From the course: Data Engineering: dbt for SQL

SQL as a data engineer

From the course: Data Engineering: dbt for SQL

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SQL as a data engineer

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- If you're a data engineer chances are you've been using SQL quite extensively. Despite its age originating in the 1970s, SQL remains a critical tool in the data engineer's arsenal. In today's data-driven world, modern data engineers and analysts rely on SQL for a wide range of tasks from data transformation to analysis. The resurgence of SQL can be attributed to the emergence of highly scalable platforms like Snowflake and Databricks. These platforms have made SQL the go-to language for handling large scale data. So let's look at a few reasons why SQL has continued to be a favorite. SQL has been a favorite for a few reasons. First, much of the data engineer's work involves running ETL, extract transform load, operations across various relational databases like Postgres and MySQL. SQL is a language used to interact with these databases and most data engineers are already familiar with it when they start their roles. Second, SQL offers a unified processing data experience. Its versatility allows data engineers to perform ingestion, transformation, aggregation and analytics all within a single language. This simplifies the maintenance and development of data pipelines. Third, SQL can be both scalable and efficient. It's a declarative language, meaning engineers only need to specify the desired data manipulation or retrieval leaving the query optimization engine to handle the complexities of execution. These query optimization engines have become fast and efficient, handling large data sets with ease. Fourth, SQL is user friendly and easy to learn. It's much more straightforward compared to low level programming languages or distributed computing frameworks. Its declarative nature makes it easier to read and understand further contributing to its widespread adoption. The benefits of SQL go on and on making it an essential part of every data engineer's toolkit. However, many data engineers only scratch the surface of SQL's capabilities and may not use it to the full potential. This LinkedIn Learning course is designed to help modern data engineers like you advance your SQL skills by introducing various methods and techniques to harness its power effectively. Get ready to up your SQL game and unleash the true potential of your data engineering endeavors.

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