Reddit reviews SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (3rd Edition)

Hello, I would suggest to get a good book on SQL basics, install an open source free database server like MySQL on your mac (via DMG) http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/4.1/en/macosx-installation.html and just get the basic commands. Nothing to get certified in. The user side, you, are just going to perform basic commands. Database Administrators with bazillion years of experience (/s) will take care of the data servers for the users, you. Good luck.

A good book for you would probably be:
SQL Queries for mere mortals.

http://www.amazon.com/SQL-Queries-Mere-Mortals-Hands-/dp/0321992474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426695830&sr=8-1&keywords=sql+for+mortals

Any SQL certification for you, as a data analyst or a financial analyst, is completely useless. Just get the practical skills and show them on your interview.

If you're looking for someone to go over the language one on one with you, you could try r/ProgrammingBuddies

Otherwise, you could buy SQL Queries for Mere Mortals which was incredible in understanding and writing queries in comparison to learning from the websites that I tried. You could probably get the book via "other means" if you want, as well. You can supplement the book with Google/StackOverflow searching.

If you want to try before you buy, you could use CodeAcademy's SQL course - I don't really like recommending CA to people but I found their SQL course to be useful for a general understanding.

I really love these two books.
https://www.amazon.com/Database-Design-Mere-Mortals-Hands/dp/0321884493/
https://www.amazon.com/SQL-Queries-Mere-Mortals-Hands/dp/0321992474/

>But basically after that I have to decide soon whether or not to focus on a Cisco, or Microsoft track at my college.

Sounds like your "college" is a joke. You should be learning the fundamentals that are responsible for the underpinnings of these technologies, not vendor recommendations that can easily almost be called propaganda. Especially at your beginner level, you wouldn't even touch technologies as part of your responsibility at the level taught by an MCSE or CCNA unless you work for an absolute moron.

The world is larger than Cisco and Microsoft. I suggest you look for actual academic books on Networking and Server Architecture to learn more useful things.

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (6th Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0132856204/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_4Ev3wbE0EVGDH

Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0672323168/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_KFv3wbW3QNAGF

For future tracks:

Databases:

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321992474/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_SGv3wbGCZ24FA

Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0133970779/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_qHv3wb1YC95NS

Security:

Computer Security: Principles and Practice (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0133773922/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_ZHv3wb7J1YJKC

Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition: A condensed field guide for the Cyber Security Incident Responder. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1500734756/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_uIv3wbK1361D2

Hardware:

Upgrading and Repairing PCs (22nd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789756102/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_gJv3wbCKGA502

Problem Solving:

The Thinker's Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812928083/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_XKv3wbKQFJK6Q

Best of luck. I recommend learning Shell languages and the basics of shell navigation and data manipulation techniques for various operating systems as well.

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals is an excellent beginner's read front to back. The same guy wrote a database design book, which I did not find as helpful.

As for software, it depends on what database system you end up using. I use SQL Server and a little MySQL, but I know PostgreSQL, SQLite, and many others are popular.

If you're learning indipendantly, I'd start with MySQL , as it is free (open source) and you will be able to learn the basics of SQL in any SQL database. It also has a good free GUI development tool, MySQL Workbench, and a robust online community.

Like any programming language, the best way to learn is to build something with it. So start thinking of something you want to build, so you'll have something to do once you know enough to play around.

I recommend [SQL Queries for Mere Mortals ($36.64)](SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321992474/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nCQrybW9TPPNN) and [Database Design for Mere Mortals ($31.57)](Database Design for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321884493/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CDQrybA2508FS)

Both helped guide me through my masters program, and they are fairly affordable.

This is a book I wish I read years earlier:

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals

I've always had high opinions of sql for mere mortals. I have the 1st edition kicking around somewhere...