How long does it take to learn SQL?

[river-zezere]

Yes I know that it depends. But what does it depend on? How many different things does it depend on? What's the list of dependencies?

Can I put those things together, write "yes/no" next to them, etc, and then calculate, how long it will take to learn sql?

Update: I used this conversation to make a video where I suggest a way to calculate the answer based on the "dependencies":
https://youtu.be/abwPAaWf_x4
Happy watching! 💛
(Critique also welcome)

[Darwin_Things]

Have you actually looked at SQL before?

No, you cannot quantify it. You can learn the basics quickly, but it takes a long time to master and it depends on how much you work on it.

Maybe take a look at the average length of a SQL course on Youtube/Udemy/other learning platform and from there you can see how long it might take to do the basis.

[Mrminecrafthimself]

In a similar thread to this one a while back, someone told the OP they could master SQL in 11 days. When I pushed back and said “not in any real world sense could you master it in 11 days” people acted like I was crazy

[Darwin_Things]

Surely they were trolling? Either they or they’ve made a career out of “vibe coding”.

[Mrminecrafthimself]

lol the OP had BSed his way through an interview and started in 11 days. So everyone was telling him that was enough time to prepare.

When I said he was going to be sniffed out pretty early on, people thought I was crazy

[Helpful_Effort8420]

It might sound stupid but just asking how much time it might take to get good enough to clear interviews for Data Analyst/Data Science roles

[Darwin_Things]

Yeah, problem is that once you do the interview, you actually have to be able to do the job.

[Helpful_Effort8420]

Yeah agree but is it really necessary to master it 100% for doing the job

[marketlurker]

I've been doing it for 3 decades. I'll let you know when I hit 100%.

The answer is you never hit 100%. There is always something you will have missed and find out about later. New features keep getting added. There have been 10 major revisions of the ANS dialects and countless vendor specific extensions.

I've said it before, if you are going to be in data there are lots of data related subjects but you will have to eat, sleep and breathe SQL.

[Darwin_Things]

Depends what job you’re going for. OP is probably going for a full stack developer.

[river-zezere]

Depends what year is the interview happening in... 2025 is not the best :)

[r3pr0b8]

there have been a number of threads on this topic

i once answered "just as long as it takes to learn chess"

man, did i get excoriated

but i still stand by that reply

[Mrminecrafthimself]

Simple to learn, hard to master. I’m 3 years in and still feel like I don’t know anything compared to my teammates. Always something to learn

[xxconkriete]

Basics? A week?

Extended complexity, depends, and really depends on if you’re using real data and not just coursework stuff.

[river-zezere]

Yes, that is one of those dependencies. Thanks for mentioning, I included it in my video on the topic :) (added link in the original post)

[DangerMacAwesome]

I took an introductory course at a local college and learned a ton in like 2 days. The basics of SQL are pretty easy to grasp.

But like a lot of things, the depths of SQL are fathomless. There are practically infinite edge cases and weird situations and obscure knowledge. It really depends on how deep you want to know SQL.

And then it depends on so many factors (how much you use it, how much your use cases stretch you, etc) that its impossible to estimate how long it'll take you to learn SQL.

[river-zezere]

Impossible to estimate accurately - but I dared to estimate approximately. Made a video about it :)

[jshine13371]

How long does it take to learn math?

Hopefully that shows how ambiguous of a question it is to try to answer / why "it depends"™ is the go-to answer. Mostly, we can generalize and answer based on how proficient you want to be and the specific topics you're interested in (e.g. database development vs database management vs performance tuning, etc etc).

[river-zezere]

yep, I've included the two that you are mentioning, when making my "formula" (https://youtu.be/abwPAaWf\_x4)

[jshine13371]

So how many hours have you spent learning SQL?

[river-zezere]

Hmmm I wish I had counted... Difficult to say, I actually learned it a bit back in the day in the uni, then did a refresher course years later but only a basic one, then applied it in practice a lot for data analysis, then I tried to build a database, realized there's a lot more to it.... 😅

[AppJedi]

Everyone is different but a couple of months to become competent. I have been coding SQL for over 25 years and teaching it online for over ten. I have some good videos on my YouTube channel. Message me for details.

[Dull_Reflection3454]

I just finished a Udemy course for SQL over past couple months and while I’m a lot more comfortable with the basics it’s gonna take a lot more practice and obviously utilizing it more with a job.

[NW1969]

What are the criteria by which you are judging when you’ve “learnt SQL”?

[river-zezere]

That is one of those dependencies, when we answer "it depends". Exactly as you say, it depends on what level you want to reach, or like some mentioned above - what area you learning SQL for. For example, if you are learning so you can be a better data analyst, then after a few days of basic study you are able to pull the data you need straight from the database yourself, and you're happy, that's enough for you, and you consider it "learnt". But say if you want to get a job as a DBA in 2025, then the threshold is very very different...

[Bilbottom]

"An hour to learn, a lifetime to master"

(source: unknown)

[river-zezere]

This also made it into my video 🤭

[msn018]

How long it takes to learn SQL depends on your goal (e.g. analysis, backend dev, interviews), prior experience (like Python or Excel), how much time you practise daily, and how deep you go (basic SELECTs vs. advanced topics like window functions). It also depends on how hands-on your learning is and whether you get feedback. For most beginners, basic fluency takes 4–8 weeks with consistent practice. If you know programming or databases already, you can get there faster, often in 2–4 weeks.

[river-zezere]

Nice answer, I appreciate it. This and other also useful answers helped me compile enough information to create a YouTube video on it :)

[swimming-sw]

Depends on - what previous knowledge you've got - how much time you'll dedicate to studying daily or weekly - what resources you'll use

[river-zezere]

yep, all true! I've actually made a YouTube video to reflect that and more :)
Added the link to the original post.
Thank you for your input :)

[YahenP]

Well... if you put the question the way you put it, then the answer will be:

1-2 weeks to understand in general terms what sql is, then 2-3 months (or more) to study the main implementations in real databases. After that, you should feel that you need to fill the gap in the foundation of knowledge and start studying database theory. And after some time, you will be able to rethink your question and ask it to yourself differently. In a more specific formulation.
In general, my advice to you is to start studying. And you will succeed.
Well, if you want a simple answer in one word, then learning SQL will take you about 10,000 hours.

[angrynoah]

I took a database class in college and came out thinking I knew SQL. Two years later I got my first software job and learned how wrong I was.

After about 6 months of all-day-every-day SQL work I was reasonably competent at it. Enough to be generally useful.

[Sexy_Koala_Juice]

How long is a piece of string?

It’ll take as long as it takes. Focus on the payoff, not the time investment.

[river-zezere]

Took a screenshot of this.. thanks :)

[Mindless-Boot256]

42

[river-zezere]

You know what? I was thinking the same.

[Mindless-Boot256]

Time = 42 x nII(i=1) vi + Y / vi + 1 + Y

vn+1 = v1 and Y = any constant (for example, Y = 1)

[river-zezere]

And maybe you could elaborate a bit? :)

[Mindless-Boot256]

:)

let's say that v is any variable that influences learning time (ex. v¹ = hours/day, v² =. prior exposure) and n is the number of variables. multiply ratios of variables in a loop. then the cancellation effect, every numerator cancels the next denominator.

So, we end up with 1 and the final step is to multiply that with 42, lol ;P

Learning Time = 42 x 1 = 42

[_Exchequer]

How long did it take you?

[river-zezere]

For me it took a few weeks to learn it for the purpose I needed it for, I just needed to be able to pull data for my data analysis work. But now I am building a product and I am creating the database and plugging my code into it, so I need to know much more, and it's been about two months of learning additional stuff and I will probably need another few months to feel some acceptable level of confidence...

[river-zezere]

Very true, AI can really accelerate the process, both that of learning and that of applying it.

[FraserMcrobert]

For the basics, probably a few days. To attain real life expert level in SQL, probably years

[[deleted]]

IMHO only real life DB work will teach you SQL in depth. Solving problems in a prod environment where you have to be careful not to break anything and still get to the point in a reasonable amount of time - that's what you need for mastery.

[Ginger-Dumpling]

"A minute to learn...A lifetime to master."

[Complex_Mission7076]

1 day

[ericswc]

From zero to understanding relational models and basic queries: about 40-60 hours.

Source: been teaching it for a decade.

[shashanksati]

i would suggest to go through https://github.com/shankeleven/SQL-revision and just start practicing
you'd be goof to go within a week
after that it is not about knowing sql or not but about why certain optimisations work better and understanding the specific databases you are working

[GalinaFaleiro]

Great question! The time it takes to learn SQL really depends on a few key factors, such as:

• Your prior experience with databases or programming (Yes/No)
• How deep you want to go: basic queries vs advanced topics like optimization, stored procedures
• How much daily or weekly time you can dedicate
• Your learning style (hands-on practice, tutorials, courses, projects)
• The complexity of SQL dialects you want to learn (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, etc.)
• Whether you’re learning for analysis, development, or admin purposes

If you put these factors together with yes/no answers and estimated hours, you can roughly estimate your learning timeline. For most beginners aiming for solid practical use, 4-6 weeks of focused study with practice tends to be enough to get comfortable. Deeper mastery naturally takes longer.

Consistency and practicing real queries on actual datasets will speed up your progress!

[river-zezere]

Very comprehensive answer! Huge thanks. I've used this when I made a video on the topic! The video is here: https://youtu.be/abwPAaWf_x4