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What are the best resources/platform to learn and practice SQL specifically for preparing to work with dbt (Data Build Tool) ?
Would love to hear from anyone who's already working in this field or has gone through the learning process.
Your suggestions and experiences would be really helpful..
thank you in advance! 😊
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6 answers
Updated
Paul’s Answer
Here are some great resources to help you learn dbt and SQL in a friendly way:
1. dbt-Specific Resources
- dbt Learn: Visit learn.getdbt.com for interactive courses that teach SQL, Jinja (the language dbt uses), and dbt workflows. Perfect for beginners.
- dbt Documentation & Tutorials: Check out the official dbt docs and YouTube channel for practical examples and guides.
2. SQL Practice Platforms
- Mode SQL Tutorial: A beginner-friendly tutorial that covers real-world analytics, similar to what you’ll do in dbt projects.
- LeetCode (SQL Section): Offers a variety of SQL problems with instant feedback, from easy to hard.
- SQLBolt: Provides interactive lessons and exercises to build basic SQL skills.
- Kaggle (SQL Notebooks): Features hands-on SQL exercises with real datasets, great for analytics.
3. Practice with DBT-Style Projects
- dbt Labs’ Jaffle Shop Tutorial: A step-by-step guide to creating a dbt project from scratch, including writing SQL models.
- Mock Data Warehouses: Set up a free database like BigQuery Sandbox, Snowflake Free Trial, or PostgreSQL and practice writing dbt models with your own SQL queries.
4. Community & Additional Resources
- dbt Community Slack: Join to ask questions, share resources, and learn best practices.
- YouTube Channels: Channels like Data with Danny and Data School often discuss SQL and dbt topics.
1. dbt-Specific Resources
- dbt Learn: Visit learn.getdbt.com for interactive courses that teach SQL, Jinja (the language dbt uses), and dbt workflows. Perfect for beginners.
- dbt Documentation & Tutorials: Check out the official dbt docs and YouTube channel for practical examples and guides.
2. SQL Practice Platforms
- Mode SQL Tutorial: A beginner-friendly tutorial that covers real-world analytics, similar to what you’ll do in dbt projects.
- LeetCode (SQL Section): Offers a variety of SQL problems with instant feedback, from easy to hard.
- SQLBolt: Provides interactive lessons and exercises to build basic SQL skills.
- Kaggle (SQL Notebooks): Features hands-on SQL exercises with real datasets, great for analytics.
3. Practice with DBT-Style Projects
- dbt Labs’ Jaffle Shop Tutorial: A step-by-step guide to creating a dbt project from scratch, including writing SQL models.
- Mock Data Warehouses: Set up a free database like BigQuery Sandbox, Snowflake Free Trial, or PostgreSQL and practice writing dbt models with your own SQL queries.
4. Community & Additional Resources
- dbt Community Slack: Join to ask questions, share resources, and learn best practices.
- YouTube Channels: Channels like Data with Danny and Data School often discuss SQL and dbt topics.
Thankyou for the advice. This is amazing !
Anjali
Updated
Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
If you’re a complete beginner, these additional platforms will boost your confidence and skills through hands-on SQL practice and dbt-focused learning:
DataCamp: Offers interactive lessons with guided exercises; perfect for learning how dbt fits into modern data stacks.
🔗 https://www.datacamp.com
StrataScratch: Real-world SQL questions from top tech companies
🔗 https://www.stratascratch.com
Replit: cloud-based coding environment.
🔗 https://replit.com
Codecademy : SQL basics, then branching into dbt workflows.
🔗 https://www.codecademy.com/learn/sql
HackerRank: Offers a wide range of SQL challenges, from beginner to advanced
🔗 https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/tutorials/10-days-of-sql
DataCamp: Offers interactive lessons with guided exercises; perfect for learning how dbt fits into modern data stacks.
🔗 https://www.datacamp.com
StrataScratch: Real-world SQL questions from top tech companies
🔗 https://www.stratascratch.com
Replit: cloud-based coding environment.
🔗 https://replit.com
Codecademy : SQL basics, then branching into dbt workflows.
🔗 https://www.codecademy.com/learn/sql
HackerRank: Offers a wide range of SQL challenges, from beginner to advanced
🔗 https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/tutorials/10-days-of-sql
I appreciate you taking your time to answer my question. Thankyou!
Anjali
Updated
Pavani’s Answer
Hi Anjali,
If you are preparing to work with Data Build Tool, along with basic SQL, you may want to focus on analytics engineering, which covers data modeling, CTEs, and creating modular SQL for transformations.
Here are some helpful resources to practice SQL with context of dbt:
https://mode.com/sql-tutorial - This offers hands-on SQL practice with real data, ideal for mastering joins, window functions, and CTEs.
https://sqlpad.io - This simulates an in-house analytics environment, perfect for testing SQL transformations before using them in dbt.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll do great!
If you are preparing to work with Data Build Tool, along with basic SQL, you may want to focus on analytics engineering, which covers data modeling, CTEs, and creating modular SQL for transformations.
Here are some helpful resources to practice SQL with context of dbt:
https://mode.com/sql-tutorial - This offers hands-on SQL practice with real data, ideal for mastering joins, window functions, and CTEs.
https://sqlpad.io - This simulates an in-house analytics environment, perfect for testing SQL transformations before using them in dbt.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll do great!
Thank you for giving me advice ! I really needed it.
Anjali
Updated
Krishna’s Answer
Hey Anjali!
Give these a try:
1. Data Lemur: This is a great place to practice SQL with fun exercises. Check it out here: datalemur.com/questions/sql-where-practice-exercise
2. W3Schools: A fantastic resource to start learning SQL basics. Visit here: w3schools.com/sql/sql_intro.asp
You've got this! Good luck
Give these a try:
1. Data Lemur: This is a great place to practice SQL with fun exercises. Check it out here: datalemur.com/questions/sql-where-practice-exercise
2. W3Schools: A fantastic resource to start learning SQL basics. Visit here: w3schools.com/sql/sql_intro.asp
You've got this! Good luck
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this. Thankyou !
Anjali
Updated
Malik’s Answer
I started my career writing SQL queries and building dashboards. When I was learning I would use recorded lectures from professors at universities on YouTube, took structured courses, and go to learning platforms (w3schools, coursera, udemy, learnsql) for SQL. I found it to be extremely challenging but it became easier overtime.
Thank you, Malik for the advice.
Anjali
Updated
David’s Answer
To effectively prepare for working with dbt (Data Build Tool), it's essential to learn SQL from an analytics engineering perspective, focusing on data transformation, readability, and modular queries. One of the best starting points is dbt Learn, the official hands-on training course provided by dbt Labs. It walks you through setting up dbt, working with a warehouse (like BigQuery), and using Jinja templating inside SQL—key elements of real dbt projects. Their documentation and blog posts are also packed with practical use cases and best practices that align closely with how companies use dbt in production.
Once you understand the basics of dbt, it's important to strengthen your core SQL skills. Mode Analytics’ SQL Tutorial is a fantastic, beginner-friendly platform that teaches SQL using real business problems—very similar to the context in which dbt is used. If you're looking to challenge yourself with more advanced SQL, StrataScratch and LeetCode’s SQL problems provide real-world datasets and questions that help sharpen logic, subqueries, window functions, and joins. These are all commonly used in dbt models, especially in staging and transformation layers.
To truly bridge theory and practice, consider setting up a local or cloud-based dbt project with a free-tier warehouse like BigQuery, Snowflake, or DuckDB. Load sample datasets (e.g., from Kaggle or public Google datasets) and build a mini dbt project using models with naming conventions like stg_, int_, and fct_. This will help you apply your SQL knowledge in a real dbt context, understand dependencies, and explore testing, documentation, and deployment—all critical components of a dbt workflow.
Once you understand the basics of dbt, it's important to strengthen your core SQL skills. Mode Analytics’ SQL Tutorial is a fantastic, beginner-friendly platform that teaches SQL using real business problems—very similar to the context in which dbt is used. If you're looking to challenge yourself with more advanced SQL, StrataScratch and LeetCode’s SQL problems provide real-world datasets and questions that help sharpen logic, subqueries, window functions, and joins. These are all commonly used in dbt models, especially in staging and transformation layers.
To truly bridge theory and practice, consider setting up a local or cloud-based dbt project with a free-tier warehouse like BigQuery, Snowflake, or DuckDB. Load sample datasets (e.g., from Kaggle or public Google datasets) and build a mini dbt project using models with naming conventions like stg_, int_, and fct_. This will help you apply your SQL knowledge in a real dbt context, understand dependencies, and explore testing, documentation, and deployment—all critical components of a dbt workflow.