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What is the best way to learn dbt?
I’ve decided to start with DBT as my first tool in the data field. If there’s anything important I should know before diving in, or if you have any suggestions or tips about learning DBT, I’d really appreciate your input.
You’re very welcome to share any advice!
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11 answers
Updated
Sardys’s Answer
I love this question because I'm also an ETL developer, and this is a key part of the modern data stack with cloud-first, ELT workflows. Many of the previous answers are a great starting point, so here are some more tips:
1. Check out DBT's official site for guidance and resources. You can start here: https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/get-started-dbt.
2. Try using dbt Cloud's free tier. It's a managed platform you can access in your browser to build data models without installing anything.
3. Work on a project with public datasets like NYC taxi trips, COVID data, or Netflix data. This will help you practice writing and testing models and see how dbt works in a real pipeline.
4. Watch tutorials on YouTube for more insights.
5. Join the dbt community to ask questions, find events, and learn from others using dbt in real projects.
I hope these tips help, and I wish you the best on your journey!
1. Check out DBT's official site for guidance and resources. You can start here: https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/get-started-dbt.
2. Try using dbt Cloud's free tier. It's a managed platform you can access in your browser to build data models without installing anything.
3. Work on a project with public datasets like NYC taxi trips, COVID data, or Netflix data. This will help you practice writing and testing models and see how dbt works in a real pipeline.
4. Watch tutorials on YouTube for more insights.
5. Join the dbt community to ask questions, find events, and learn from others using dbt in real projects.
I hope these tips help, and I wish you the best on your journey!
Thankyou for the advice, Sardys. I'll definitely put your great advice into action!
And thanks for the encouragement!
Anjali
Updated
Vidhya’s Answer
DBT relies on SQL, so it's important to learn how to write SQL queries. Get to know data warehouses like Snowflake, BigQuery, or PostgreSQL. Understand the basics of data modeling to see how raw data becomes neat and useful. Also, learn some GIT commands since DBT uses GIT to keep track of changes in your data models.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this.
Anjali
Updated
Max’s Answer
DBT is a great platform to become familiar with for data analytics, data science, data structures, and analytical skills when working with large and complex data sources. ELT to extract, load, and transform data can be a good place to start for understanding the dynamics of manipulating a data source into the context that you need for your research or task. Practicing SQL to query through a large dataset and extract information that you identify as useful can be a good method to start eliminating edge cases and identify the meat and potatoes of data (the critical elements).
Thank you so much, Max!
Anjali
Updated
a’s Answer
Anjali - great question:
This web site has a lot of good information about DBT, as well as a section on how to learn it:
https://www.analytics8.com/blog/dbt-overview-what-is-dbt-and-what-can-it-do-for-my-data-pipeline/
I'd suggest that you find one or more sources of raw data, like weather reports, stock market data, or other things happening locally, regionally, or globally to practice with (prefer something you're interested in or passionate about).
Then use SQL and DBT to import and analyze the data.
Practice understanding the DBT workflow - that's where you'll spend most of your time.
Be sure to spend time learning SQL and the concepts behind ETL and ELT (and the difference between the two).
Take time to review web pages like this, to gain additional insights of what DBT does, and how people are using it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataengineering/comments/r8pa3i/why_is_data_build_tool_dbt_is_so_popular_what_are/
Remember - there's lot of opinions out there, so you have to read a lot, and then look for patterns and useful info, and throw away everything else.
Very best wishes!
- Blaine
This web site has a lot of good information about DBT, as well as a section on how to learn it:
https://www.analytics8.com/blog/dbt-overview-what-is-dbt-and-what-can-it-do-for-my-data-pipeline/
I'd suggest that you find one or more sources of raw data, like weather reports, stock market data, or other things happening locally, regionally, or globally to practice with (prefer something you're interested in or passionate about).
Then use SQL and DBT to import and analyze the data.
Practice understanding the DBT workflow - that's where you'll spend most of your time.
Be sure to spend time learning SQL and the concepts behind ETL and ELT (and the difference between the two).
Take time to review web pages like this, to gain additional insights of what DBT does, and how people are using it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataengineering/comments/r8pa3i/why_is_data_build_tool_dbt_is_so_popular_what_are/
Remember - there's lot of opinions out there, so you have to read a lot, and then look for patterns and useful info, and throw away everything else.
Very best wishes!
- Blaine
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Anjali
Updated
Savyata’s Answer
That’s a great choice—dbt is a powerful tool for data transformation! Here are some tips to get started:
- **Start with the official dbt documentation and tutorials:** The [dbt Learn](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/introduction) site has step-by-step guides and example projects.
- **Try the dbt Cloud free tier:** It’s beginner-friendly and lets you experiment without complex setup.
- **Work on a small project:** Practice by building simple models and running them locally. This helps you understand how dbt organizes SQL and manages dependencies.
- **Learn version control basics:** dbt works well with Git, so knowing basic Git commands is helpful.
- **Join the dbt Community:** The [dbt Slack](https://community.getdbt.com/) is active and supportive—great for asking questions and learning from others.
- **Explore YouTube tutorials:** There are many beginner-friendly dbt walkthroughs.
Take it step by step, and don’t worry if it feels overwhelming at first. With practice, it’ll start to make sense. Good luck on your data journey!
- **Start with the official dbt documentation and tutorials:** The [dbt Learn](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/introduction) site has step-by-step guides and example projects.
- **Try the dbt Cloud free tier:** It’s beginner-friendly and lets you experiment without complex setup.
- **Work on a small project:** Practice by building simple models and running them locally. This helps you understand how dbt organizes SQL and manages dependencies.
- **Learn version control basics:** dbt works well with Git, so knowing basic Git commands is helpful.
- **Join the dbt Community:** The [dbt Slack](https://community.getdbt.com/) is active and supportive—great for asking questions and learning from others.
- **Explore YouTube tutorials:** There are many beginner-friendly dbt walkthroughs.
Take it step by step, and don’t worry if it feels overwhelming at first. With practice, it’ll start to make sense. Good luck on your data journey!
I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. Thank you so much for the encouragement!
Anjali
Updated
Atul’s Answer
I'm not an expert in this area, but you might find Khan Academy and YouTube helpful for learning about DBT. These are great places to start. You can also try using ChatGPT to get more details and find tutorial references.
Thank you, this is really helpful.
Anjali
Updated
Balaji’s Answer
Hi Anjali,
Data is key important in every industry and learning DBT is great to become familiar with data related techniques to deal with large and complex data sources. Check basic tutorials and You Tube for more insights. Work on sample projects to gain more knowledge. Check out in Udemy for best course as well and join dbt forums.
Data is key important in every industry and learning DBT is great to become familiar with data related techniques to deal with large and complex data sources. Check basic tutorials and You Tube for more insights. Work on sample projects to gain more knowledge. Check out in Udemy for best course as well and join dbt forums.
Thankyou for the answer!
Anjali
Updated
Maitry’s Answer
Hi Anjali,
Great choice starting with DBT! Begin with the https://docs.getdbt.com/ and https://learn.getdbt.com/ for hands-on practice. Make sure your SQL skills are solid, and try building a mini project using public datasets. Also, get familiar with GIT, as its often used with DBT in real-work projects. Your on a strong path toward roles like data analyst or analytics engineer - Good luck!
Great choice starting with DBT! Begin with the https://docs.getdbt.com/ and https://learn.getdbt.com/ for hands-on practice. Make sure your SQL skills are solid, and try building a mini project using public datasets. Also, get familiar with GIT, as its often used with DBT in real-work projects. Your on a strong path toward roles like data analyst or analytics engineer - Good luck!
Thank you, Maitry for the advice.
Anjali
Updated
Durganand’s Answer
1. Begin with Official Guides
Start with the official dbt documentation. It offers clear guides and examples to help you understand the basics. The dbt Learn section provides easy-to-follow tutorials for beginners.
2. Use Free Online Courses
Enroll in the free dbt Fundamentals Course by dbt Labs. This self-paced course teaches you the basics like setup, modeling, and testing.
3. Practice with Projects
Put your knowledge into action by working on small projects or using sample datasets. Try using dbt in a local setup or with free cloud options like BigQuery’s free tier or Snowflake’s trial.
4. Connect with the Community
Join the dbt Community Slack to meet others, ask questions, and share your journey. Visit the dbt Discourse forum for discussions and advice.
5. Explore Additional Resources
Watch dbt tutorials on YouTube. Read blogs from dbt Labs and other data engineering sources. Follow dbt Labs and data experts on LinkedIn and Twitter for the latest updates and tips.
Start with the official dbt documentation. It offers clear guides and examples to help you understand the basics. The dbt Learn section provides easy-to-follow tutorials for beginners.
2. Use Free Online Courses
Enroll in the free dbt Fundamentals Course by dbt Labs. This self-paced course teaches you the basics like setup, modeling, and testing.
3. Practice with Projects
Put your knowledge into action by working on small projects or using sample datasets. Try using dbt in a local setup or with free cloud options like BigQuery’s free tier or Snowflake’s trial.
4. Connect with the Community
Join the dbt Community Slack to meet others, ask questions, and share your journey. Visit the dbt Discourse forum for discussions and advice.
5. Explore Additional Resources
Watch dbt tutorials on YouTube. Read blogs from dbt Labs and other data engineering sources. Follow dbt Labs and data experts on LinkedIn and Twitter for the latest updates and tips.
Updated
Ram’s Answer
Hi Anjali,
The best place to start with dbt is getdbt.com. There are several resources there such as white papers, blogs, webinars and documentation. Even the ability to get certified. However I would also place emphasis on applying what you learned with real examples/ applications in a couple of platforms- a) Google Big Query- There are several free data sets you can get access to within the free tier and you could try applying dbt to transform some data to gain more experience b) Databricks- again it has a free tier, so applying dbt there will also be useful to your learning. Ultimately a platform is a typical place at an organization where actual data work is done. So applying your dbt learning there will be very useful.
Good luck in your career journey!
The best place to start with dbt is getdbt.com. There are several resources there such as white papers, blogs, webinars and documentation. Even the ability to get certified. However I would also place emphasis on applying what you learned with real examples/ applications in a couple of platforms- a) Google Big Query- There are several free data sets you can get access to within the free tier and you could try applying dbt to transform some data to gain more experience b) Databricks- again it has a free tier, so applying dbt there will also be useful to your learning. Ultimately a platform is a typical place at an organization where actual data work is done. So applying your dbt learning there will be very useful.
Good luck in your career journey!
Updated
Matt’s Answer
Hi Anjali,
Start by learning the basics of SQL, which is essential. Begin with fundamental concepts and explore the features of various databases, as each one operates a bit differently. Use AI tools like ChatGPT to your advantage. They can guide you in creating functions and SQL queries effectively.
Remember, every company has its own tech stack and database systems, so be prepared for some variations in the professional world.
Start by learning the basics of SQL, which is essential. Begin with fundamental concepts and explore the features of various databases, as each one operates a bit differently. Use AI tools like ChatGPT to your advantage. They can guide you in creating functions and SQL queries effectively.
Remember, every company has its own tech stack and database systems, so be prepared for some variations in the professional world.