Think about the role that Big Data plays in our day-to-day lives and how we contribute to it. Every time we tweet, send emails, search online, or ride in a connected car, we’re creating thousands of data points.
Those data sets are used by companies (both large and small) to help inform the creation and improvements of new products, services, and business strategies.
It’s predicted that by 2025, an estimated 463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally, reports Weforum.org. As more data is created, more companies have expressed a need for qualified employees with SQL skills (Structured Query Language, the first language of data analysis, and universal language for relational databases) to analyze and create actionable intelligence based on that data.
In fact, there are currently more than 440,000 jobs that reference having SQL experience on LinkedIn.
To help meet this demand, the Udacity team is incredibly excited to introduce the SQL Nanodegree program.
The SQL Nanodegree program is designed to give eager learners the skills they need to become the much-needed resource employers are looking for.
What to Expect in the SQL Nanodegree Program
SQL is one of the most-desirable skills today and empowers learners to analyze data so they can help their organization make better, faster decisions.
In this in-depth instruction to this database management language, learners will cover the pros and cons of relational databases versus non-relational databases, and have access to an interactive workspace where learners can run Postgres SQL queries on relatively large databases.
What’s more, by taking the SQL Nanodegree program, learners will be equipped to know how and when to utilize SQL to provide data-backed insights into complex business strategies. These are the skills employers like Google, Netflix, AirBnB, and Uber are looking for.
The SQL Nanodegree program is great for anyone who wants to upskill their data-driven decision making prowess and is ideal for professionals such as product managers, data analysts, business strategists, marketing analysts, data scientists, and other occupations that can benefit from data analysis with an SQL focus.
Additionally, for most data science jobs, proficiency in SQL ranks even higher than proficiency in programming languages and integrates well with other languages like Python and R.
SQL Nanodegree Program Courses — an Early Look
The new SQL Nanodegree program courses will help learners understand how to justify when to apply SQL for a particular use case.
For example, in the first course learners will understand how to do the following:
- Execute core SQL commands to select, manipulate, control access, aggregate, and join data and data tables.
- Use subqueries, several window functions, as well as partitions to complete complex business analysis. Students will also be able to know when to use Subqueries vs. JOINS and make appropriate use of each.
- Clean data, optimize SQL queries and write select advanced SQL functions to meet the use case.
In the second course, learners will understand how to:
- Produce a normalized data schema out of a denormalized, repetitive data schema by following normal form rules.
- Use the SQL DDL to create and alter table structures.
- Learn the SQL DML to insert and update data in tables.
- Optimize the performance of their SQL queries by creating indexes where appropriate.
- Validate that their queries are performing optimally by using the introspection function of their DBMS.
- Design consistent data schemas by using the different constraints available in their database system.
- Articulate the differences and tradeoffs between relational databases and their non-relational counterparts, and justify which one is best for different scenarios.
In addition, the second project will help learners build a clone of the popular social news aggregation and discussion website, Reddit.
What Do You Need to Know Before Taking The Program
Picking up a new query language, such as SQL, or programming language is an ideal way to ensure that you’re ready for the new world of work.
Before taking this program learners should have basic computer skills and a rudimentary understanding of data types (e.g., string, integer, etc.).
If you are looking to be equipped with one of the essential skills for working with data today, the SQL Nanodegree program is the right program for you to take your career to the next level.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to reskill yourself for the future of work!
