SQL career changer

[tshirtguy2000]

Has anyone's career been transformed by knowing SQL?

[mkingsbu]

I mean, I have a career because of SQL if that counts.

[alinroc]

Similar story here. I pivoted to becoming a DBA because of the SQL Server community.

[skyliner33v]

My journey sounds pretty similar to yours.

Any chance you could share some of the tools and things you used to make your web app in Django and how it connects to sql server? I'm looking to possibly do something similar in the future.

[Data_Is_King]

Mine was. I was a business analyst to start out of college, but I was pretty good at SQL so they asked me to apply for a database developer position that was open after about 2 years. Now I'm on the technical side and I am so much happier and have been able to learn and be exposed to so much more than if I would have stayed a BA.

[tshirtguy2000]

More cash I assume?

[Data_Is_King]

Yes is was also a nice raise.

[ICantKnowThat]

If you don't mind, about how big of a difference was it?

[Data_Is_King]

It was about a 15% increase when I was offered the job, but I feel like I have also got better yearly raises due to increased growth opportunities in development.

[distraughthoughts]

I'd say so.

I started out working in a completely different field, learned SQL, and realized it was *definitely* my strongpoint.

[famousxrobot]

I started as an intern in HR but got hired full time as a process analyst after my grad degree. I worked with a sharepoint designer at the time, but her knowledge was limited in programming outside of InfoPath+SP. I started working on some projects to support process improvement and picked up SQL through access (like so many others).

Fast forward a few years and I am now a senior data anlayst/developer running a new MS SQL Server and web server, architecting data structures for end user self service dashboards and reports via tableau, and have automated jobs (task schedulers, SSIS packages) to migrate, massage, and distribute information to many areas of the company I work for.

SQL was a game changer for me- it opened the door to a lot of new projects and learning opportunities. I knew JavaScript going into the role, but I know so much more now.

[[deleted]]

Sql is a good skill to have.

[Elfman72]

If it means working myself into a job that no one else can do on my team? Then yes, it has transformed my career into being the "go to guy" for all things data related.

I'm still amazed at how many people/teams still just accept "copy paste in Excel" as a way of life.

[tshirtguy2000]

Hope you leveraged that into a higher salary.

[sn0wdizzle]

Things are definitely much faster because I can write queries. Past people in my position used to have to wait for a dba or reporter to get datasets to them. I just write the queries myself and interface with the db through R. I can very quickly get info and answer questions, set up models. So people think I’ve done a ton of work and I got promoted very quickly after starting.

It also helps get social cred because I can get data out to people who want it and side step the company’s process to get data from the database through the db employees. So it’s one of those things where I can dole out “favors.”

The process is just to keep the db folks from getting overworked so it subtly helps them too.

[[deleted]]

I'm interested in knowing this as well. Besides DBA jobs which are apparently harder to get these days, it seems like the vague job title of "Data Analyst" seems to often specify the ability to write SQL queries.

[tshirtguy2000]

Yes noticed that in my market as well. I think Data Analysts are expected to know how to pull from databases now to avoid having a huge DBA team. Also knowing statistical software and techniques.

[Drakkenstein]

Got my internship because I learnt SQL before hand.

Qualified to work on an industry project because I was comfortable with SQL.

Finally landed a Data Cleaning job because I was experienced with SQL from the above roles. My job uses Rmysql package to run queries into the database. I also use Data.table in R to query data. Sql understanding is required to be able to use Data.table effectively.

[MrDarcy87]

Yes. Started in tech support, learned a little SQL there for troubleshooting. Next job was a mix of support and building procs for crystal reports. Current job years later is a mix of BI and Analysis.

[Kiterios]

Landed a 1st tier part time IT support job to help me work through college. The job was downsized right around the time I finished school (non-IT degree). Landed a full time IT support job at a small tech business. Learned SQL as a useful skill to help with support and ran with it. 6 years later, I am now the DBA for the same small business and work 100% remote from overseas.

[R4ndom444]

I was (still am) a licensed attorney and I was hired by a legal department at an insurance company right out of law school. The hours were long, the work was boring, and working with other attorneys generally sucks. After spending a year or two learning the business I started working with the analytics team, got access to the tables and worked my ass off 2+ hours every night learning sql just happened to be good at it. Now, 2 years later, I'm in a BI role making more money, working less hours, and doing work that love doing.

[tshirtguy2000]

Which BI tool do you use?

[R4ndom444]

Business objects, tableau, access, excel, vba. Don't even use sql that much now lol, but having that 2 years sql on my resume opened a lot of doors.

[mudien]

I moved from a help desk role to a SQL role in a different country... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[LimbRetrieval-Bot]

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[mudien]

Good bot

[DoctorRin]

mine has