SQL Insights: In Conversation With Shannon Sanders, Seasoned Data Analyst.

The SQL Skills Assessment offered by LearnSQL.com goes beyond the realms of a mere test. It presents a chance to affirm your hands-on SQL expertise through 18 practical tasks, spanning six key competency areas. This thorough approach gives you a platform to showcase your ability to address data challenges and generate reports with SQL effectively. Here’s another of our talks with SQL experts. 

Today, I'm speaking with Shannon Sanders, a Data Analyst with a background in medical laboratory science, who passed our rigorous SQL Assessment and earned the Certificate of Competency in SQL. Join us as we explore Shannon's journey, insights, and expertise. 

Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got into data analysis.

I worked as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in the Philippines for close to a year. Besides handling patient specimens and performing laboratory tests on them, due to the nature of the work, it involved a lot of patient data as well as inventory data. To keep track of this data we used Laboratory Information System (LIS) software and utilized Microsoft Excel as well. 

This part of the job I highly enjoyed, as I’ve been keen on using computers and software since my high school days when I was into programming and robotics. One day, I wanted to help the laboratory improve its data storage and extraction in Microsoft Excel. When researching and refreshing my knowledge of formulas, pivot tables, charts/graphs, etc., I encountered the term data analysis and the skills a data analyst possesses. 

This piqued my interest greatly and, from there on, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in this field because I enjoy working with data. I can say for myself that I am a data-driven person, and the rise of technology brings about an abundance of data in every sector/industry, meaning that companies are going to need people who can work with data to help in decision-making. With this realization, I made it my goal to pursue becoming a professional in this field.

How long have you been working with SQL and what do you typically use it for?

I have been working with SQL for under a year now and I mainly use the query language to extract and clean data from various databases, to fuel the visualizations of certain projects which I then create using either Microsoft Power BI or Tableau. Some of the projects I have worked on involved using SQL to extract HR data from a medical company, data from an electronics company, and marketing data from an e-commerce platform. All of this served to generate insights for these companies which they were able to use in their decision-making process.

Could you share which areas, within data analysis or technology in general, you're particularly passionate about diving deeper into, or looking to expand your expertise in?

As I navigated the healthcare industry, I couldn't help but see the potential for merging my interests, knowledge, and skills in medical laboratory science with the ever-evolving landscape of computer science. 

The rise of artificial intelligence in particular has captured my attention, presenting a unique chance to contribute to the transformative changes happening in the healthcare industry. I am specifically interested in machine learning algorithms and their applications in finding patterns and insights in medical data and predicting outcomes. 

I am looking to expand my expertise in this topic, to be able to contribute to the quality of healthcare enhancing diagnostic and treatment capabilities.

What motivated you to take the SQL Assessment in the first place? Were you aiming to test your skills or just to acquire the certificate?

In my journey to enhance my skills in SQL, coming across LearnSQL.com was like finding a goldmine. Seeing that the site offered an SQL assessment test, I made it my goal in the beginning to (after going through all the necessary courses) test my knowledge and skills. I firmly believe that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. In other words, for me to know that my skills did improve the outcome of the assessment was my form of measurement. 

To tell you the truth, after finishing the SQL from A to Z track, I already felt so confident in my skills that I jumped straight into taking the assessment and, to my surprise … failed. I wouldn’t have known that I needed to refine my skills further if I hadn’t taken the assessment. I was motivated to keep learning and keep practicing until the second time around, when I was able to pass. The certificate is just a bonus for me, but I highly appreciate that LearnSQL.com awards them so that, after successfully passing the assessment, I can showcase my skills and hard work to future employers.

Can you share some insights into how you prepared for the SQL Assessment and the strategies you found most effective in achieving a respectable score?

Practice, practice, and more practice. After my first attempt at the assessment, I decided to answer as many practice questions as possible. I don’t know if others may find this a bit much, but I spent more than a month just answering the practice questions that the site provides, mainly because I was balancing my work as a laboratory scientist at the same time. 

I went through the SQL Practice and Advanced SQL Practice tracks. I’m a tennis player and I remember one thing Andre Agasii said, which was: “If you don’t practice, you don’t deserve to win.” Practicing ingrained the knowledge I learned from the site in my mind and improved my skills exponentially. It is, fundamentally, the only effective way to pass the assessment or build any skill in general.

Which areas did you find most challenging during the SQL Assessment?

The areas I found most challenging during the assessment were building intermediate and complex SQL reports using window functions, subqueries, and correlated subqueries. Picturing and understanding how certain tables are going to relate to each other, or even to themselves, still poses a bit of a challenge for me, but I’ve found that drawing how the relationships work on paper helps me visualize them and build the structure of the code more easily.

Considering your transition from healthcare to data analysis and your proficiency in tools like Power BI, Python, and SQL, what advice would you share with others aiming to move into data-focused roles?

Data-focused roles are without a doubt a lucrative career choice. However, due to the rise in its popularity, it may seem that breaking into the field is a daunting task, especially for people such as myself whose educational background is more in healthcare than information technology, computer science, or other related fields. 

My first piece of advice, and the most important for others aiming to move into data-focused roles, is to change your perspective. Rather than thinking that your educational background will not be useful or is holding you back, think of it as an advantage instead. 

There are various transferable skills in any background that can be applied in data analysis. To name a few, we have communication, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills. In addition, domain knowledge gives you an even greater advantage because you will be able to approach problems and challenges with a deeper understanding of the context, which helps in decision-making and, also, you are better positioned to identify opportunities for innovation within your field. 

My second piece of advice is to simply have a strong belief that you can move into the data field. If you have a strong enough reason and belief that will drive you to this goal, then you can get through all the hardships and all the hours you need to put through to build the skills required to become a professional data analyst. 

There are a lot of resources out on the internet that teach you all the needed skills - focus on fundamental tools such as SQL and visualization tools such as Power BI or Tableau. And, if you're worried about AI, don’t be - it’s just another tool that you and I should definitely learn to use as well. The difference between a person who gets into the world of data and one who does not is simply that the former does not give up and never stops learning.

The need for proficient individuals in data-related roles has increased significantly. What will provide a competitive edge in 2024?

This is a great year for people to transition into data-related roles because companies need more of us. This, however, brings about a lot of competition and people are fighting for the same jobs or positions. 

In my opinion, what will provide a competitive edge, especially if you have an educational background that is unrelated to the data field, are certifications. These are different from certificates: a certification is achieved when you pass an exam provided by a certain company or institution, such as Microsoft or Amazon, for example. 

Certifications will prove to be a tremendous advantage because they prove to employers that you are indeed a professional in data analysis or the use of a data analysis tool. 

One example of such a certification is the Microsoft Power BI PL-300 Exam. Personally, this is one certification I am currently preparing for, with another one being the CompTIA Data+. Having this specific expertise will attract employers. 

To supplement this, a great portfolio of projects will help immensely. However, it is important to keep in mind that quality trumps quantity. Highlight the best projects in your portfolio, preferably ones that showcase your skills and knowledge in the data analysis life cycle, including: defining the problem and objectives, data collection, data cleaning, data exploration and transformation, data visualization, and reporting. 

The field of technology is a rapidly evolving space and if you not only want to remain competitive this year but also in the years to come, my friend, the challenge is to never stop learning. Take AI as an example - we should learn how to use it and not be intimidated by it, because it’s just another tool in our arsenal to make data-driven actions.

Thank you for the interview. 

Discover where your SQL abilities could lead you. Visit LearnSQL.com for a complimentary SQL Skills Assessment and the opportunity to earn your SQL Certificate of Competency.

Author: Jakub Romanowski

Jakub was a journalist for various news television stations for many years. Then, he fell in love with programming, and it changed his life. At Vertabelo, he attracts and retains clients through content marketing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football with his son, reading science fiction, training in martial arts, and cooking for his family and friends.