQL continues to be the backbone of data-driven healthcare and remains a must-have tool for health IT specialists. Check out this specialised learning track: SQL for Healthcare professionals!

3. Finance and Banking

Finance and banking rely on SQL to manage vast amounts of data, supporting fraud detection, reporting, and transactional systems. If you’ve ever wondered how banks process millions of transactions daily while keeping everything secure and accurate, SQL plays a key role.

Think about fraud detection for a moment – SQL is behind the systems that flag unusual transaction patterns, like duplicate withdrawals or a sudden large purchase. How often do you check your account for suspicious activity?

These systems, powered by SQL, help protect customers like you while reducing risk for banks. Reporting systems also depend on SQL to track account activity, financial performance, and regulatory compliance. It’s what keeps financial operations running smoothly.

Now, imagine banks using SQL to identify potential red flags in transactions or financial analysts generating detailed reports on portfolio performance. Have you ever received a report about your investments and wondered how they compiled all that data? Chances are, SQL was involved.

As a professional in finance, you’ll find SQL to be a major tool, especially if you’re looking for a job as a risk analyst, financial data analyst, or business intelligence specialist, in 2025.

4. E-commerce

Another vast industry hiring SQL professionals in 2025 is E-commerce. Here, SQL is used to analyze customer behavior, manage inventory, and predict sales trends. If you’ve ever received a personalized product recommendation or seen an “only 2 left in stock” alert, SQL was likely behind it at some stage.

Think about your own online shopping habits – how often do you browse a store and later get recommendations that seem perfectly tailored to your taste? That’s SQL at work, analyzing browsing history and purchase patterns to personalize your shopping experience.

Inventory management also depends on SQL to track stock levels and ensure products are available when you need them. And when it comes to preparing for those busy shopping seasons, SQL specialists analyze sales data to predict trends and help businesses stay ahead of demand.

5. Education

Educational professionals, especially in e-learning, use SQL to manage learning platforms, track student progress, and evaluate performance. In traditional education, SQL also plays a key role in tasks like attendance tracking, grade analysis, and enrollment reporting.

Here’s how SQL is making an impact in education:

• Learning management systems (LMS): educators and administrators use SQL to organize student records, course materials, and activity logs. They then analyze this data to better understand student performance, improve teaching strategies, and allocate resources efficiently.
• Personalized progress reports: SQL is also used when creating custom reports for students in LMS platforms and identifying areas where students excel or need improvement.
• Enrollment and application analysis: universities rely on SQL queries to review application data and uncover patterns, helping them plan class sizes and allocate resources more effectively.

In 2025, as education becomes increasingly data-driven, areas such as academic data analysis, learning management, and IT coordination are seeing a rise in demand in the job market.

6. Manufacturing

The demand for SQL analysts in the manufacturing industry is growing quickly. Factories use SQL to manage production processes, track inventory, and streamline supply chain logistics. With data generated at every stage of production, SQL keeps operations efficient and organized.

Here’s how SQL is used in manufacturing and the roles that rely on it:

• Inventory management: SQL tracks inventory in real time, helping maintain optimal stock levels and preventing overstocking or shortages.
• Production analysis: SQL identifies bottlenecks in workflows and provides data insights to improve efficiency.
• Supply chain coordination: SQL monitors shipments, manages delivery schedules, and ensures smooth collaboration between suppliers and warehouses.
• Resource planning: SQL gives production planners insights into resource allocation and capacity planning.
• Systems integration: SQL helps systems engineers integrate data from different platforms, ensuring accurate and efficient operations.

Recruiters in manufacturing are actively hiring SQL professionals for these roles, and the demand shows no signs of slowing. If you have SQL skills, the manufacturing industry offers strong career opportunities.

7. Marketing and Advertising

Marketing and advertising teams use SQL to dig into customer data, track campaigns, and fine-tune targeting strategies. It’s a go-to tool for handling large datasets from customer interactions and ad platforms, turning raw numbers into tips and hints on improving marketing campaigns.

As a marketing analyst, you can use SQL to break audiences into meaningful segments. It also helps to monitor campaigns in real time by analyzing metrics like email openings, clicks, conversions, and ad spending. Armed with these insights, marketing specialists can constantly improve their strategies and outsmart competitors by making data-driven decisions.

For example, SQL makes it easy for marketers to compare campaign performance across social media platforms, helping them see which one brings in the most leads. CRM specialists often use SQL to personalize email campaigns by pulling data on specific customer preferences.

If you know the basics of marketing and SQL, I’m sure you can land a position as a marketing analyst. Interested? If so, take a look at this SQL for Marketing Track. It has all the basics you need to know to perform marketing research with SQL on the top level.

8. Real Estate

When it comes to real estate, SQL can be used to manage all kinds of property data, keep customer records organized, and even analyze market trends. Real estate databases often have massive amounts of information to deal with, and SQL makes it easier to structure and pull that data without breaking a sweat.

Take property management, for example – SQL can centralize information like pricing, availability, and locations, so you’re not scrambling through scattered files trying to keep up with listings. It’s also great for spotting trends. You can use it to track things like changes in property prices or shifts in the demand, which helps real estate agents be up to date with the latest trends.

Let’s say an agency needs detailed reports on property sales or occupancy rates – they’d probably hire an SQL expert to query those large datasets and make sense of the numbers.

Honestly, professionals like property tech specialists and real estate analysts would have a hard time without SQL. It’s not just about efficiency; it’s about making sure data stays accurate and up-to-date, which keeps things running smoothly day-to-day.

With real estate being one of the industries hiring SQL specialists, I am sure there are plenty of solid job opportunities for those with SQL skills.

9. Retail

If you’re looking at industries hiring SQL specialists in 2025, retail is a strong option. Retailers rely on tools like SQL to analyze transaction data, manage inventory, and forecast sales trends. It helps them stay ahead of customer needs and keep operations running efficiently.

Here’s how SQL is used in retail:

• Inventory tracking: retailers use SQL-based systems to maintain proper stock levels, ensuring stores have the right products without overstocking or shortages.
• Sales forecasting: historical sales data is analyzed with SQL to predict what customers are likely to buy next, helping stores prepare for demand.
• Targeted marketing: customer groups are identified for personalized discounts and promotions by querying data with SQL, improving sales and customer satisfaction.
• Operations management: workflow optimization relies on SQL to organize and analyze operational data.
• Supply chain analysis: logistics efficiency improves through SQL-driven insights that help reduce waste and streamline processes.

Retail depends on data-driven decision-making, and tools like SQL play a central role. If you’re exploring SQL-related careers, this industry offers strong opportunities in 2025.

10. Government and Military

The last in our list, but definitely not the least, are government and military organizations – both heavily reliant on SQL to manage massive datasets, monitor programs, and plan effectively.

In government, SQL is key for analyzing public program data, managing census records, and evaluating policies. For example, it can track the rollout of vaccination programs, helping identify regions that need more resources to ensure success.

In the military, SQL supports logistics by keeping track of troop deployments, equipment maintenance, and supply chains. It’s also vital for intelligence analysis, where it processes large datasets to identify patterns, predict risks, and support strategic decisions.

Whether you’re considering positions as a policy analyst, a military strategist, or an IT coordinator ensuring systems run smoothly, SQL will be a serious asset for these roles. It’s a skill that’s helping shape decisions in some of the most impactful areas for 2025.

Boost Your Career in 2025 With SQL

If you want to improve your SQL skills and prepare for new opportunities in 2025, a structured learning plan can make all the difference. The SQL from A to Z track is a great choice to help you get there. It’s designed for beginners and covers everything you need to know to build and grow your SQL skills.

Here’s what’s included in the track:

• SQL Basics: a course for complete beginners to get started.
• How to INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE Data in SQL: learn how to add, modify, and delete data in a database.
• Standard SQL Functions: an intermediate course on the most common SQL functions.
• Creating Basic SQL Reports: learn how to write detailed reports and work with the GROUP BY
• Window Functions: understand this powerful feature for writing advanced SQL reports, a topic many courses skip.
• Recursive Queries: use Common Table Expressions to process hierarchical data like trees and graphs.
• GROUP BY Extensions in SQL: explore ROLLUP, CUBE, and GROUPING SETs for advanced reporting and analytics.

With this structured track, you’ll build a solid foundation and gain advanced skills, preparing you for diverse roles in data analysis and reporting. Strong SQL skills can open up exciting opportunities in 2025, and the SQL from A to Z track will give you the tools to succeed.