Patterns Required in Different Jobs
Master essential SQL query patterns and discover how they align with various data-related job roles—from developers to analysts and engineers.
SQL developers are in high demand across industries because of their critical role in managing, querying, and analyzing data. The job roles available for SQL developers can vary based on the organization, industry, and the level of experience, but here are the most common types of roles:
1. SQL developer / Database developer
Primary focus: Writing SQL queries, developing procedures and functions, and optimizing database performance.
Key responsibilities:
Writing complex SQL queries for reporting and analysis.
Creating and maintaining stored procedures, triggers, and views.
Collaborating with front-end developers and data engineers.
Ensuring data integrity and performance tuning.
2. Data analyst
Primary focus: Extracting insights from data using SQL and other tools.
Key responsibilities:
Writing SQL queries to extract data.
Creating dashboards and visualizations.
Identifying business trends and reporting KPIs.
Supporting decision-making with data-driven insights.
3. Business intelligence (BI) developer
Primary focus: Designing and developing BI solutions.
Key responsibilities:
Developing SQL-based reports and dashboards.
Working with BI tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Looker.
Data modeling and warehousing.
Supporting strategic business decisions.
4. Data engineer
Primary focus: Building and maintaining data pipelines.
Key responsibilities:
Building ETL (extract, transform, load) processes.
Ensuring data quality and availability.
Writing SQL for data transformation.
Integrating data from multiple sources.
5. ETL developer
Primary focus: Designing and implementing ETL processes.
Key responsibilities:
Using SQL and tools like Informatica, Talend, and SSIS.
Data migration and transformation.
Managing scheduled ETL jobs.
Ensuring data flow across systems is consistent.
6. Data scientist (SQL as a core skill)
Primary focus: Advanced analytics and machine learning.
Key responsibilities:
Using SQL to prepare datasets.
Feature engineering from raw data.
Collaborating with analysts and engineers.
Building models and interpreting results.
7. QA/Data tester
Primary focus: Validating data quality and consistency.
Key responsibilities:
Writing SQL queries to validate test cases.
Ensuring data pipelines and transformations work correctly.
Performing regression and system tests.
8. Backend developer (with SQL skills)
Primary focus: Server-side application logic with database interactions.
Key responsibilities:
Integrating SQL queries into APIs and backend logic.
Managing database schema changes.
Ensuring security and performance for database interactions.
Different SQL query patterns align better with job roles based on their core responsibilities. Here’s a detailed breakdown mapping of each SQL pattern to the job roles where it is most commonly needed and valuable:
Pattern | SQL Developer / Database Developer | Data Analyst | Business Intelligence (BI) Developer | Data Engineer | ETL Developer | Data Scientist | QA/Data Tester | Backend Developer |
Tally Count | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||
Group Bucket | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Rolling Totals | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Patch Gaps | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Existence Check | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
De-Duplication | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||
Pattern Search | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Set Compare | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||
Join Variants | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Nested Query | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||
Rank & Row | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Lead-Lag Navigation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Recursive Tree | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||
Gaps & Islands | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||
Pivot Flip | ✅ | ✅ |
With this in mind, let’s begin the journey of learning different patterns of queries.