Comment by darkpuma

Librarians and secretaries are two examples of "non-programmer" careers where functional knowledge of SQL is pretty common. Less-so these days with secretaries, but moreso for librarians. Not to mention tons of researchers across countless disciplines have SQL in their toolboxes. I've even met government bureaucrats with professional backgrounds in regional banking that know SQL. Previous programming experience? Using HP-12c calculators...

>I think it’s safe to assume that the overwhelming majority of people who use SQL, are programmers who most certainly cannot get by with just basic knowledge.

Most demonstrably do though, so there's that. If you cast a wide net when polling programmers, I think you'd find that mode level of knowledge was relatively low. You don't need to be a SQL rockstar ninja dude to do what most professional programmers are doing with SQL most of the time. Obviously advanced knowledge is good for any professional programmer to have, but the fact is there are a TON of people out there who only know the basics, and that works for them.