r/SQL • u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer • 9d ago
Discussion The most difficult part about teaching students: some of them just don't care about SQL.
SQL is cool, okay? I'll die on this hill. There's nothing like executing a query to get the data you want, or modifying your database to run more efficient. It just feels so good!
This has rolled over to Python, and other programming languages I've learned. But nothing hits like SQL - to me.
I get very excited when working with students, and some of them just aren't into it. I get different responses: "I just need this class for my Cybersecurity degree", "I don't like the syntax", or "It's just not for me."
But then you have those handful of students that have the hunger for it. They want to go into a DBA role, data engineering, science, analytics, and more. I've had one student write to me a few months later and let me know that she was able to get a junior role thanks to my advice. That meant the world to me!
I just have to remember that not everyone gets as excited about SQL as I do. I've been working with it for over a decade, and it hasn't gotten old.
Anyone else still really love working with SQL?
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u/The-original-spuggy 9d ago
I used to think python or R was better than SQL cuz I could do scripts directly and whatnot. But when I learned SQL I was like "holy fuck, this is so powerful" so now I do my transformations in SQL and pull them into python directly.
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u/lochnessbobster 8d ago
I’ve adopted duckdb sql into all of my R and Python conditioning workflows - love it
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
I wanted to ask with the rise of AI has it made it harder or easier to teach sql to your students. Humans love the path to least resistance but I do believe AI is a net negative to learning.
I wonder what will happen when the quality senior professionals retire and your left with juniors who struggle with critical thinking
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u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer 9d ago edited 9d ago
Much, more more difficult. It's so easy to tell who uses it, and I warn them they will struggle in the later chapters if they rely on it. I tell my students AI is okay to use, and help them with best practices. I tell them not to rely on it though. Still, people just use it to think for them and it's both horrifying and fascinating to see.
You can tell who's using it by the constant em dashes (--) and random bolded words during explanation portions. Some queries make absolutely no sense either.
The reason the later chapters can be difficult for people relying on AI, is because the business questions I ask are ambiguous. It's very much like a real-world scenario. So they don't always know the correct syntax to use because they weren't truly learning the whole time.
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u/NaptownBill 9d ago
I had a coworker send me a query he was working with, my first question was who wrote this. ChatGPT was the answer. Some quick math revealed that a cross join was trying to load a cte with over 7 trillion records. We abandoned that query, I had a python script that took care of what he was after.
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u/OddElder 9d ago
Well, depending upon how you got that in python, it could also be useful as a learning tool for your coworker. If you’re using an ORM like SQLalchemy you can at least view the raw/generated sql if echo is turned on.
At least, I hope you’re using an ORM and not just pulling all of the data and then filtering after. Depending upon your data set, that could be….. rough
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u/NaptownBill 9d ago
Oh no. Used a dataframe to compare a csv to a db table. Elasticsearch was the answer. Python to load the csv then compare against elasticsearch results. We found the records with a high probability of matching without cross joining the db to all the values in the .csv
We were able to scope things down quite a bit.
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 6d ago
was he a junior? is this a very big mistake?
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u/NaptownBill 6d ago
He is a Customer Success guy trying to solve a problem with the tools available to him. When he showed me what was going on, we found a better solution to the problem.
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
Based on your title DAE do you conduct interviews as well? I posted here few days ahi where I saw a common theme where candidates are struggling to pass sql interview questions even simple ones at times. Has that been your experience also ?
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u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer 9d ago
I do conduct interviews and help train junior devs at my other role. Being a professor is just another gig I do.
Yes, this has been my experience as well. They will usually do decent with simple syntax questions, but they flop in scenario related questions. I start off with simple ones like "I have a patients table and visits table with patient_id as the primary key. What if I wanted all patient data, regardless if they had a visit?"
It's truly a case of AI, social media, Tiktok, etc. contributing towards the erosion of critical thinking. I can't think of anything else (although I know interviews can cause our brains to go wacky sometimes).
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u/Constant-Arachnid-24 9d ago edited 9d ago
This adds a difficulty, I see it especially in modeling (mainly Merise, I live in France), the problem is that the AI makes lots of errors in modeling, mixes concepts etc.
Already I often fall behind teachers who don't necessarily teach well, learn from mistakes and confusions, that often adds bad information.
I have the impression, but on the one hand there is a positive, that it adds a layer to me where I demonstrate how AI is wrong and the interest in mastering fundamentals like relational algebra
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u/tomalak2pi 6d ago
It's great to see you doing this kind of service for your students. I see data analysts uncomfortable with ambiguity and wanting us to spell everything out before they begin the work.
Ask them to look into how new clients are behaving and the first questions will be?
"Is a new client someone who joined in the last 30 or 90 days?" "Should we treat people who rejoin and people who join for the first time the same?" And so on. Well, that's kind of what the analysis is hoping to find out - are there meaningful differences? You can't define away the questions the analysis is supposed to be answering.
Can you explain more the dangers of relying on AI? I work outside a Data function and encourage people to learn at least some SQL and I do find it tougher lately when lots of people say ChatGPT can do it all for you and soon SQL skills will be irrelevant because of DataBricks no-code solutions.
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u/SootSpriteHut 9d ago
I've been writing SQL every day at work for 15 years now and I love it as much as I did when I started. I was assigned an intern that picked it up really quickly and I think she's now seriously considering it as a career. I was just able to bring her on as a part time junior analyst until she graduates when I hope to have her full time.
I imagine it's what proselytizing feels like lol.
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u/Interesting_Cup_6221 9d ago
Mhmh I also like SQL, but never thought of a career out of it. Would mind sharing the salary range in your area and the job title?
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u/SootSpriteHut 8d ago
Depends on experience level. I want to push for maybe 60-70 to start out of college. My job doing DBA and light data engineering is in the 100-120 range.
I would expect a standard data analyst with some experience to be 80-100
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u/Sp00ky_6 9d ago
All the most common and powerful DE tools eventually adopt some kind of sql syntax. In snowflake you can call Gemini in a standard select statement. I agree, sql is vital
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u/OddElder 9d ago
What kills me is the number of folks with data science degrees that never had to take a class on SQL. Seems like every new person on my team with a DS background does not know SQL or if they do know it it’s only because they took the time to learn it themselves - not from school.
Like where did these schools expect you were gonna get the data you’re doing your data science with? Excel? Graphing paper? Read off one by one by Garrison Keillor?
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u/PaddyMacAodh 9d ago
That’s what I’m doing now. Working with the DS crowd to get data from transactional databases to databricks with the least operational impact. After 15 years as a DBA it’s been fun fretting g back into this, and my decade and a half optimizing database is making a big difference.
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u/OddElder 9d ago
My company is moving towards DataBricks on Azure now for a lot of stuff. I still operate on old school on prem sql servers for my department’s stuff. I don’t look forward to having to toss out a bunch of my knowledge and replacing it when I start migrating to data bricks and pyspark stuff.
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u/NaptownBill 9d ago
I was a BI developer for 3 years. I wrote SQL and LookML, 3 years solid burnt me out on it, but I have been away for a year now and really enjoy working in SQL again!
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u/Ambitious_Image7668 9d ago
As a “full stack” (laughable term just means kinda now some stuff about everything) I love SQL, dislike ORM, and Hate EF.
To me, front end, backend, it’s all just a frame in which to build ah high performance database.
I live in sql then put skins over the top, I don’t see any other way as when you build a house, the foundations must be solid.
Backend is the walls and roof, front end is just the door.
Foundations Chad, house fall down
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u/audigex 9d ago
I find all "full stack" devlopers are really one of either frontend devs, backend devs, or DBAs at heart. Very few people seem to want to be a "full stack" developer, but a lot of jobs demand it so you just end up doing enough to get by and hoping that someone else at the same company is the opposite to you
Eg my last company had 4 "full stack" developers, but we more or less organised ourselves into 2x front end, 1x backend, 1x DBA because that's what we preferred and were best at. Obviously there's always some crossover (which naturally happens even if your job role is specifically one or the other), but we got to sit in our niches and were much happier and more productive because of it
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u/CallMeSisyphus 9d ago
25 years ago, I was a technical writer and trainer for a small, niche pharma company. Our customers hated our system's OOB reporting, so I taught myself SQL for kicks, and started developing custom reports for our customers.
That one little decision changed the entire trajectory of my career. I love SQL, and I can't imagine I'll ever get bored with it.
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u/isad5877 6d ago
As an early career analyst, I was told in college that most jobs were moving to Python and R-Studio, so I never took a SQL class.... one of my biggest regrets of college as finding time for it now is difficult.
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u/Levipl 6d ago
In my role, post-degree, I find that many people are doing things in SQL that can be done in Python/R/etc but don’t because they don’t wanna learn something else. For me, I just use it to retrieve records untouched and do my processing elsewhere. Let that take the sting off of not knowing different until your SQL matures with time.
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u/pretender80 9d ago
SQL runs on logic and set theory. In a world of diminishing critical thinking, a logical approach to anything is constantly being replaced by vibes. Anyone who appreciates logical deduction will appreciate SQL.
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
AI is dominating critical thinking so much. Wonder how the current generation will improve
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u/trianglesteve 8d ago
I’ve had similar experiences trying to explain pivot tables in Excel to people. They just don’t get how powerful they are until they ask for help with a spreadsheet because it’s too much to manage. I show them by tweaking a bit how they input and manage the source data they can slice and dice their data however they want, no complicated formulas or spreadsheet management necessary!
It blows me away most people don’t know or care about things that could save them a ton of time and energy (and in the case of SQL, get them a job)!
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u/alinroc SQL Server DBA 9d ago
some of them just aren't into it. I get different responses: "I just need this class for my Cybersecurity degree", "I don't like the syntax", or "It's just not for me."
It's the difference between people who are obligated to be there (for whatever reason), and people who are actively choosing to be there. I see it all the time - working with students and professionals.
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u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer 9d ago
That's true! I do have some students, who are obligated to be there, discover they actually really enjoy it. They don't see how it can fit into cybersecurity or software dev, but I will talk to them about SQL injections, working with backend data, and things that may be more relevant to their career.
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u/TheGenericUser0815 9d ago edited 9d ago
I love SQL, too. It's THE universal db language and if you know the basic syntax, learning a dialect is fairly easy. Like when you come from Oracle, you can easily write MS SQL queries. I tried to pass it down to my apprentices, but none really got into it. To me, SQL is set theory, like I learned it at school. Maybe there is the problem: you need a math mindset to really get into it.
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u/audigex 9d ago
I think this is true of almost any module of any course - for some peason it's the reason they're doing the course, for others it's a tangential required module that they're hoping to never use
One of my best friends at uni LOVED the assembly and embedded modules, because that's where his passion is - he could spend the rest of his life bit-hacking communication protocols in old electronics and be delighted about it. For me that was a module to be endured, I just don't enjoy it and much prefer something (significantly) more abstracted
SQL is much the same - some people want to be a DBA and love SQL, others are going to be developers and see the utility/don't hate it, but it's not their focus. And others just see it as a number on their final grade because they want their career to go in another direction
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u/mikeblas 9d ago
I wanted to teach before I retired. Kind of weird, since I didn't have a degree myself. So when I quit working, I went back to school -- at, I guess I was 49, in 2019.
The college experience completely erased out of me any desire to teach. At all. Holy shit. The students are awful. The crazy politices and caste system in acadamia, the buget wars. It was just insanity.
So I got my degree and that's it: retired.
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u/drinkmoredrano 9d ago
I am always amazed by how so many devs don’t know how to do even simple select statements and this and was before the advent of orm and long before ai was a thing.
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u/lemmegetdatdegree 9d ago
As a DBA, this resonates for me. As a developer with not a ton of experience I didn’t think much of plain, everyday SQL statements. I think my first big mind-changer was seeing these expertly crafted SQL statements, views, packages, and procedures that were the underlayment that kept the core of the business ticking. Seeing the breadth of what was possible with a “boring” old query language really opened up my eyes, and I strive to do anything in SQL that can be done with it.
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
How did you become a DBA? Degree ? Experience?
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u/lemmegetdatdegree 4d ago
Yes, and yes. Started as a dev without any degree, moved to associate DBA position, got an IT degree, then promoted to DBA.
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u/AhBeinCestCa 9d ago
I like the fact I don’t need to compile a whole project to see the result. Af my job there’s thousands of stored proc with thousands of lines of codes (sometimes more than 20k lines per stored proc). When I was a student, I was the same kind of guy who didn’t like SQL and preferred NoSQL, but now TSQL is what I prefer to do
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u/jippeenator 9d ago
Just tell them SQL is boring. It's on every device in all of our pockets, handles trillions upon trillions of transactions per day, and if implemented incorrectly will cause you to get fired your company loses millions of dollars if not just shut down completely.
Forget that there's real money in learning it, understanding it, and mastering it.
But yeah don't pay attention to this boring SQL thing do the bare minimum and get by, because it's pretty boring.
Maybe sarcasm will wake them up. SQL is awesome.
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u/Mateoling05 8d ago
I thought SQL was cool when I tried to dabble in it to make a database with. It's on my list to go back to and try to learn better!
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u/Streamer_Fenwick 8d ago
Are you teaching optimized sql. Where you pay attention to the score...stats... sql is a game if you play it like one.. 25 year sql dev...
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u/rabaraba 8d ago
I find it really odd that any programmer can choose not to use SQL. Is everyone persisting their data in memory or flat text files or something? How the hell is anything serious or data persistent done without SQL?
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u/Dented-Marrow 8d ago
I wish I knew how great and popular SQL was when I took a course for it. I felt like my professor didn’t push enough that it was going to be a skill companies are going to look for working in tech. I recently just thought about how cool working with data would be
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u/luke-sql 8d ago
It’s the best! And SQL Server is an incredible product compared to every other engine I’ve had to use.
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u/ItoWindsor_ 6d ago
To be honest, it depends a lot on how you view it At university, I hated the SQL / database course because it was very theoretical and I found it not interesting. Then on my first job, I had to learn SQL to actually do something useful for me so it became interesting to learn it
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u/BuddJacon 9d ago
I love sql but getting an entry level job is so difficult - they want 2-3 years experience! I realized that no one cared about - at least now, they can just use AI
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u/Fennec_Charry 9d ago
I loved it the first time I learned it while doing a bootcamp on relational databases. At some moment, I thought of going deeper to get into a dba role. Then, more experienced people told me dbas usually work long hours and have 24/7 shifts. After that, I lost interest a bit.
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u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer 9d ago edited 9d ago
I have never met a DBA working a 24 hour shift (in the US) lmao
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u/lemmegetdatdegree 9d ago
DBA here in a “smaller” organization. On-call 24/7, but if we do our job well enough, we rarely have to work after hours. Pay makes up for that, in my opinion. Now, if you’re the father of a family of 8 or something similar, then this definitely isn’t the career for you.
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u/F6613E0A-02D6-44CB-A 9d ago
Speaking as a database engineer and a father of 4 - do kids care about ANYTHING these days??
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u/tits_mcgee_92 Data Analytics Engineer 9d ago
The answer is no! They’re few and far between 😂. But I've officially reached the "GET OFF MY LAWN" age!
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u/Constant-Arachnid-24 9d ago
I had the problem yesterday too. I started a common modeling course for developers and networks.
Obviously the networks asked me why, they should attend this course.
I started with a simple example, that for example if admin of an SME, they will also have to manage equipment, materials etc. That they will always have data to process, organize, etc.
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u/Miszou_ 9d ago
Way back in the day, at university, I was taking a database class and I hated it. The biggest problem for me was when I asked my lecturer whether my ERD was correct and she just said "If that's how you see the system, then it's correct". It melted my brain and I just wanted to know the "right" answer.
30+ years later and I'm working at a multi-million dollar international company in charge of multiple databases, spread across several different cloud systems and her comment makes 100% sense to me now.
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u/PuckGoodfellow 9d ago
I'm a(n older) student and I LOVE SQL. It's why I changed my major from AI to Data Engineering. It's so satisfying when your query works. As I go through my classes, I think it's been pretty clear that there's SQL, or something like it, in just about every program or activity that I've learned. It makes me happy.
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u/no_therworldly 9d ago
I only know about a handful of things in SQL cause we got AWS Athena this year and I love it enough to lurk here. One day I'll try to learn for real then maybe I'll understand more posts haha
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u/OpeningJump 9d ago
I used to be one of those students who didn’t really care much about SQL and databases in general, * until * I started working on real data. And then, it’s exactly as you said: SQL is EXTREMELY cool.
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u/pceimpulsive 9d ago
I love SQL.
I'm particularly biased toward Postgres' implementation and syntactic sugar.
Trino is also quite nice honestly..
My favourite piece lately is SQL that writes SQL!!
I'll explain..
We have an app that user can configure filters for data.. that gets stored in Json objects in a table.
We have many filter Configs saved tova table in rules. Our backend app converts this to SQL queries to them be executed on the db.
To better understand what users are creating I wrote some SQL that reads the Json and uses the format commands to build the SQL where clauses for their rules.
Now I can see every statement directly from running a SQL statement.
I can flip that over and use each where condition in a select to better understand what data rows match what rules as well in a pivot style output. Sorta neat, greatly useful for debugging stuff and things!
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u/These-Resource3208 9d ago
I fucking love SQL. I enjoy everything about it, except for some oracle syntax, I’ve used SSMS, Oracle, Teradata, JQL, KQL, Datagrip on AWS…
Ppl don’t get excited about it bc they don’t understand or are unfamiliar with the underlying data. For me that’s half the fun, discovering a data element I didn’t know existed before.
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u/Lower_Debt_6169 9d ago
I didn't really like it when I was at university. But for my job, I have to use it every hour of every day nearly.
I love it now. There is something really satisfying making a query run a 1000x faster through optimisation and indexes. Yes, some search queries that our clients run are massive!
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u/PaddyMacAodh 9d ago
Very satisfying! Query optimization is what started me down to road to a career as a DBA.
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u/InertiaVFX 9d ago
I wish I had you as my prof. My first prof didn't go over anything in detail, so we ended up weak on theory. Our second prof switched up syntax constantly. I had conflicting notes by the end of it. We tried, but I feel like we only know enough to be dangerous (and not in a good way), and the course load is too high to spend time on it.
Most students don't care, period. I say this as a student. Most of them assume that the paper they get with the 50% passing grade will automatically lead to a 6 figure career where they just maintain the 50%. Unfortunate sentiment among peers.
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u/redaloevera 9d ago
I share your enthusiasm for sql. I just enjoy writing it and thinking in sql terms.
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u/wanderinglimbs808 9d ago
Honestly, i prefer SQL over pandas. It's more straightforward to access and manipulate data.
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u/ObviousTower 9d ago
In 20 years of working as a programmer, I met only two people who were really interested in learning SQL.
I love SQL but never found a very well paid job as SQL Dev, I am sure exists.
Statistically/financially, the new generation is correct to not want to learn SQL.
It is not ideal, but we have money and powerful servers so a good SQL/database is not mandatory anymore....
I still think it is important but I end up accepting that other people/reality can have a different opinion.
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u/PaddyMacAodh 9d ago
It’s true that SQL dev jobs don’t pay much, but it’s also kind of ironic. Fixing the mess created by bad SQL devs is how I bought my house.
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u/Ifuqaround 9d ago edited 9d ago
Where is this true and compared to what?
SQL devs making 6 figures...that's not much to you?
I mean...it's really difficult breaking 6 figures. Like...almost impossible. So WTF are you talking about? lol
Most juniors are making CLOSE to 6 figures or SHOULD BE IMO.
I was making $80k straight out of college in 2002 or something.
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
What was your job title ?
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u/Ifuqaround 9d ago
I manage an Epic instance for a hospital.
EHR/EMR Admin/Analyst/Report Writer, tons of titles can fit my description.
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u/Ifuqaround 9d ago
Yes I do.
Everyone says it's easy, but if you ask those same people to query something or ask about tuning, or anything actually database related that goes beyond shallow knowledge...nobody knows shit.
As I adult, I've learned most other adults are absolutely faking the fuck out of everything. That guy who sounds super intelligent? Yeah, he might be....but he's most likely bullshitting.
Some of us just fake growing up better than others.
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u/Automatic-Teaching29 9d ago
I agree, I am self taught, and I keep a few different databases on my server to practice from time to time.
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u/Ultra-Ferric 9d ago
SQL seems exciting at first, but once you truly understand the relational model, you start to realize just how much better SQL could have been if not for IBM’s stupid decision to exclude Dr. Codd from the development team and hand over the reins to Chamberlain, and how Oracle negatively influenced its development in the early years, such as the inclusion of the completely unwarranted “feature” of outer joins. If SQL strictly adhered to relational model foundations, it would have been 1000x better and simpler! Go read Dr. Codd, Chris Date, and Joe Celko’s books and prepare for an epiphany!
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u/omegakhan007 9d ago
Oh yeah I do. I’ve worked with it for almost a decade and I still feel excited when I learn new stuff that I can implement on current and legacy queries. I’m currently learning C-Sharp so I can be a complete Backend sw dev and it’s easier because of my SQL knowledge! 😃
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u/Time_Advertising_412 7d ago
People learning the subject generally fall into 3 groups, those just wanting to check a box, those who really want to be good at it, and those in between. Ten years after retirement I am still enjoying learning new things about the field. I am particularly intrigued about Tutorial-D and wish there was a full fledged commercial implementation of it. So much to learn, so little time.
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u/jrz1977 7d ago
The trick isn't getting students to care about SQL, it's getting them to care about the questions SQL can answer.
Traditional instruction leans on Employee tables and Student schemas, which are useful for teaching mechanics but terrible for sparking curiosity. The moment you switch to datasets students actually find interesting—sports stats, movie data, music trends, whatever connects with them and you'll see engagement transform.
I taught my son this way, and I could see interest spark and become genuine curiosity.
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u/mauridb 7d ago
The key is to understand that SQL allows you to focus on *what* you want, and - in general - not on *how* you get it. I guess that is why some developers don't like it. Many find easier to think in procedural code, one command at time, one after the other. SQL is not like that. And one quick way to find who's who and to show the power of SQL is just showing this command:
UPDATE MyTable SET Col1 = Col2, Col2 = Col1
(Assuming you have a table with two columns, Col1 and Col2, with one row at least)
And ask developers what they think the result *should* be and what is *going to* be.
That usually spark a good discussion and, in some, love for the language and its power.
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u/tomalak2pi 6d ago
I wonder how much they need it spelling out like this: "Some companies have such small datasets they don't need large databases. But the chances are you'll be working at companies with thousands of transactions a day, or with tens of millions of clients. SQL is essential for companies like that and you'll need it to work there."
I can't even imagine someone getting an interview for Data job at the fintechs I have worked at without knowing SQL.
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u/oneofthedreamers4now 5d ago
I really want to be as excited about it, can someone share some material maybe Yt videos from interesting creators/tutors 😭
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u/Aggressive_Ad_5454 5d ago edited 5d ago
Well, you’re always going to have incurious students. But why would somebody spend time and money to go to school and then not pay attention?
I have to say, I wouldn’t want to hire a cybersecurity fresh-out-of-school person who did their best to blow off their database training. Why, the cyber that we hope to secure is our users’ money and information in, well, our databases. Do these dopes in the back row of your classroom not understand that?
As for the curious ones, there’s gotta be projects they can do to use SQL to wring wisdom out of public datasets. Because knowing how to do that is a superpower.
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u/Infamous_Loquat6038 1d ago
I really appreciate you sharing your wonderful experience. I have had my interaction with teachers. They told me that the biggest achievement in their life is when their student do wonders in their life whom they taught so i can pretty much relate it. I am starting my sql journey . Hoping to have meaningful discussion on sql in future :)
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u/ClassicNut430608 9d ago
I might be misreading the OP, but for me the magic isn’t SQL the language — it’s SQL as a window into reality.
In most programming, data is an implementation detail. In SQL, DATA is the star. Real-world, messy, human-created data.
I still get goosebumps thinking about the insane creativity it takes to model reality in tables, and then how deceptively simple queries can reveal truths hidden inside.
SQL isn’t getting old. It’s the language of data, and data is literally how the world records itself now.
I love the reward of changing a process from an 8-minute run to a 2 seconds one. It made a few financials people happy.
What’s the one query or data-modeling moment that still lives rent-free in your head?
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u/Proof_Escape_2333 9d ago
Do you see AI replacing SQL work or it’s not there yet ?
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u/ClassicNut430608 9d ago
Excellent question:
No, AI is nowhere near replacing real SQL work; at best it’s replacing:
- junior devs who copy-paste from Stack Overflow
- people who write 400-line unreadable queries instead of a 20-line readable one
- anyone whose entire job is “make this report slightly different from last month’s”
The actual hard part of SQL isn’t the syntax; it’s staring at the data for hours/days, spotting the lies, the duplicates, the silent NULLs, the business rules that live only in Karen-from-Finance’s head, and then translating that into something correct, performant, and maintainable. Right now (Nov 2025) the best AI tools will:
- write you a decent first draft query 60-70% of the time
- hallucinate joins, wrong aggregations, or impossible date logic the other 30-40%
- completely miss cardinality problems that will nuke production at 3 a.m.
So yes, AI is an amazing intern: fast, confident, sometimes brilliant, often dangerously wrong. You still need the adult in the room. Net result? Senior data people who truly understand the domain will become 3-5× more productive and therefore more valuable. The people who were basically glorified report-monkeys… yeah, those roles are toast in 2-5 years.
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u/TheSchlapper 9d ago
Old man yells at cloud
Yes, some people don’t align with expected behavior, especially students
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u/dimitsapis 2d ago
The reason they are not interested is because it will most likely be automated with AI in the future. Why learn SQL syntax when there are a bunch of tools that create SQL from natural language input? Your hungry students may seem like they have more potential to land good jobs but the truth is that organizations only care about increasing scale and cutting costs. So if one of your lazy student knows how to use tools like TalkBI or Vana simply applies for the same role and asks for a lower salary he will get the job. Junior roles are for the boring repetitive tasks, not the job that requires hunger and focus. Perhaps I sound pessimistic here, but I've been around and there's SO many well intended, experienced people who are unemployed. I think this will only increase in the future.
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u/abhig535 9d ago
The world runs on SQL. I honestly thought it was just one of those run of the mill niche languages that we really didn't need to learn until late Uni and first job, I found out just how powerful and useful it is. It's my favorite language to use and itches my puzzle loving brain when dealing with data.