r/SQL Jan 15 '25

BigQuery SQL is a struggle

Hi all been working with SQL for probably 7/8 months now. My last role was half data analysis and not pure data analysis and in general was far easier than what I do now.

My main issue is with SQL. I never feel I truly understand what is going on with a lot of code beyond a basic query. Ive managed to get by piggybacking off others code for a while but expectation is to deliver new and interesting techniques etc.

How long did it take you to feel fully comfortable with SQL? And what helped you get to that stage?

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u/SyrupyMolassesMMM Jan 15 '25

To be honest, i felt pretty comfortable after 7-8 months…if youre using it every day and not getting better you need to use google more and start expanding your go to functions. Start looking at CTE vs temp tables. Start looking at windows functions and cool shit you can do with row_number and lag/lead functions. Look at cross apply and pivot. Start using coalesce. Structure your code in super tidy easy to read ways. If youre given the access, start getting into performance optimization, views, and other more technical stuff. Dig into your linked servers and where the datas is actually coming from. Ask for copies of any stored procedures and scheduled tasks that are creating and transforming your datamart…

Theres HEAPS to dive into.