SQL Roadmap for Data Analyst / BI Developer

SQL Roadmap for Data Analyst / BI Developer Jobs

If you want to start a career as a Data Analyst or BI Developer, learning SQL is your first and most important step.

More than 80% of data roles require SQL in interviews.
Even if you know Power BI, Excel or Python, you must know SQL for accessing and analyzing business data.

If you are new to SQL, first read this beginner-friendly blog:
What is SQL? A Complete Beginner’s Guide
https://datavetaa.com/what-is-sql-for-beginners

Why SQL is Essential for Data Careers

Data Analysts and BI Developers use SQL to:

Extract and filter data from databases
Join multiple datasets for reporting
Build dashboards in Power BI and Tableau
Perform business KPI analysis
Automate daily reports and insights

To understand how SQL supports BI tools, check this blog:
Databricks + Power BI Integration Guide

SQL Roadmap to Get a Job in Data Analytics

Stage 1: SQL Fundamentals

Topics:

Relational databases
Tables, Rows, Columns, Keys
SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY
Data types (INT, VARCHAR, DATE)

Example:

SELECT Name, City FROM Customers;

Stage 2: Data Manipulation and Aggregations

Topics:

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
LIKE, IN, BETWEEN filters
Aggregate functions: COUNT, SUM, AVG
GROUP BY and HAVING

Example:

SELECT Department, COUNT(*)
FROM Employees
GROUP BY Department;

Stage 3: Advanced SQL for Analytics

Topics:

JOINS (Inner, Left, Right, Full)
Subqueries, CASE statements
Views & Common Table Expressions (CTE)
Window Functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG)

These topics are frequently asked in interviews:
SQL Interview Questions and Answers
https://datavetaa.com/sql-interview-questions-data-analyst

Example:

SELECT 
    Employee,
    Salary,
    RANK() OVER (ORDER BY Salary DESC) AS Rank
FROM Employees;

Stage 4: SQL for BI Developer Role

Topics:

Indexing and Performance Optimization
Stored Procedures and Functions
Handling NULLs and Constraints
Data Modeling (Star Schema, Keys, Facts & Dimensions)

For deeper BI learning:
Ultimate Guide to Power BI in 2025

Stage 5: Build Practical Projects

Recommended SQL + BI Projects:

Sales Performance Dashboard
HR Attrition Analysis
E-commerce Revenue & Profit Analytics
Supply Chain Inventory Management
Marketing Campaign Performance

Show your projects to employers on a portfolio or GitHub.

For a combined learning approach, refer:
Databricks Architecture Explained (2025)

Job Roles After Learning SQL

RoleSalary Range in IndiaData Analyst₹4 – ₹12 LPABI Developer₹6 – ₹18 LPASQL Developer₹5 – ₹14 LPAData Engineer₹8 – ₹25+ LPA

SQL is the foundation for all these roles.

Timeline to Become Job-Ready (4–8 Weeks)

WeekFocus1SQL Basics + Filtering2Aggregations + Grouping3JOINS + Subqueries4CTE + Window Functions5–6Power BI + Data Modeling7–8Project + Interview practice

Practice at least 100 real SQL queries for confidence.