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SQL for Data Analysis: Beginner MySQL Business Intelligence (Udemy.com)

Learn SQL database analysis & business intelligence w/ MySQL Workbench. Perfect for SQL beginners or first-time coders!

Created by: Maven Analytics

Last updated June 2026

Our take

Based on the ratings of 10,696 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in June 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.

A short, hands-on start to SQL for people who want to analyze data, not run databases. You play the new owner of Maven Movies, a DVD rental shop, and dig through its 16 tables in MySQL Workbench. It runs about 4.5 hours over 103 lectures, with a mid-course project and a final project. The syllabus says outright that it skips building or maintaining databases, so it fits analysts, Excel users and career changers better than future admins.

Reviewers keep coming back to the teaching. John Pauler gets credit for short videos, clear explanations and practice tasks that get students writing queries early. One reviewer says he seems to know exactly where first-timers get stuck. Another, who had already done a data analytics course, says SQL finally made sense here. The complaints are small but real. A complete beginner found the final project walkthrough rushed, with one answer never even run on screen. Another reviewer says some videos have no English captions, and a one-star review says PC installation was not covered.

The numbers back it up. It holds a 4.6 rating across 10,696 reviews, with 6,835 of them five stars, plus 60,193 students and a Bestseller badge. It was last updated in June 2026, which is recent. Think of it as an afternoon or two that gets a beginner comfortable with selecting, filtering, grouping and joins. One reviewer calls it pretty basic, and it is. If that is the level you need, it's a safe pick.

Best forExcel users and aspiring analysts who want a quick, hands-on first look at querying data in MySQL.
Skip it ifYou need to build or administer databases, or want SQL that goes well past the basics and joins.

Pros

  • Short videos with practice tasks, so students write queries from the start
  • The Maven Movies shop case gives every query a business reason
  • Mid-course and final projects test what was just taught
  • Reviewers say first-timers find the explanations clear and easy to follow

Cons

  • A complete beginner found the final project solutions rushed in a 3 star review
  • Stays at the basics and skips building or maintaining databases
  • Some videos lack English captions, and one reviewer found no PC install help
Very practical and to the point, which is great for this kind of topics, where having hands-on learning early on is more important than diving into the theory.
Arturo Morales, a student

Really a beginner course. Basic database knowledge is encouraged but not required, and no coding is assumed.

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What you will learn

  • Write SQL queries to explore and analyze databases with MySQL Workbench
  • Learn how to use SQL to extract, sort, filter, and group data quickly and efficiently
  • Analyze data across multiple tables with powerful MySQL JOIN statements
  • Solve practical hands-on assignments and real-world business use cases
  • Master unique tips, tools and case studies that you won't find anywhere else
  • Get LIFETIME access to resource files, quizzes, assignments, and expert support

Course content

8 sections · 103 lectures · 4.5 hours of video 4 quizzes, 4 articles

  1. 1Getting Started 3 free previews5 lectures · 6 min
  2. 2MySQL Intro & Setup 1 free preview10 lectures · 1 quiz · 26 min
  3. 3Single Table Analysis (PART 1) 3 free previews46 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.9 hours
  4. 4Single Table Analysis (PART 2)9 lectures · 1 quiz · 32 min
  5. 5MID-COURSE PROJECT2 lectures · 8 min
  6. 6Analyzing Multiple Tables with Joins 2 free previews27 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.2 hours
  7. 7FINAL PROJECT2 lectures · 17 min
  8. 8Wrapping Up 1 free preview2 lectures · 3 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Analysts or BI professionals looking to quickly retrieve or analyze data stored in relational database systems
  • Excel users looking to shift into a broader business intelligence or database analytics role
  • Anyone seeking to learn one of the world’s most popular and powerful database programming languages (SQL)
  • Students looking for a hands-on and highly engaging introduction to MySQL for data modeling and analysis
  • Anyone looking to pursue a career in data analysis or business intelligence
  • NOTE: This course is NOT for database administrators (we won't cover tools to build or maintain databases in this course)

What you need before you start

  • MySQL Workbench and Community Server for Mac or Windows/PC (we’ll walk you through the free install process)
  • Basic understanding of database fundamentals encouraged, but not required

How it compares

Against the other 43 rated Udemy courses in MySQL on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 83% of them
  • Reviews10,696#4 of 44 by number of reviews
  • Length4.5 hoursshorter than 67% of them
  • Last updatedJune 2026more recently than 97% of them

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Quality Score

Content Quality
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Video Quality
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Overall Score : 92 / 100

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Course Description

SQL and MySQL are incredibly powerful tools for managing and analyzing relational databases, and a skill that every Analyst and Business Intelligence professional should have in the arsenal.


In this course, you’ll play the role of a business owner who just acquired Maven Movies, a brick and mortar DVD rental shop. Using only a MySQL database and MySQL Workbench, your mission is to learn everything that you can about your new business; including your inventory, staff, and customer behavior.


But don't worry, you're not alone! We'll be right here to guide you from start to finish, sharing crystal clear explanations, MySQL pro tips and best practices, and course quizzes, projects and homework assignments to test your SQL data analysis and database analytics skills along the way.


COURSE OUTLINE:


  • SQL Intro & MySQL Setup

    We’ll start with a quick intro to the SQL landscape and it's common "flavors" (MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, etc), then download and install the tools that we'll need to access and explore our MySQL database (MySQL Community Server + MySQL Workbench)


  • SQL Database Fundamentals (Part 1)

    Once we have our tools installed, we'll quickly review some database fundamentals and begin to explore the 16 tables contained within our MySQL database, containing information about Maven Movies customers, inventory, and transactions.


  • Analyzing Data from Single Tables with MySQL

    In this section we'll start exploring and extracting information from individual tables in our MySQL database, and practice writing SQL queries to select, filter, sort and group our data for analysis and business intelligence.


    [MID-COURSE MYSQL PROJECT]


  • SQL Database Fundamentals (Part 2)

    The second half of the course is all about anayzing data from multiple tables in MySQL, so we'll begin with a quick review of relational databases, data modeling and database analysis: primary vs. foreign keys, relationship cardinality, normalization, etc.


  • Analyzing Multiple Tables via MySQL JOINS

    In this section, we'll review the most common types of SQL joins (INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, OUTER, etc), and explore some more complex MySQL queries to analyze data that bridges multiple tables in our database.


    [FINAL MYSQL PROJECT]


IMPORTANT NOTE: This course does NOT cover building, altering, or maintaining SQL/MySQL databases. Our goal here is to focus on data exploration and database analysis using MySQL and MySQL Workbench (we'll cover database administration tools in a separate course).

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Enroll today and get LIFETIME access to:

  • 5+ hours of high-quality video

  • Downloadable MySQL ebook

  • Quizzes and homework assignments

  • Mid-course and Final SQL projects

  • 30-day money-back guarantee

If you’re looking for a hands-on, practical guide to mastering data analysis with SQL/MySQL, this is the course for you!


Happy analyzing!

-John (Lead SQL Instructor & MySQL Expert, Maven Analytics)


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Looking for the full business intelligence stack? Search for "Maven Analytics" to browse our full course library, including Excel, Power BI, MySQL, and Tableau courses!


See why this is one of the TOP RATED SQL/MySQL Courses on Udemy:

"Clear presentation of information and with enough repetition of important SQL concepts to help make the information memorable. Loved the frequent practice examples and code debugging exercises!"

- Maggi M.

"I totally loved this course! Everything was very easy to understand, but it moved at a fast enough pace that I never got bored. I learned SO much about MySQL and had fun doing it. In fact, at the end of the day I didn't want to stop learning -- I wanted to keep charging on to the next lesson!"

- Ann S.

"John's deep understanding of SQL and database analysis and ability to explain those tools to a newcomer with 0 experience, is really unmatched. I've taken other SQL and MySQL courses and tried reading books, but this course is by far the easiest way to understand SQL. Excited to see more courses from John!"

- Steven M.

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Instructor Details

Maven Analytics

Maven Analytics is an award-winning platform where individuals and teams build new skills, showcase work, and connect with experts around the world.

We've helped more than 2,000,000 learners around the world build job-ready data & AI skills, master tools like Excel, SQL, Power BI, Tableau and Python, and build the foundation for successful careers.

Start learning for free!

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Reviews

4.6

10,696 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Pradeep Jondhale on 8/29/2026

The instructor literally knows what problem a student would face if he/she has to write the code for first time. Watching small videos and practicing along , in my opinion, is more valuable and add more to personal learning by doing which is remarkable about this course. So far so good , I am half done amnd I'm pretty sure to finish without a break in 2-3 days.

By Aravind Thumma on 8/29/2026

This course provides a great refresher for anyone who wants to strengthen their fundamentals. What I liked most was the teaching approach—the combination of topics, practical examples, useful tips, and assignments kept me engaged and motivated to complete the course. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn and strengthen their fundamentals.

By Thomas Byrne on 7/15/2026

Hi, I have previously completed a Data Analytics course (QQI-Level7) , but never felt i grasped the SQL module of the course. This has helped me very much. Thank you.

By James Ward on 7/14/2026

Great course! Loved that he went through the troubelshooting techniques, really big as you get more knowledge and deeper into SQL. I think this is a good course for someone who is either just beginning or needs a solid refresh if not having touched it in some time.

By Conrad Bond on 6/28/2026

I don't normally leave reviews but I had to for this course. It is easily the best course I have ever done across uni/post-grad/self education. Everything was broken down, stepped out and explained so clearly, including how to troubleshoot errors - I hate courses that only ever show correct solutions and never how to solve problems you might encounter in the real world. I had no previous SQL experience and managed to solve every task other than half of the final question. Thanks John! I'm going to find your next course.

By Ramalakshmi Ramya R on 6/11/2026

In the mid-project, you were expected to create questions that incorporated all the concepts learned. However, it was relatively easy and did not fully cover everything that was taught.

By Arnold Gimeno on 1/23/2026

Maven Analytics delivers once again—this time with outstanding instruction from John Pauler. The course is concise, direct, and exceptionally well-structured, with no wasted time or unnecessary filler. Every section is thoughtfully paced and trimmed to provide a focused, high-quality learning experience in data analysis. Clear, practical, and engaging throughout. Highly recommended, as always!

By VIVIN JOSE J on 1/19/2026

Very well-structured course for SQL beginners. Clear explanations, practical examples, and easy to understand even for non-technical backgrounds. Helped me gain confidence in SQL for data analysis. Highly recommended.

By Ivan Varela on 1/15/2026

Great course! Covered all of the basics, straight and to the point without adding extra fluff. Dataset and practice problems were provided so you could follow along. Personally, I used this course to re-learn SQL and found it useful.

By Lakshay Vashisth on 1/14/2026

Great course, covers basics and builds on it. The regular assignments are helpful. One small thing I found was using MYSQL for learning although really great, teaches some bad behavior due to its leniency. So one needs to be aware of ANSI SQL rules too. Overall I had an awesome time. Thank you John!

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