SQL in the finance field - SQL Video Tutorial | LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com (2024)

From the course: SQL for Finance Professionals

SQL in the finance field

- SQL can be a very powerful tool in a financial analyst's toolkit. It's great for business intelligence, forecasting, and financial modeling. Let's talk about why SQL is such an effective tool to use in finance. Knowing how to manipulate and analyze financial data and records is at the heart of financial analysis. Financial analysts often deal with large volumes of data to be able to create their financial models. Two common concepts used by financial analysts are pivot tables and V-lookups. These are spreadsheet concepts we will learn more about later, but for now, be aware that they are widely used for building reporting that financial analysts are responsible for. Both pivot tables and V-lookups have direct translations in the world of SQL and can make the analyst's job much easier and faster. Another reason analysts in the field greatly benefit from using SQL in their day-to-day is that they often may need to get their own data rather than depending on engineers to extract it for them. Often, being able to write simple queries in SQL is all they need to access data that may not be readily available to use for their analyses. It's important to acknowledge that some finance professionals won't need to use SQL. Many of the most common analyses, such as financial statement, ratio, and variance analyses just don't require very much or very complex data, and thus can be easily handled by spreadsheets or other reporting systems. However, when the analyst needs to perform deep dive investigations or complex forecasts or they need to work with engineers to acquire the data, SQL is a huge asset, especially to the analysts who want a competitive edge in their field.

Contents

SQL in the finance field - SQL Video Tutorial | LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com (2024)

FAQs

Is SQL worth learning for finance? ›

- SQL can be a very powerful tool in a financial analyst's toolkit. It's great for business intelligence, forecasting, and financial modeling.

What is the best SQL course for beginners? ›

The Best 6 SQL Courses as of 2024
RankCourse TitlePlatform
1PostgreSQL for EverybodyCoursera
2SQL FundamentalsDataquest
3The Ultimate MySQL Bootcamp: Go from SQL Beginner to ExpertUdemy
4Complete SQL MasteryCodeWithMosh
2 more rows

How to learn SQL for free? ›

If you want a structured SQL course, here are some of the most popular free courses for learning SQL.
  1. Codecademy. ...
  2. Khan Academy. ...
  3. Stanford University. ...
  4. FreeCodeCamp. ...
  5. Datacamp. ...
  6. SQLCourse. ...
  7. W3Schools. ...
  8. SQLZoo.
Jan 17, 2024

How can I use SQL in finance? ›

For example, you can use SQL to join customer data from your accounting software with market data to identify trends in customer behavior based on economic indicators. By combining data from multiple sources, you can gain a more complete understanding of your business and make more informed decisions.

Is SQL enough to get a job? ›

SQL might not always appear in the job listing as an absolute requirement for a software developer. However, this is often because SQL is assumed to be one of the basic skills every developer has. So, knowing SQL is a fundamental skill required to be a good Software Engineer!

Is 3 months enough to learn SQL? ›

At this level, it is essential to start working on real-world projects and mastering databases. This will help you practice and apply your knowledge in a practical setting. It may take around 3-6 months of consistent learning and practice to reach an intermediate level of proficiency in SQL.

What is the hardest thing to learn in SQL? ›

Learning SQL can be challenging due to advanced concepts such as recursive queries, query tuning, temporary functions, and self-joins.

Should I learn SQL or Python first? ›

For example, if you're interested in the field of business intelligence, learning SQL is probably a better option, as most analytics tasks are done with BI tools, such as Tableau or PowerBI. By contrast, if you want to pursue a pure data science career, you'd better learn Python first.

Can I learn basics of SQL in a day? ›

With this book, you can learn SQL in just one day and start coding immediately. SQL for BeginnersComplex topics are broken down into simple steps with clear and carefully chosen examples to ensure that you can easily master SQL even if you have never coded before.

Can I teach myself SQL? ›

Learning SQL is easy

You can learn the basics of SQL in as little as a few weeks. SQL uses many terms that you are already familiar with—Select, Where, Delete, Update, etc. However, there are more complex SQL commands you'll need to learn to reach a mastery level.

How to practice SQL at home? ›

This is not for the faint of heart; there are a lot of steps involved:
  1. Download MySQL.
  2. Download Microsoft Visual Studio.
  3. Continue Installing MySQL.
  4. Download Dataset.
  5. Create a Database.
  6. Import Data.
  7. Query Away!

Which is better for finance, SQL or Python? ›

If you are really looking to start your career as a developer, then you should start with SQL because it is a standard language and an easy-to-understand structure makes the developing and coding process even faster. On the other hand, Python is for skilled developers.

How long does it take to learn SQL for finance? ›

Learning SQL can take between two to three weeks for most learners to become proficient. However, acquiring advanced SQL skills may take several months. Several factors can impact the learning process, including prior experience with programming and big data, learning objectives, and the chosen learning environment.

Do banks use SQL databases? ›

User accounts, money transfers, withdrawals, deposits, and other features make up a banking system. These all represent SQL-manipulable tables or other things.

Do finance majors need to know SQL? ›

SQL is a powerful tool that equips accounting students and finance professionals with the ability to handle and analyze vast amounts of financial data efficiently. By understanding the language of databases, these professionals can unlock insights that drive informed financial decisions.

Is SQL required for MBA finance? ›

For MBA students with a STEM background, knowledge of data analysis tools, programming languages like SQL or Python, presentation and designing, and technical writing will be an added advantage. Hopefully, you have gained enough knowledge about skills that MBA candidates must possess to succeed in the corporate world.

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