Why learn SQL? We asked our users about it. This is what we’ve learned.

At LearnSQL.com, we help people with no computer science background to understand the core concepts of databases and data science. For example, we teach users how to extract the most important data from a database to build simple reports and how to understand key statistical metrics in data analysis. We love to provide easy-to-understand examples that thoroughly depict complex technical concepts. Why? Because we’re good at it! 😉

Enough about us. We were curious to learn more about our users and their responses to the question: why learn SQL?. To that end, we surveyed LearnSQL.com users who had completed our SQL Basics course about their motivation to learn SQL. We let our users type their own responses.

We simply asked them: why you should learn SQL? Take a look at just a few of the reasons they shared:

“I enjoy it and need it for problem solving.”

“Because I think it can potentially be very useful in Marketing and will also help grow my employability.”

“To become a data analyst within the Health Psychology industry.”

“Because I am looking into becoming a data scientist and many jobs ask for SQL proficiency.”

“Data analysis and reporting on energy efficiency programs.”

“To get a job at Looker.” [Well that’s the spirit! 😉]

“Change direction.”

Some of the answers were somewhat similar to each other. From all of the answers, I could distinguish four main reasons why you should learn SQL according to LearnSQL users. And guess what…

...I Had My Own Picks, but I Wasn’t Expecting This!

So, why learn SQL? It’s no surprise that 32% of respondents want to grow their career in data analysis, and 31% of all users need SQL for work. Surprisingly, 26% of respondents believe learning SQL is good for self-improvement. And only 8% learn the language to practice.

Moving Up the Ladder

Can you spot it? It looks like 63% of users consider SQL their job target. If you take into account that career and work reasons hint at people’s desire to get promoted, we can say that 63% of respondents see SQL as their way of moving up the ladder. Either way, SQL comes up in IT and nearly any other business.

No wonder–let me show you which programming language is in the highest demand, according to jobs posted on Indeed.com. We wrote about the details here.

When people hear about SQL, they immediately think of IT-related fields. But SQL is growing in demand in many fields beyond IT, and it can make you a promising candidate for employment in other industries.

According to The Quant Crunch report, by 2020 the number of Data Science and Analytics (DSA) job listings is projected to grow from nearly 364,000 listings to approximately 2,720,000—and 59% of all DSA job demand is currently in Finance and Insurance, Professional Services, and IT. Not bad, huh?

Why Learn SQL: Tell Us What You Think

Are you currently learning SQL or considering starting? What motivates you? Why learn SQL at all? Can’t wait to read your comments!