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Test Your SQL Skills

Test your SQL across filtering and NULL semantics, joins, aggregation, and window functions and constraints. 30 scenario questions, instant score by category, free with no signup.

30 questions6 min
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The basics

What is the SQL Test?

This is a scenario-based SQL test: 30 short queries, each followed by a question about what actually happens when it runs. A WHERE clause compared against NULL that quietly returns nothing. A LEFT JOIN that behaves like an INNER JOIN once you filter the wrong column. A NOT IN that silently drops every row because one value in the subquery was NULL. You pick the answer that matches what the database actually returns, not what looks like it should happen.

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The 30 questions cover four areas — filtering and NULL semantics, joins and set operations, aggregation and subqueries, and window functions/CTEs/transactions/constraints. Those four are the places where reading a query and running a query quietly diverge, and where a job posting's Strong SQL usually turns out to mean something specific once you are in the interview. You get a score in each area, so a weak spot shows up as a weak spot rather than as a lower total.

It takes about six minutes, there is no signup, and there is no query to write or execute — every question is read-and-predict, the same way a senior engineer reviews a pull request. Knowing the syntax and knowing what a specific query does against specific data are different skills, and this measures the second one.

Closely related on JobCannon: Python Test, Excel Skills Test, Computer Literacy Test, Logical Reasoning Test, and Cognitive Aptitude Test.

What you get

What You'll Discover

See which of the four SQL areas is actually holding you back
Get a breakdown by category — filtering/NULLs, joins, aggregation, windows/transactions
Find out which tier you are in: beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert
Compare where you sit against what job postings mean by strong SQL

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

7 questions

  • It spans beginner through expert in one sitting. The early questions cover things every SQL user meets — NULL comparisons, INNER vs LEFT JOIN, BETWEEN's boundaries. The later ones go into join fan-out with aggregates, window functions, CTEs, transaction isolation and constraints. Your score places you in one of four tiers, and the tier names are deliberately the ones job postings use.

  • No. Every question is written against standard SQL behaviour shared across PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server and SQLite — NULL semantics, join types, and the ANSI window function syntax. Nothing here depends on a vendor-specific extension.

  • It samples the same kind of read-and-predict reasoning most employer screens open with, in the same short-scenario format, which is why it works as preparation. It is not a copy of any specific employer test, and a good score here is not a certificate. What it does tell you is which of the four areas you would lose marks in, which is the useful thing to know before a technical interview.

  • About six minutes. There is no timer on individual questions — the test measures whether you know what the query returns, not how fast you can click. You can think about a question for as long as you like.

  • No. You can take the test and see your score and category breakdown without an account. Creating one is only useful if you want the result kept so you can compare a later attempt against it.

  • You get a score for each of the four areas, so you can see where the losses are concentrated, plus recommendations aimed at the tier you landed in. The test does not publish a per-question answer sheet, because the questions rotate and a published key would make the score meaningless for everyone using it to prepare.

  • Reading unfamiliar queries correctly is a defensible thing to screen on for any role that touches SQL, and this is an objective right-or-wrong test rather than a personality measure, so it does not carry the fairness problems typology tests do. If you want to send it to applicants and collect results in one place, that runs through the hiring side of JobCannon rather than through this page.

Take the SQL Skills Assessment Now

Discover your SQL Test profile. 30 questions, 6 min.

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For hiring teams

Screening candidates with this test?

Whether someone can predict what a multi-table query actually returns rather than recite clause names on a CV — engineering, data, analytics and reporting roles that list SQL.

Send it with the application, compare scores side by side and shortlist from one place.

JobCannon for teams

Explore all results in depth

Already taken the test, or just curious? Read the in-depth guide for any result — strengths, challenges, career matches, famous people, and FAQs.

Beginner — Your SQL Skill Level
You can write a working SELECT, but NULL handling and join mechanics are the gap
Intermediate — Your SQL Skill Level
Everyday reporting is solid; the edge is clauses interacting with each other
Advanced — Your SQL Skill Level
The level most job postings mean by "strong SQL"
Expert — Your SQL Skill Level
The query language stops being the limit; schema and scale are

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