Monthly SQL Challenges in 2021

Did you know that LearnSQL.com provides a monthly SQL Challenge? Every month, we publish a new set of SQL practice exercises. Find out what to expect from our SQL challenges in 2021.

Here at LearnSQL.com, we believe that the best way to learn SQL is through practice. After all, writing SQL is a practical skill. That’s why all our SQL courses (and there are over 30 of them!) are interactive: You learn SQL by writing SQL code. With each exercise solved, you gain confidence in your SQL skills.

We also know that SQL learners are always in need of practice exercises. Some need more SQL practice on a challenging topic they’re learning. Others learned SQL some time ago and would like to keep their skills from getting rusty. And some want to refresh their coding skills before a test or an interview. And others just enjoy a little SQL brain teaser!

We know it’s difficult to find fun SQL practice problems for beginners. That’s why we came up with an idea for a monthly SQL challenge. We want to provide our users with as many different chances to practice SQL as possible. Each monthly challenge is a set of 5 to 10 SQL exercises. Each challenge is focused on a specific theme: Italian cuisine, astronomy, books, movies. We want these challenges to be fun, and we hope everyone will find a theme they enjoy.

Like our courses, our monthly SQL challenges are interactive. First, you are given a story with a problem to solve. Then we consider the 2-5 tables we’ll use in the challenge. Next, you get 5-10 SQL practice exercises to solve. Our learning platform automatically verifies your solution and gives you feedback.

We estimate that each monthly SQL challenge can be solved in about an hour; you can do them during your lunch break or as a fun nerdy activity on the weekend.

SQL Challenges in 2021: Alternate levels of difficulty

All SQL Challenges published in 2020 were for beginners and were aimed at a basic level of proficiency. The knowledge required to complete each challenge was covered in our SQL Basics course: SELECT, JOIN, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and HAVING, with an occasional subquery or set operator.

LearnSQL.com users really like our basic SQL challenges. However, they’ve also been asking for more difficult challenges as well. You ask, we listen!

For 2021, we’ve decided to alternate the difficulty levels of our SQL Challenges: one month the challenge will be basic, providing necessary SQL practice for beginners. The next month’s challenge will be more advanced, designed for those who want to practice intermediate and advanced SQL. The advanced challenges will be based on our intermediate and advanced SQL courses, such as "Window Functions" course, SQL Reporting, Recursive Queries, and Standard SQL Functions.

January 2021 will see our first advanced SQL Challenge. This challenge is based on our Window Functions course. We hope you like it!

So, this year, the monthly SQL challenges for odd-numbered months (January, March, May, etc.) will be advanced SQL challenges. The challenges in even-numbered months (February, April, June, etc.) will be basic. Let us know which advanced topic you’d like us to cover in March!

2020 SQL Challenges Available as a Course

We’ve also decided to bundle all 2020 SQL challenges together into one separate 2020 SQL Challenges course. Our regular monthly SQL challenges are priced at $29 each, like any other course at LearnSQL.com. Monthly challenges are primarily completed by our All Forever plan users. (The Forever plan gives you access to all our current and future SQL courses.) Thus, monthly challenges give Forever plan users something new to practice each month.

For people taking single SQL courses on our platform, the new 2020 SQL Challenges course, priced at $29, is a budget-friendly option to buy a comprehensive set of basic SQL practice exercises. This course has 160 exercises and contains 12 parts, one for each month. It’s ideal for users who know the basics and are looking for a fun exercise set to practice SQL on their own. The course is available separately or as part of our SQL Practice track.

Practice SQL with LearnSQL.com in 2021!

The best way to master SQL is through practice. LearnSQL.com offers a number of options to practice SQL online: basic SQL practice in courses in our SQL Practice track, monthly SQL challenges, intermediate SQL practice in courses in our SQL Reporting track, advanced SQL courses in Advanced SQL track. Be sure to practice SQL with us in 2021!