Has anyone ever asked if you could gather data for them? Though it’s a simple question, the entire world lives and breathes on data. And the worldwide standard for getting that data? A database programming language called Structured Query Language, or SQL, that’s used to interact with databases. From our cell phones to some of the world’s largest banks, almost everything we touch uses a database.

But how can learning SQL help you? To celebrate today’s launch of our newest SQL course, I’ll give you 5 reasons why it’s the standard language for accessing databases, and ultimately why you should give it a try.

1. The World Standard for More Than 40 Years

Since the 1970s, SQL has been used in every relational database system in the world. And as the world continues to need access to more data, knowing how to use SQL to either work with or program a database will put you on the fast track with access to tons of data, all at your fingertips.

2. CRUD Can Be Useful

In SQL, CRUD stands for “Create, Retrieve, Update, and Delete.”  Everything that contains data needs some way to do this. By learning how to use CRUD in SQL, you’ll find that accessing and moving data around doesn’t always have to be a dirty job.

3. Servers Aren’t Only Found in Restaurants

Many people think databases are only found on huge, expensive servers that require executive policy to even look at — but that’s not the case at all! By understanding SQL, you can interact with almost any kind of database, or even build one on your very own laptop.

4. SQL Makes Programming Easy

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just take data — numbers, names, or anything, really — store it in one place, and never have to remember what everything is? Well, SQL is your answer! A database is where you would store these things, and SQL is the language that gives you easy access to them.

5. SQL in the Real World

Even though SQL can be simplified, just knowing how to use it can be very valuable. Industry leaders in technology — such as IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft — provide database solutions to every form of company in the world. As a user of SQL, your ticket to securing your professional future is at hand.

Those are just a few reasons why SQL is great to learn because, unfortunately, there are too many for me to list in 1 blog post. If you’re new to using databases for work, school, or even with a project or two in your spare time, our new beginner SQL tutorial, Try SQL, can help you round out your skills to become a better programmer. With 3 highly interactive levels, you’ll be exploring and using SQL, no matter what amount of experience you have in the programming world. Let us know how you’ve used SQL and what you think of our new course in the comments section below!