What is SQL and what is it for?

What is SQL?
SQL means “Structured Query Language”, or “Structured Query Language”, in Portuguese. In short, it is a programming language for dealing with relational databases (based on tables). It was created so that several developers could access and modify company data simultaneously, in a simple and unified way.

What is it for?
SQL programming can be used to analyze or execute tasks on tables, mainly through the following commands: insert (‘insert’), search (‘search’), update (‘update’) and delete (‘delete’). However, this does not mean that SQL cannot do more advanced things, such as writing queries (query commands) with multiple information.

Why learn SQL?
According to Dataquest, a reference school in data science, there are three main reasons why professionals who use data need to be concerned with learning the SQL language:

1. SQL is used anywhere;
2. It is in high demand, as many companies use it;
3. Although there are already other alternatives, SQL will never fail to be relevant.
It is a fundamental language for any professional of analysis, science or data engineering, being even more used than Python and R. However, due to its simplicity, it is not necessary to be a programmer to learn it, and in more and more areas knowledge in SQL as a complement to everyday tasks has been required.

Areas that require or may require SQL:
Programming
Software Engineering
Database manager
Quality Analyst
Business Intelligence
Development
Marketing and Content and Social Networks
Consultancy
Project management
Information Technology
Network Engineering
Technical support
big data
Data Journalism
And basically, any area that deals with technology, and has its own database, may require knowledge in SQL as a professional complement.

Importance in the market
According to Catho's Professions and Salaries Guide, the average salary for an SQL systems analyst in Brazil is R $ 3,473.19; database managers, coordinators and consultants can have salaries above R $ 7 thousand.

With today's digitized world, knowing how to handle large amounts of data is critical. The SQL language is already seen as one of the pillar knowledge of any professional who works with technology; in addition, with the high competitiveness of the market, knowing information as useful as SQL is certainly a great differential.