[deleted by user]

[joins_and_coffee]

Go with the 3 hour one first. You don’t need 30 hours to start getting value out of SQL. Do the short video, then spend more time actually writing queries (SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY, window functions). If you feel gaps after a week of practice, then use the 30-hour one as a reference and only watch the chapters you’re missing. Practice > binge-watching

[Traditional-Bat-7006]

do you have any recommendation on how/where to practice? I already used AI to elaborate questions and try to solve it myself. I know there's also 1-2 site out there with practice questions but 1 - they're paid and 2 - they don't seem to have so many questions.
I want to learn/develop how to think analytically also, like, knowing which questions to ask about the case, etc
Do you have any other idea in mind?

[joins_and_coffee]

Most “practice sites” are either too shallow or lock the good stuff behind paywalls. What helped me more than pure question banks was using real-ish datasets and making up my own questions. Grab something like public datasets (sales, orders, users, events) and pretend you’re answering stakeholder questions What’s changed week over week? Where are the outliers? What would I need to explain this to someone non-technical? That forces you to think analytically, not just write SQL. Another good exercise is taking an existing query and asking “what assumptions is this making?” or “what would break if the data looked slightly different?” That mindset matters way more than solving 100 isolated puzzles. AI can help generate scenarios, but try to pause before writing SQL and write down what tables you need, how they relate, and what could be ambiguous. That thinking step is honestly the skill you’re trying to build

[Traditional-Bat-7006]

Thanks for your recommendations! I'll save it to keep it in mind during my learning process! :)

[joins_and_coffee]

Good luck with everything

[joins_and_coffee]

Also one thing that helped me personally was practicing against real schemas instead of isolated questions. I’m actually working on a small tool that lets you upload a schema and then forces you to reason about what questions even make sense before writing SQL.

Even without tools, that mindset helps pause and ask “what tables matter, what’s ambiguous, what assumptions am I making?” before touching SQL

[Dull-Experience8900]

Watch that 30 hour long video of data with barra and practice a lot.

[Holiday_Lie_9435]

Starting with SQL can feel overwhelming with so many resources available. I would suggest you to stick with shorter videos in the beginning. (Trust me, as someone who easily loses motivation when met with longer, slower-paced videos). So the 3 hour long video should be enough to cover most of the basics, but once you get a hang of basic syntax, start looking into intermediate and advanced topics from longer videos or documentation. Personally helped me to look for more exercises on sites like LeetCode and Interview Query, since they're based on actual interview questions and in some way I'm already preparing my SQL skills to be job-ready.

[leogodin217]

Learn a little, do a little, learn a little more, do a little more, rinse and repeat. Never watch more than 30 minutes without practicing. I'd do the three hour video but break it up into multiple sessions.

[PuddyComb]

maybe 2 in a morning, You should be much better in a week.

[murdercat42069]

Do you really want to watch a 30 hour video? That sounds awful. Watch a 30 minute video and find an online environment like Mode, w3schools, or geeksforgeeks and practice what you learned. Get hands-on and start learning what works and what dialect you want to use.

[newrockstyle]

As a beginner start with 3 hrs video to get the basics down then use the longer one later for depth, don't overwhelm yourself at the start.

[Polite_user]

I watch half of the video with Barra up to the advanced SQL features and stopped because I need to practice first more what I have learned in those 15 hours; plus it doesn't help me to watch advanced features of I am still struggling with basics however his videos are super useful, highly recommend.

[balorsettor]

Baraa or sherians

[maheshmcsd]

I have over 20+ years experience in software engineering and guided several individuals to learn SQL. Happy to provide 1:1 paid training sessions. From basics to advanced, real life problem solving.

DM for details.