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How to Get an SQL Job With No Experience

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Jakub Romanowski

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So you want an SQL job—but you’ve got zero experience? You’re not alone. We’ve all been there. The good news? You don’t need a computer science degree or years in tech to break into data work. With the right steps, a little persistence, and a smart plan, you can land your first role.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of getting your first SQL job—no prior experience required. From identifying the right skills to learn to building your portfolio and applying to your first role, we’ll break it down into clear, practical steps.

You’ll also discover where to find entry-level SQL jobs, how to make your resume stand out, and what to expect in interviews. Whether you're changing careers or just starting out, this roadmap is designed to help you move from learning SQL to landing your first real data job.

Already learning SQL? Check out the SQL From A to Z track. It’s built for beginners like you and covers everything you need to get job-ready.

Step 1 – What Entry-Level SQL Jobs Are Really Like

Before you jump into applications, it’s worth understanding what entry-level SQL roles actually involve. These jobs often come with titles like Data Analyst, SQL Developer, or Data Technician. At their core, though, they revolve around the same idea: helping a business make smarter decisions using data.

You’ll likely spend your time writing SQL queries to pull information from databases, cleaning and preparing that data, and building dashboards or reports that explain what the numbers mean. These insights might influence anything from marketing strategies to financial planning, depending on the team you're supporting.

Aside from writing SQL, many entry-level roles involve working with spreadsheets, especially Excel, and sometimes tools like Tableau or Power BI. You’ll need to understand what different types of data represent—sales numbers, customer behavior, inventory stats—and how to transform them into something meaningful.

Don’t worry if that sounds like a lot. You don’t need to be an expert on day one. But you should feel comfortable with the basics of SQL and start recognizing how your technical work supports real-world decisions. That’s what makes these roles so valuable—and accessible—even if you’re just starting out.

Step 2 – Learn Practical SQL Skills (Skip the Fluff)

You don’t need to learn everything in SQL—just the parts that help you do real work. That means focusing on the commands and techniques you’ll use in most entry-level roles. These skills are your foundation for writing queries, organizing data, and building reports.

Start with the SELECT, WHERE, and ORDER BY clauses. These are the basic building blocks of any SQL query and let you pull specific rows from a database. The SQL Basics course is perfect for this stage, helping you master core concepts like filtering and sorting.

Next, move to GROUP BY and aggregate functions like COUNT and SUM. These are powerful tools that let you group rows and calculate totals or averages—think monthly sales per store or total purchases by customer. The GROUP BY course dives deeper into these ideas and helps you summarize data like a pro.

Once you’re comfortable with basic queries, it’s time to learn JOINs. Real-life databases are split across multiple tables. JOINs help you connect them—like combining a customer table with an orders table. Whether it’s INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, or RIGHT JOIN, SQL JOINs will show you how to make those connections cleanly.

After that, take on subqueries. These are queries inside queries, which help solve more complex problems like filtering based on calculated values or looking up maximums and minimums. The subqueries course gives you plenty of hands-on practice to build confidence.

Lastly, don’t skip data cleaning. You’ll often work with messy, inconsistent data. Knowing how to fix errors, remove duplicates, or standardize formats is critical.

Here’s a simple example of what hiring managers love to see:

SELECT customer_id, COUNT(order_id) AS total_orders
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer_id
ORDER BY total_orders DESC;

This query answers a business question: "Which customers placed the most orders?" It’s the kind of practical, clear logic that employers want to see from entry-level candidates.

Step 3 – Build a Portfolio That Shows What You Know

You don’t need to build a massive portfolio to get noticed. Instead, focus on creating 2–3 projects that prove your SQL knowledge goes beyond following tutorials. The goal is to demonstrate that you can solve real-world problems with data, not just complete exercises. Choose public datasets that interest you—this makes the work more fun and keeps you motivated. One great place to start is Kaggle, where you’ll find all kinds of open data on topics like sports, health, finance, and even video games.

Let’s say you’re passionate about sports—you could build a project analyzing player performance using NBA stats. Prefer business data? Try simulating an e-commerce store’s sales dashboard with customer and order tables. You can also explore segmenting coffee shop customers by frequency and average spend to simulate a basic customer analytics report. If you need step-by-step inspiration, check out LearnSQL.com’s blog articles like SQL Code Project Examples.

Once you’ve finished your project, don’t let it sit on your laptop. Publish it on GitHub—this is your living, breathing resume. Include a readme file that explains the project’s goal, what tools you used, and what insights you found. If you’re not sure how to start using GitHub, LearnSQL.com has a handy guide in How to Build a SQL Portfolio that walks you through the process.

Remember, employers love to see initiative. A small, well-explained project shows you’re serious about learning and applying SQL in real business scenarios—and that’s exactly what will help you stand out.

Step 4 – Add a Certification That Means Something

A well-chosen certificate can make your resume stand out. If you're just getting started, go with:

  • Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals – This certification is perfect for absolute beginners and helps you understand core data concepts, relational databases, and basic SQL. It's vendor-specific, so if you're interested in roles that use Azure-based tools or plan to work in a Microsoft ecosystem, it's a great fit.
  • IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate – This is a comprehensive course series available on platforms like Coursera. It covers not just SQL but also Excel, Python, data visualization, and statistics. If you're looking to go beyond SQL and build a broader data analyst toolkit, this is an excellent option.
  • Certificate of Competency in SQL – This certification from LearnSQL.com proves you know how to work with databases using real SQL. It’s ideal for job seekers focused specifically on SQL skills. You earn it by completing hands-on, practical exercises rather than theoretical exams—making it a strong indicator of job readiness.

No need to rack up five different ones—just one good cert that shows you’ve invested the time.

Step 5 – Write a Resume That Highlights Projects, Not Experience

Don’t worry if you haven’t worked in tech. You can still write a strong resume that gets attention by showing what you can do—especially through projects, skills, and initiative. Instead of focusing on past job titles, focus on practical examples that highlight your ability to work with data.

Start by describing the SQL projects you’ve created. Ideally, you’ll have two or three that use public datasets to answer real business questions. Maybe you built a dashboard to track customer purchases, cleaned a messy dataset for a fictional company, or analyzed sports performance using NBA stats. Here are some more ideas:

Explain what you built, how you built it, what SQL queries you used, and what insights you found. These projects are your proof of ability. If you need ideas, check out LearnSQL.com’s article 5 Projects You Can Build to Practice SQL.

Even if your previous jobs weren’t in tech, there’s a good chance you’ve worked with data. Did you track sales in a spreadsheet? Organize inventory reports? Summarize customer feedback? These are all valuable experiences.

Also mention key soft skills—things like attention to detail, logical thinking, and problem-solving. These are just as important in data jobs as technical ability.

Step 6 – Start Applying (and Don’t Stop)

Look for job titles like Junior Data Analyst, SQL Support Specialist, or Data Entry Analyst. These roles are often designed for people starting out and focus on basic SQL tasks, reporting, and working with spreadsheets or dashboards. You can find these roles on popular platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Wellfound. Local job boards or niche platforms can also be goldmines, especially if you're open to remote work or smaller companies.

To make your search easier, check out this guide from LearnSQL.com: Top 10 Websites With SQL and Database Jobs. It breaks down the best platforms for finding SQL-related roles, including options tailored for junior or entry-level positions.

You might not get the first job you apply for—and that’s completely normal. Every rejection is a chance to review your resume, improve your application strategy, and strengthen your skills. Keep learning, keep applying, and treat every step as part of the process.

Step 7 – Get Ready for Interviews

Once you’ve built your skills and portfolio, it’s time to prepare for interviews. This is your chance to show not just what you know, but how you think. Interviewers often ask open-ended, practical questions like “How did you learn SQL?”, “Tell me about a project you completed,” or “Write a query to find the top 5 selling products.” These questions aren’t designed to trick you—they’re about evaluating how well you understand and apply SQL.

As you practice, explain your code and reasoning out loud. Break down each part: What is the query doing? Why did you write it that way? What does the output show? Remember—interviewers aren’t just evaluating your final answer, but your approach.

Here are some helpful LearnSQL.com articles to guide your interview preparation:

Interviews can feel intimidating, but preparation is key. If you’ve built projects, practiced real problems, and know how to talk through your logic, you’re already far ahead of most entry-level candidates.

Start Today

Start with the SQL Basics course on LearnSQL.com—it’s one of the best places to begin if you’re serious about writing real SQL. This course walks you through practical queries that mimic what you’ll actually use on the job, helping you go from basics to intermediate skills with clarity and confidence.

As you build your foundation, choose one project idea and start creating this week. And don't forget the value of real stories: reach out to one data professional on LinkedIn and ask how they got started—what they share might give you useful ideas you haven’t considered.

Take the first step today. A few months from now, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.

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