5 Best MySQL Courses for Beginners and Experienced Programmers

Originally published June 11, 2019

Hello all! If you are interested in learning SQL with MySQL database and looking for some awesome resources such as books, tutorials, and online courses, then you have come to the right place. In the past, I have shared some useful books and tutorials. In this article, I am going to talk about some of the best MySQL online courses from Udemy and Pluralsight, which you can join to learn SQL and MySQL from the comfort of your office or home.

In the last couple of years, you might have heard the statement that "everybody should learn to code," which is great. Coding is now like reading, writing, and speaking skills, and in today's information technology-centric world, it is a must-have. There is no better way to start coding than learning SQL, the most popular programming language.

SQL is the language to talk to the database, to get your answers and insights from the database, and you would be surprised to know that it's more popular than programming languages like Python and Java.

It's a great addition to your skillset because every single application has some data. By learning SQL, you will get the answers to your data-related questions by yourself, rather than relying on DBA, support guys, and other people.

Now that we know why SQL is so important, let's talk about MySQL. It's one of the leading, free, open-source databases that is used by thousands of companies, such as Google, Uber, NASA, and most of the websites you visit on a daily basis.

Along with Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL is the third most popular database; but unlike the previous two, it's free and open source. Learning MySQL will be a great addition to your skillset and go a long way to enhance your career.

5 Online Courses to Learn MySQL for Beginners

In this article, I am going to share some of the most awesome, comprehensive, and best MySQL courses for both beginners and intermediate developers. These courses are trusted by thousands of students and probably the best in the market on MySQL.

If you can spend a few dollars (Udemy courses normally cost around $10.9), then these are probably the best resources to get started with MySQL.

1. The Ultimate MySQL Bootcamp

This is an awesome MySQL course in Bootcamp style, which will teach you everything about SQL, MySQL, and databases. The instructor is a Bootcamp teacher and has a great passion for teaching.

The course is very comprehensive, containing over 320 lectures - but don't worry, it's not boring. The instructor knows how to teach and engage students.

You will learn everything about MySQL in this course starting from installation, creating a database, tables, and running SQL queries to retrieve that data and ask complex questions by using aggregate functions, string functions, etc.

The course also has dedicated a section to cover complex topics like Joins and contains hundreds of SQL query exercises, which allow you to apply your knowledge and truly master the concepts you have been taught.

Here is the link to join this course: The Ultimate MySQL Bootcamp.

Another great thing about this course is that you get to work with an Instagram clone data model, which is not as complex as real Instagram, but lets you deal with fun things like photos, friends, followers, likes, shares, hashtags, etc.

Since most of us use Instagram and Facebook and are familiar with these concepts, you will just love when you query those things using SQL. It truly helps to understand the concepts you have learned earlier.

I can't say enough about this course. I have recently bought this course on one of Udemy's flash sales. This is a truly awesome course with a great instructor, great content, and great picture and sound quality.

It's a truly professional online course and sets an example of how an online course should be structured and recorded.

2. MySQL From Beginner to Advanced

This MySQL course is a great mix of beginner and advanced concepts. It's not too basic and you don't get bored if you have some SQL experience, but it also explains the advanced concepts in simple words.

The course is also very hands-on. The instructor uses live coding to demonstrate and teach concepts. You will often find him writing SQL queries and then explaining to them what it does, which is a great way to teach.

As far as the syllabus goes, the course is also very comprehensive, covering topics like creating, reading, and updating data from the database. It also covers triggers, views, and stored procedures.

It also goes on to explain transactions and isolation levels, as well as database users and security.

I highly recommend this course to anyone who is completely new to SQL or someone who knows a little bit of SQL and wants to take their knowledge to the next level.

Here is the link to join this course: MySQL From Beginner to Advanced.

3. SQL: MySQL for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence

This is a different kind of MySQL course. While most MySQL online courses focus on web development models, this one focuses on data analytics and business intelligence, which are very important topics.

Most of us use SQL for querying data; i.e., to find answers to our questions and gain some insight. That's where this course helps. In this course, you will work with sophisticated real-life databases and learn about data analytical tools along with MySQL WorkBench.

By the way, this course is not as comprehensive as the previous two, but as I said, it totally focuses on data analytics and business intelligence using MySQL.

If you want to improve your SQL query skills and develop business intuition while solving the task with Big Data, then this course is for you.

Here is the link to join this course:  SQL: MySQL for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence.

4. The Complete MySQL Developer Course

This is another great course for beginners starting with SQL and MySQL database for web development perspective.

This course starts with basics like creating databases and tables, then moves to more advanced topics like working with multiple databases and complex joins. The course also teaches you how to build a web application using MySQL and PHP.

In short, it's a good course to learn MySQL from scratch. It's not as comprehensive as the first two MySQL courses on this list, but if you struck a chord with the instructor then you can choose this one.

Here is the link to join this course: The Complete MySQL Developer Course.

5. MySQL Fundamentals by Pinal Dave

This is one of the most popular MySQL courses on Pluralsight from a popular instructor, Pinal Dave, who is a famous SQL blogger and writes about SQL-related stuff frequently.

This course covers the fundamentals of MySQL database, including how to install the MySQL database as well as write basic data retrieval and data modification queries. The good part of the course is that it teaches you essential MySQL tools, like working with MySQL command-line tool as well as MySQL Workbench. It also touches base on the fundamentals of relational databases and database designs. It's overall a nice course to learn MySQL. 

Here is the link to join this course: MySQL Fundamentals by Pinal Dave.

By the way, you need a Pluralsight membership to take this course, which costs around $29 per month but also gives you access to more than 5000+ courses. You can also take this course for free by signing up for a free 10-day trial, which allows you to watch 200 minutes for FREE.

Summary

That's all about some of the best courses to learn SQL and MySQL databases yourself. As I said, in today's world, good knowledge of SQL is a must. It's even more important than learning a programming language like Java or Python, as it makes you independent to get answers to your questions and insights. 

Since MySQL is also the most popular free and open-source database, there is a huge demand for MySQL developers, and learning MySQL can also help you to get a job.

Thanks for reading this article. If you like these MySQL courses then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a comment.

P. S. If you don't mind learning from free resources and in fact looking for some good free courses to learn Database and SQL, then you will also find this list of free SQL and Database courses useful. The list contains free online courses from Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, and other platforms to learn Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and ANSI SQL basics.