Advanced SQL

Kaggle's Advanced SQL is worth taking if you already know SQL basics and want a fast, free, hands-on skill-up on window functions, BigQuery nested/repeated data, and cost-aware querying, but it is not a comprehensive SQL course. It is a roughly 4-hour, 4-lesson micro-course that moves from JOINs/UNIONs to analytic (window) functions, nested and repeated data, and query optimization, all run against real BigQuery public datasets in Kaggle's in-browser notebooks. This independent editorial analysis is based on the official syllabus, the publicly mirrored lesson notebooks (drakearch/kaggle-courses), and aggregated public learner feedback rather than a personal completion. It is a genuinely useful, well-produced follow-on to Kaggle's Intro to SQL, with a strong hint/solution system and clear visuals, and it is the rare free resource that actually teaches BigQuery-specific nested/repeated data and cost-aware querying. Its main limits are scope and breadth: only four lessons, everything is BigQuery (Standard SQL) flavored, and it assumes you already know SELECT/WHERE/GROUP BY from the Intro course, so treat it as a focused skill-up rather than a comprehensive SQL bootcamp.

It is free, fast, and one of the few hands-on courses that teaches window functions plus BigQuery nested/repeated data (STRUCT/ARRAY, UNNEST) and data-scan-aware optimization on real datasets. For anyone who already knows SQL basics, the time-to-value is excellent. The only reason to hesitate is breadth: it is short and BigQuery-specific, so it complements rather than replaces a broader SQL curriculum.

Best for: Intermediate learners who already know core SQL (SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, basic JOINs) and want to add window/analytic functions, query semi-structured nested and repeated data, and write more cost-efficient queries. It is especially good for aspiring data analysts/scientists who will work in Google BigQuery or want practical, notebook-based practice on real public datasets, and for people completing Kaggle's data track who already finished Intro to SQL.

Skip if: Complete SQL beginners (start with Kaggle's Intro to SQL first), people who need transactional/OLTP or DDL/DML topics (indexes, transactions, stored procedures, schema design are not covered), and anyone wanting depth on a specific engine like PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQL Server, since the syntax and the nested/repeated-data and optimization material are tailored to BigQuery Standard SQL and partly non-transferable.