Top 10 Courses to Learn SQL and Database in 2024 - Best of Lot

Hello guys, if you are a computer science graduate or new to the programming world, interested in learning SQL, and looking for some excellent resources, like books, courses, and tutorials to start with, then you have come to the right place. In the past, I have shared some of the best SQL books and tutorials, and today I am going to share some of the best SQL and database courses to learn and master this useful technology. If you don't know what SQL is and why you should learn it, let me give you a brief overview of SQL for everyone's benefit. SQL is a programming language to work with a database. You can use SQL to create database objects, like tables, stored procedures, etc., and also to store and retrieve data from the database.

SQL is one of the most essential skills for any programmer, irrespective of technology, framework, and domain. It's even more popular than a mainstream programming language like Java and Python, and it definitely adds a lot of value to your CV.

SQL allows you to play with data, the most valuable asset of today's world. By learning SQL, you can get answers to your question. 

For example, if you are a course creator for Udemy, a popular online course platform, and want to know which course is the best seller and which course is not selling at all.

It can help in troubleshooting as well as reporting. Also, SQL is a very stable technology, it's been around for years, and it will be needed in the future. This means any investment you make in learning SQL will also serve you for a long time in your career.

So, let's jump into best online courses to learn SQL and Database in 2024. I have curated these courses from sites like Udemy, Pluralsight, Coursera, and few others. 

10 Best Online Courses to learn SQL and Database in 2024

In the past, I have also shared some free SQL courses which my readers liked, but the feedback was that they want more comprehensive and in-depth material, and that's why I am coming with this list of best SQL and database courses for both beginners and experienced programmers.

In this list, I have included some of the best SQL and Database courses from Udemy and Pluralsight, two of the leading place for online courses.

These courses will teach you SQL from ground zero. Most of them don't even need a prerequisite as long as you know how to operate a computer and download stuff from the internet, which you know, and that's why you are reading this article.

1. The Complete SQL Bootcamp (Udemy)

This is an excellent SQL course for beginners. The course starts from scratch and doesn't require any previous programming skills or experience. As the name suggests, the course is inspired by Bootcamps and focuses on intense learning. It's also a comprehensive course and explains every single concept by using slides as well as live coding.

The author Jose Portilla is one of the most popular Udemy instructor and  uses PostgreSQL for demonstration purposes, which is both free and open source. It also comes with a GUI tool called PgAdmin, which makes it easy to work with the PostgreSQL database.

Even though the author uses PostgreSQL, all the concepts you learn in this book are applicable to other major databases, like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL.

Another plus point of the course is an instructor who is very enthusiastic and detailed in his approach. Overall a great course to start learning SQL from scratch. Particularly for beginners.

2. Complete SQL + Databases Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery (ZTM)

This is another awesome and fun course to learn SQL for beginners. I really enjoyed watching this course not just for content but also for the positive energy of both instructors Mo Binni and Andrei Negaoie.

It's entertaining watching them discussing and explaining SQL concepts. I know SQL is interesting, but they make it even more exciting. It's like old college days with some friends always jumping and doing stuff which makes you laugh but at least help remove boredom from the class.

Coming to the content, as the name suggests, it's a beginner course, but you will learn all essential concepts, like creating a database, tables, stored procedures, using SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements.

They use the both MySQL and PostgreSQL database in this course, which is the most popular, open-source database, and you can download that for free. They have a section for downloading and installing MySQL database too.

After basics, you will learn some non-trivial stuff, like GROUP BY operator and aggregate functions, connecting tables, joining on multiple conditions, and dealing with other SQL operators and functions. The best part, of course, is that it has got quizzes and exercise to test your SQL knowledge, which is key to building the data sense you need to work with relational databases and SQL.

Btw, you would need a ZTM membership to watch this course which costs around $39 per month but also provides access to many super engaging and useful courses like this one. You can also use coupon code FRIENDS10 to get a 10% discount on this course or any subscription you choose.

3. SQL for Data Science [Coursera]

If you are looking for a Coursera course to learn SQL basics, particularly for Data Science then you will love this free-to-audit course by UC Davis, University of California. This is one of the best SQL course on Coursera, joined by more than 400K students from all over the world. 

This course is part of the Learn SQL Basics for Data Science Specialization on Coursera and in this course, you will learn SQL from scratch, starting from what is data and what is relational database, what advantage it provides to inserting data into table, selecting data, updating them and deleting them.

The course is also very hands-on and you will create new tables and put data on them. You will also learn common operators and how to combine the data like case statements and concepts like data governance and profiling. 

In short, if you want to learn SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science, this is one of the best online courses you can join in 2024. 

By the way, instead of joining these courses and specialization individually, you can also join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera which gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. 

4. SQL & Database Design A-Z™: Learn MS SQL Server + PostgreSQL (Udemy)

This is another great course to learn SQL in depth. It covers almost all the topics an application developer should know about SQL.

In this course, you will learn about creating basic SQL queries, different types of joins, like right and left join, inner join, outer join, cross enter, self-join, etc.

The course also explains advanced concepts, like indexes, and writing SQL queries with multiple tables, and joining them together to produce a meaningful report.

You will also explore Database design concepts, like normalization. The course has an entire section explaining Normalization and various standard forms, like 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF, etc.

The course uses both Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL, and the best part of the course is that it focuses on enhancing your Data Analytics skill with real-world Data Science exercises.

If you are interested in Data Science and want to become a Data Scientist, then a good knowledge of SQL will go a long way, and this course is a great place to start with.

5. Oracle SQL: Become a Certified SQL Developer From Scratch! (Udemy)

There is no doubt that Oracle is the most popular relational database, and there is a massive demand for people with good Oracle Database skills and experience, e.g. application developer who knows Oracle PL/SQL and a Database administrator who knows ins and out of Oracle database.

No matter whether you want to learn Oracle from an application development perspective or from a Database admin perspective, this course is an excellent place to start.

In this course, you will not only learn to create a database, tables, stored procedures but also how to write SQL queries. You will learn essential SQL concepts in the Oracle database, like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE and ALTER statements, joins, group by, where clause, and other functions.

It's a comprehensive course with 100+ lectures and is well organized into 16 sections, which will teach you all important SQL concepts using the Oracle database.

The instructor is excellent, and it uses free tools like Oracle SQL Developer, which you can download from the web. Overall a superb SQL course if you want to learn with Oracle database.

6. Learn SQL at Boot.Dev

If you are looking for an hands-on course to learn SQL then you will love this SQL course from Boot.Dev, a bootcamp style learning portal but a fraction of cost. What separate this website and course from other is community based learning. When you join Boot.dev you get access to a community of learner as well as support which can be a great addition to your learning journey.

In this hands-on SQL course you will learn all the basics of Structured Query Language and you will also build out real database tables and practice querying it in flexible ways.  

The course not only cover basic CRUD operations but also grouping, aggregation and normalization. 

They charge around $24 per month but you not only get access to this course but several others and you will love their instant feedback, video chat with creators and community based learning, if this excites you, join Boot.dev and start learning SQL in a hands-on way. 

7. 200+ SQL Interview Questions (Udemy)

This is an excellent course to learn SQL from an interview point of view. If you are preparing for your first job interview or next job, you can expect a lot of SQL questions in the interview. It's an important skill, and that's why many interviews focus on SQL along with Data Structure and algorithms.

By taking this course, you will not only prepare well for your next interview but also learn a lot about essential SQL concepts. For example, if you just watch the preview of one chapter, which discusses how to tune SQL queries or how to find and explain the execution plan, you learn a lot.

I am a particular fan of learning from interview questions as they encourage me more and bring curiosity, and if you are like me, you will find this course immensely helpful. I have bought this course for just $10.99 USD last year and still enjoy it a lot.

It's also a perfect companion for Joe Gekko's SQL puzzlers book, which is an excellent read in itself. An interesting SQL query and puzzle book, which is you must read if you haven't learned it yet.

8. High-Performance SQL Course by Vlad Mihalcea

If you are looking for an advanced SQL course to level up your SQL skills then this course is for you. This course is created by Java champion and high-performance specialist Vlad Mihalcea and he will explain advanced SQL concepts in depth.

This course contains 36 videos and over 4 hours of great advanced SQL stuff.

If you are interested in learning about advanced SQL concepts like Joins Best Practices, Subqueries and SemiJoins, Derived Tables and CTE, Recursive queries, JSON processing then, you are going to love this video course.

And, that's not all. There are many more modules to come, which you will get for free:

• Window Functions

• Explain, Analyze, and Demystifying Execution Plans

• PIVOT, UPSERT, MERGE

• Pagination Best Practices

Here is the link to get your discount - High-Performance SQL video course

As I know Vlad he hardly gives discounts and this is a rare chance to get this awesome SQL course for a   discount, most importantly this is also a rate SQL course that covers these advanced concepts in detail.

9. SQL QuickStart Guide (Book)

The "SQL QuickStart Guide" by Walter Shields is an essential resource for beginners and professionals alike seeking to master the SQL programming language. With an impressive 4.6-star rating from 1,571 reviews, it has earned the title of #1 Best Seller in Microsoft SQL Server. 

The book, part of the QuickStart Guides™ - Technology series, offers a simplified approach to managing, analyzing, and manipulating data with SQL.

It caters to a diverse audience, including developers looking to enhance their database management skills, project managers aiming to understand development team needs, and decision-makers requiring deeper data-driven analysis. Shields, an experienced mentor and SQL expert, makes relational database management accessible, easy to understand, and highly actionable. 

The book covers the basic structure of databases, SQL queries, and professional applications of SQL, making it valuable for those preparing for a data-driven future or wanting to pad their skills for career advancement. 

Additionally, readers benefit from lifetime access to free online resources, including workbooks, cheat sheets, and reference guides, contributing to a comprehensive learning experience. Notably, the author supports environmental sustainability, with QuickStart Guides proudly partnering with One Tree Planted as a reforestation initiative. 

Overall, "SQL QuickStart Guide" provides a well-rounded and accessible approach to SQL education, making it a recommended choice for those entering the world of relational database management.

10. Database Design Fundamentals for Software Engineers [Educative]

Database design is one of the topic which many programmer often ignore and struggle to get it right but this is one skill which often differentiate a beginner with an experienced programmer and developer. 

In this text-based interactive database course, you'll learn about the fundamental concepts of databases, why and when they're used, what relational databases are, and entity-relationship diagrams. How to design tables, which column to include, how to design primary and unique key and indexes. 

You will also learn important techniques like normalization that help to increase the efficiency of databases. You'll also learn the basics of Structured Query Language (SQL) for beginners. After completing this online course, you will be able to move onto more advanced courses involving database systems and SQL.

By the way, you can either join this course individually or you can take an Educative Unlimited subscription (recommended) to get access to their 350+ high quality, text-based, interactive courses to learn key skills for coding interviews, software development, and technology.

That's all about the best online courses to learn SQL and Database fundamentals. These are excellent SQL courses for both beginners and experienced programmers who don't know SQL. Since SQL skills are always in demand and, in fact, mandatory along with other programming skills, a good knowledge of SQL will not only help you to get a better job but also help in your current day-to-day tasks.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these best SQL courses for beginner software developers and DBAs to join in 2024, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you don't mind learning from free resources and in fact looking for some good free courses to learn Database and SQL then you will also find this list of free SQL and Database courses useful. The list contains free online courses from Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, and other platforms to learn Oracle, MySQL, and SQL Server, and ANSI SQL basics.