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SQL for data science interviews

Anirban Bhattacharyya

Seasoned data scientist & educator

Master SQL for real-world data science interviews

Many aspiring data scientists know basic SQL, but struggle when faced with the kind of messy, ambiguous, business-driven questions that come up in interviews. The challenge is rarely just writing syntax. It is knowing how to translate a product question into the right metric, choose the right grain of analysis, join data correctly, avoid double counting, and explain your reasoning clearly.

That gap can hold back otherwise strong candidates. You may understand SQL concepts in theory, but still feel stuck when asked to calculate retention, analyze an experiment, or debug a flawed query in real time.

This workshop is designed to close that gap. Instead of teaching SQL as a list of commands, it teaches SQL the way it is actually used in data science interviews: through realistic product, growth, and analytics problems. Students will build confidence solving hands-on exercises that reflect real interview settings, from fundamentals to advanced topics like window functions and recursive CTEs.

The goal is to help students move beyond memorizing syntax and become interview-ready problem solvers who can write clean SQL, reason through edge cases, and communicate like strong data scientists.

Workshop agenda

  • 11:00AM EDT

    Welcome and Interview Mindset

    Set expectations for the day, discuss how SQL is evaluated in data science interviews, and introduce the problem-solving framework students will use throughout the workshop.

  • 11:20AM EDT

    SQL Fundamentals + Hands-On Practice

    Cover core SQL building blocks like SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY, CASE WHEN, DISTINCT, and NULL handling. Students will then solve beginner-friendly interview-style problems focused on filtering

  • 12:10PM EDT

    Aggregation and Metrics + Hands-On Practice

    Learn aggregation and conditional aggregation through realistic business metrics such as active users, conversion, and revenue. Students will practice writing queries to answer interview questions

  • 1:00PM EDT

    Joins + Hands-On Practice

    Understand how to combine tables correctly with joins, while avoiding duplicate inflation and logic errors. Students will work through hands-on problems involving users, events, experiment tables

  • 1:50PM EDT

    CTEs and Subqueries + Hands-On Practice

    Learn how to break complex SQL problems into smaller steps using CTEs/subqueries. Students will practice solving more structured interview questions involving multi-step logic and cleaner query design

  • 2:40PM EDT

    Break

    1 hr Lunch break

  • 3:40PM EDT

    Window Functions + Hands-On Practice

    Cover advanced SQL techniques such as ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG, LEAD, running totals, and rolling metrics. Participants will solve hands-on problems involving ranking and first/last events

  • 4:40PM EDT

    Data Science Interview Patterns + Hands-On Practice

    Apply SQL to common interview scenarios such as funnels, retention, cohort analysis, and A/B test summaries. This block emphasizes both query writing and business reasoning

  • 5:30PM EDT

    Recursive CTEs and Advanced Topics + Hands-On Practice

    Introduce recursive CTEs through practical use cases like hierarchies and date generation. Participants will get guided exposure to advanced patterns that can help them stand out in interviews

  • 6:20PM EDT

    Mock Interview Challenge, Debrief, and Q&A

    Bring everything together in an end-to-end interview-style SQL case. Participants will work through a realistic challenge, review solution, discuss common mistakes, leave with practical interview tips

Learn directly from Anirban

Anirban Bhattacharyya

Anirban Bhattacharyya

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Seasoned Data Scientist with 10+ years solving product analytics at scale.

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Who this workshop is for

  • Aspiring Data Scientists
    Learners preparing for data science and analytics interviews who want to build strong, practical SQL skills.

  • Analysts Moving Upmarket
    Data and business analysts who know basic SQL and want to tackle more advanced, interview-style problems.

  • Product-Focused Data Professionals
    Data scientists and product analysts who want to sharpen SQL for funnels, retention, experimentation

What's included

Anirban Bhattacharyya

Live sessions

Learn directly from Anirban Bhattacharyya in a real-time, interactive format.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Community of peers

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Certificate of completion

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.

Maven Guarantee

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Frequently asked questions

$1,000

USD

May 23—May 24
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