How to Learn SQL in a Week

Updated on: April 15, 2024

Need to learn SQL in a hurry? In this article, we’ll give you a learning path that will help you learn SQL in a week!

So you want to learn SQL but don't know where to begin, how long it will take, or even if you have the time. In this article, we'll show you how you can learn SQL within a week using some resources that will get your SQL journey started in no time!

What Is SQL?

SQL, or Structured Query Language, is the programming language used to access and manage data stored in relational databases. A relational database is a type of database that stores data in a structured format. The data in these databases is neatly organized into tables, with each table containing a collection of records and each record containing a set of fields. These tables are all linked or related to one another via keys.

We can use SQL to create, update, and delete databases; we also use it to query, insert, and modify data within them. Interested in learning more? LearnSQL.com provides interactive SQL courses for all levels of expertise. If you are a complete beginner with no programming experience or you simply want to refresh your SQL skills, our SQL Basics course is for you. We will go over its contents in greater detail later in this article.

Is SQL Really Worth Learning?

Learning SQL will give you the skills necessary to work with large datasets, analyze data, and create complex queries. It is a valuable skill to have in today’s job market, and it can lead to a wide range of career opportunities.

With the right SQL knowledge, you can get into top database jobs like SQL developer, data analyst, data scientist, and more! Check out our article to learn more about Database Jobs to Choose in 2023.

If you are still undecided after reading our article Why Is SQL Worth Learning?, take it from the 90,000+ professional developers who participated in the last Stack Overflow survey. They named SQL as the most popular database language and the third most popular programming language.

Will SQL Be Useful If I Don’t Work in Tech?

SQL is for people both inside and outside the IT industry. With SQL, you can understand how data is stored, structured, and managed. This can help your business processes. Even basic SQL skills allow you to query databases and gain valuable insights into your business operations.

 Let's look at some examples of how SQL can help you in your job:

 1. Analyze Customer Trends

SQL allows you to query large datasets quickly, enabling you to find patterns between customer demographics, purchasing habits, and preferences. You can easily identify trends like which products are most popular, where customers spend their money, and which customer segments are more likely to purchase specific items.

2. Creating Reports

Let’s assume you want to analyze your company's sales performance. SQL enables you to quickly collect and query sales data from multiple sources. This allows you to create sophisticated business intelligence reports.

3. Market Segmentation

Using SQL, you can write custom queries to answer specific questions about your target audience and gain deeper insights into their demographics. This can lead to better-performing advertising campaigns that are more relevant to your target audience.

4. Inventory Tracking

With a simple query, you can check the stock on a specific product and find out when it was last ordered, from whom, and so on. This will allow you to make more informed decisions about when to reorder stock.

Is SQL An Easy Language to Learn?

The short answer is yes! SQL is a simple language with standard keywords, making it more intuitive and simpler to learn than other programming languages.

It uses many English words and phrases, so it resembles the structure of an English sentence. This makes it easier to comprehend. Consider the following SQL query:

SELECT *
FROM Employees
WHERE Salary > 50000;

The SELECT clause in this example corresponds to the English phrase "select all records". The FROM clause corresponds to the English phrase "from the table” named Employees. Finally, the WHERE clause corresponds to the English phrase "where the salaries are greater than 50,000." So, you are telling the database: “Select all records from the Employees table where the salary (for that record) is over 50,000.” Simple, isn’t it?

Still not convinced? Check out our article Is SQL Hard to Learn? and it will undoubtedly persuade you!

Can I Learn SQL in a Week?

Yes, it is definitely possible to learn the basics of SQL in a week or less.

To accomplish this goal, you need to become acquainted with the various types of SQL statements, such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE. As with any language, practice makes perfect, so look for SQL learning resources that  have you writing basic SQL queries right away.

Using online resources (such as courses, tutorials, and blog posts) will help you improve your SQL knowledge. See our article How Long Does It Take to Learn SQL? Top Tips for SQL Proficiency for more information on how to improve your SQL skills.

Let’s take a look at some of the online SQL courses in LearnSQL.com’s platform that can help you reach basic SQL proficiency quickly.

SQL Basics

If you want to learn SQL basics in a week, look no further than our SQL Basics course. Let's break down this course to show you why it's the right choice:

1.  Time Breakdown

We estimate this course takes about 10 hours to complete, so you can easily do this course in a week and still have the weekend to relax!

2. Course Breakdown

All of the courses on LearnSQL are designed to be interactive. Why? Because doing something is the best way to learn it.

There are 129 exercises in the SQL Basics course. Each exercise includes some light reading and an activity to complete in actual SQL code. This means that you will be practicing and improving your SQL skills right away; by the end of this course, you will have written over 100 SQL queries on your own.

This course has the ideal balance of theory and practice to quickly get you up to speed with SQL basics. All SQL courses at LearnSQL.com include the following advantages:

• Immediate results: The platform runs your code on a real database, checks your solution, and tells you whether it's correct or not. You can learn from your mistakes quickly and effectively.
• No installation required: Since all you need is an Internet browser and an Internet connection, you save time and effort on installations. This helps you stay within your one-week time budget.
• Real-world examples: The course's datasets and exercises are designed to resemble real-world problems. By the end of the course, you will not only have SQL skills, but you will also know when these skills can be put to use.
• Certification: All of our SQL courses include certification as proof of your new skillset, which you can add to your LinkedIn profile to boost your job search opportunities.

3. What Will I Learn?

In our SQL Basics course, you will discover the fundamental constructs of SQL, including:

• Data Retrieval: Understanding how to retrieve data from a database is critical because it allows you to access the information you need to make informed decisions. Accessing data gives you the potential to provide the insights that drive business growth and highlight trends and customer behaviors.
• Data Combination: Knowing how to combine data from multiple tables is particularly useful because it enables businesses to connect related data from various sources. Doing this, they gain a more comprehensive view of their operations.
• Data Filtering: Knowing how to filter data is an important skill; it allows you to quickly identify relevant information in a large dataset while ignoring irrelevant data. With the extraneous data out of the way, it’s easier to analyze data patterns, trends, and correlations that help you gain insights and make decisions.
• Data Aggregations and Grouping: You can quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of data by using aggregate functions and grouping data. They allow you to compute averages, sums, maximums, minimums, counts, and other data summaries quickly. This can help you identify trends and outliers in your data.
• Report Building: Knowing how to create reports in SQL is essential because it allows you to quickly and easily communicate insights and support decision-making in your organization.

4. Is This Course Right For Me?

This course requires no prior experience because everything is taught from the ground up, making it ideal for beginners. With an estimated time of around 10 hours, this course is the best choice for accomplishing your goal of learning SQL basics in a week!

Additionally if you already have some SQL knowledge, this can be a great way to refresh and consolidate it before moving on to more advanced SQL options.

Want More SQL Practice?

What happens after you finish the SQL Basics course? The good news is that your SQL adventure is far from over. There are numerous SQL courses available at LearnSQL.com to help you master the language. Consider the following options for next steps:

SQL Practice Set

We estimate our SQL Practice Set course will take about 10 hours to complete. It is for people who have completed our SQL Basics course. As you might guess, this course lets you practice all basic SQL constructs. There are sections dedicated to each important SQL topic.

This course, which contains 88 exercises, is ideal for providing additional practice and truly consolidating your new skills.

SQL JOINs

We estimate that our SQL JOINs course will take about 10 hours to complete. This course will provide you with extensive practice of SQL joins. Because joins are frequently regarded as one of the more difficult aspects of SQL for beginners, this course allows you to become proficient in a short period of time.

With 93 exercises and sections on various aspects of SQL joins, you'll be comfortable with all types of JOINs in no time!

Our estimations are that our Monthly SQL Practice challenges can be completed in just an hour or two.

Every month, we release a new SQL practice course with 5-10 exercises. This is a quick way to practice SQL in a couple of hours, which will help you reach your goal of learning SQL in less than a week!

Yes, You Can Learn SQL in 1 Week!

Monday is quickly approaching, so set a timer and choose one of the courses listed above to get started with learning SQL in just one week!

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, split your chosen course into small, daily sections that you can tackle easily. Setting reminders can also help keep you accountable and ensure you stay on track with your goals.

Remember, consistent, short study sessions can be more productive than cramming all at once. You’ll be amazed at how much progress you can make by dedicating just a little time each day to developing your SQL skills. You'll be an SQL expert in no time!