The Top 5 SQL Courses and Learning Platforms for 2022

It’s the New Year! Time to start thinking what good you can do yourself in 2022. If you haven’t decided yet, we want to recommend learning something new – specifically, learning SQL.

Maybe learning SQL is already on your 2022 to-do list. If so, take it seriously – learning SQL can change your career path and even your life! It makes sense to find the best SQL courses so you can learn effectively. In this article, you will find our choices for the top 5 SQL learning platforms.

Why Learn SQL?

SQL is a language that lets you “talk” to relational databases. With one simple query, you can get the information you need without browsing through huge tables in Excel or other spreadsheets.

Since data is now a very important part of our daily life, learning how to deal with it is a very useful skill. Being able to work with  databases gives you the ability to build new ideas, find out-of-the-box solutions, optimize processes, and more. If you're afraid that you won’t be able to learn SQL, watch this short video. It should put your fears to rest:

SQL has been used for decades, but it’s still one of the most powerful tools for dealing with data. Why is that? One reason is that SQL is really simple to learn. After completing a few basic SQL courses, you will be able to deal with big datasets. You also don’t need an IT background to learn SQL.

Having SQL skills will immediately make you stand out from the crowd. SQL is a language created to manage data in databases; it’s all about finding what you want and drawing accurate conclusions. It improves processes for many companies, not only those involved in data analysis. Data is everywhere and SQL is there to keep it in order.

Choosing a Good SQL Learning Platform

If you want to learn SQL, start by finding the best learning platform for you. How can you do this?

When you start looking for online courses covering SQL basics, you will notice there are many websites that offer all kinds of training. You may have an SQL course next to piano lessons or pottery techniques. If you want to learn efficiently, look for platforms that focus only on SQL and related skills.

Platforms dedicated to SQL will have a clear learning path and can provide you with comprehensive information.

A good learning platform should cover all levels of SQL but have courses or tracks tailored to different levels of knowledge. Also, it’s really important to be able to track your own progress. A training path must be carefully planned to gradually increase in difficulty and to motivate you to continue learning.

Another thing to look out for is how the knowledge is delivered. Online courses should be interactive and engaging. They should provide users with different types of activities and ways of presenting the content. While learning SQL, the possibility of practicing what you've learned is crucial, so the course should contain a lot of exercises with hints and feedback.

A good SQL platform must be simple and have a friendly, intuitive interface. Positive user experience is something that will keep you on your learning path. If the user experience is poor, most people will quickly get frustrated and give up.

Now let's check out five SQL training platforms and their main advantages.

1.   LearnSQL.com

From the start, you know that you are in the right place to learn SQL: the website is focused exclusively on the SQL language.

The layout of the website is very clear, even though LearnSQL.com has a wide range of learning tracks on offer. Courses are labeled as basic or advanced, and there are several types of learning programs. You can take a single course about SQL basics or choose the comprehensive SQL from A to Z track, which goes from absolute beginner to advanced topics. If you already know SQL and want to brush up your skills, you can take on an SQL challenge or use the practice track. If you want to learn something specific – like working with SQL JOINs or using SQL to create reports – you can do that too.

What’s more, you can learn standard SQL or the popular dialects MS SQL Server or PostgreSQL.

On LearnSQL.com, everything is done in the browser. You don’t need to install a database management system on your computer; just write your code in the interactive online console. After completing the task, you get the feedback straight away. When you face a tough problem, you can use the provided hints, discuss it with the community, or reach out to the course creators for more help. Plus, our blog has a lot of useful articles and SQL Cookbooks with tons of important tips.

After completing your course, you will get a certification proving your skills.

If you want to find out more about LearnSQL.com, try it yourself. You can sign up for a free account and try out some of the course exercises. You're risking nothing. This is a great place to learn SQL.

2.   DataCamp

This learning platform includes more than SQL, covering data science in general.

What is interesting about the DataCamp platform is its approach. You will find three general categories of learning tracks:

• Hands-on courses - A collection of all available content that can be filtered by topic or technology.
• Data skill tracks - Content focusing on developing certain skills and competencies. You can filter tracks by technology type.
• Career-building learning paths - here you will find courses intended for specific job positions like data scientist, data analyst, or programmer.

Each course starts with a video introduction. After that, you go to the interactive part, where you’ll write some code.

Another cool thing on the DataCamp platform is the section with resources like webinars, case studies, data sheets etc.

DataCamp is a nice choice, but sometimes you can get lost in the maze of online courses and options.

3.   Dataquest

Like DataCamp, Dataquest focuses mainly on data science competencies. Like LearnSQL.com and DataCamp, you can start with a free trial.

What makes Dataquest attractive is its clear and intuitive navigation. You will find basic information on how the platform works. You don’t need to filter the content to get to the point.

Dataquest divides courses into a few categories. You can take a career path, a skill path, or choose a programming language. If you are interested in SQL, Dataquest offers SQL fundamentals. It can be a part of a bigger development path for people who want to develop their career as a data scientist, data analyst, or data engineer.

Courses on the Dataquest platform are based on the principle that people learn best by doing. That’s why all content is interactive. Exercises are hosted in a live coding interface with real data. You will learn by writing code and getting feedback immediately. If you face difficulties, you can count on support from the site’s active learner community.

And then there’s the Dataquest Challenge. By completing at least one screen (coding exercise) per day and building a 30-day streak, you get a chance to win a free Dataquest Premium subscription for one year. It’s a great way to motivate students to learn.

4.   Pluralsight

This platform underlines the importance of developing skills to improve working within a team. The content is divided into two learning plans: skills and flow. Or you can choose your learning path by professional area: software development, IT ops, cybersecurity, Cloud computing, machine learning, or data analytics/engineering/science.

If you want to learn SQL, their data professional area might be for you. You can pick one of two top paths:

• Querying Data with T-SQL from SQL Server (7 courses)
• Querying Data with SQL from PostgreSQL (5 courses)

Courses are differentiated by skill level: beginner, intermediate, or advanced. If you are not sure what level you are on, you can use Skill IQ to measure your skills and find out where to start.

Something new on Pluralsight is the option of live classes. It is not a very common method of learning programming languages online. It might be interesting for small teams, especially during the pandemic when it can be difficult to travel. These courses are limited to 20 students and are held virtually with open enrollment. They focus on specific topics.

What distinguishes Pluralsight is its design. A glance is enough to know what I mean.

5.   SQLZOO

This learning platform shows that sometimes less is better. The interface is based on Wikipedia. You don’t have nice fonts and colors here. But the clear layout of the content gives a sense of order and simplicity.

SQLZoo was created in 1999 and is a platform for practicing SQL queries with real databases. The simple structure of SQLZOO contains a list of statements with quizzes next to each of them.

A statement has a short description and an active example. You can change it, rewrite it and check what is happening. Quizzes are based on single- and multiple- answer questions.

SQLZoo is a good place to test and improve your skills. You can use it to prepare for an interview or to stay sharp on your job position. It is a very pleasant combination of an encyclopedia and an interactive exercise system. It can be very useful in situations when you just can’t remember something, like how CASE works. SQLZoo is there to remind you.

You Can Learn SQL in 2022!

Now that you’ve seen an overview on SQL learning platforms, the next step is yours. If you’ve decided that you want to learn SQL, probably the best solution is to focus on platforms that specialize in SQL, like LearnSQL.com.

Start from the basics and develop your skills gradually. Use learning paths that lead you through this new topic, like our SQL Basics course. Take your time, practice a lot, and you’ll soon find your skills leveling up.

Keep calm and learn SQL!