Is SQL enough for a career?

#beginners #sql #database #career

I only know and work with T-SQL, is it possible to make a career with just SQL database knowledge? Or do I need to expand my skillset to survive as a dev?

Top comments (8)

Hans-Petter Eitvet • Jun 15 '20

I agree with Daniel.
SQL as the only skills, will limit the jobs you can get.
But if database is your thing and no other language is interesting, look into topics like database design, indexing, query optimization, performance. Be the best in that field and that will make a great career.
The world still runs on data and really good database people are rare.

Webb's Wide World • Jun 15 '20

Okay cool, thank you, what can database people do other than data science ?

Helen Anderson • Jun 19 '20

Data Science isn't the only career option.

You can move into Business Intelligence, Data Engineering, Data Analysis and Reporting, Data Warehousing and Architecture, Database Migration to the Cloud, and leading projects that build Data Models.

Webb's Wide World • Jun 19 '20

Okay great, thank you very much that would all require more than SQL I imagine ?

Helen Anderson • Jun 20 '20 • Edited

I'm not sure if you're referring to technical skills and knowledge, or soft skills so I'll cover both.

Every job requires soft skills, it's not enough to only crunch SQL code all day. For all the jobs I've listed you will need:

Time management and organisational skills
Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills
Excellent verbal and written communication, including business process documentation and standards writing
Able to quickly comprehend, analyse, define and describe complex business requirements

As far as technical skills you may need to upskill in these areas:

Reporting tools for Analysts/BI:

SSRS or
PowerBI or
Tableau or
MicroStrategy or
Qlik Sense

Integration and ETL tools for Data Warehousing/Engineering:

SSIS or
DBT or
Airflow

Database modelling and design skills for Data Warehousing and Architecture

Performance monitoring and tuning for Database Administration

Knowledge of High Availability solutions, such as Mirroring, Replication, Clustering, & Always On (Availability Groups)
Understanding of database security users and roles
Basic performance monitoring and analysis of SQL queries
Patching and upgrades Development knowledge of APIs, Python is becoming more desirable for more technical Data Engineering roles but isn't essential for every company.