r/SQL • u/adolf_rizzzlerr • 2d ago
Discussion Vibe coded projects
Pls suggest some projects that i can vibe code to show on my CV. Im 19 and i know basic mysql
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u/AnchorVita 2d ago
I've been on both sides of the interview table many times, so I can confidently say that if this is for your CV, vibe coding is not the way to go. Anyone can vibe code, that's the point, if you want to show off your sql skills, you need to know how to do it manually.
At your level, most interviews will involve a hands-on test, or a list of technical questions. They want to see that you understand the answers fully, without needing to look them up or use AI.
If your next employer wants you using AI, fine, but you need to be able to tell it HOW you want things done, you need to be able to pick up when it does something wrong, or not in the most efficient way, and correct it, guide it. You get to that point by doing it manually and figuring it out yourself, not by vibe coding from the start, and at 19, sorry but your right at the start. Employers are taking a risk with people athe start of their careers, so they're looking for people who can hit the ground running themselves, with pre-existing knowledge, and are keen to learn. AI is a very useful tool when you're experienced, but it's a very dangerous tool when you're not.
Build your DB manually, learn some semi-advanced features, use them, figure out where they should, and more importantly, should not be used, implement them into your work. Talk about THAT on your CV. You'll get much further with interviews, I guarantee you.
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u/mirinai_ai 2d ago
If the goal is something you can talk through in an interview, a small project built around a real public dataset works well: city open data, sports results, transit schedules, whatever you actually care about. Load the raw CSV into MySQL yourself rather than a pre-cleaned version. You'll run into mixed date formats, blank cells and numbers stored as text, and explaining how you dealt with those is the kind of detail interviewers remember. Then write ten or so questions you want answered and solve them with joins, GROUP BY and window functions. When one of them is slow, run EXPLAIN on it, add an index, and compare. Being able to say why it got faster counts for more than how big the project is.
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u/DickBrainTime 2d ago
A small ticket-booking database could make a stronger MySQL portfolio project than another basic CRUD page. Have events, seats and bookings, then an active seat_claim table with a UNIQUE key on (event_id, seat_id). Keep booking/cancellation history separately so releasing a seat doesn't erase the record. The interesting test: open two MySQL sessions, try to claim the *same last seat* at once, and show that only one transaction can succeed. Handle cancellation, expiry and a client retry after an uncertain response too.
Include a repeatable seed script, tests for those cases, and one EXPLAIN comparison before/after an index change. In your README, explain the invariant (never sell the same seat twice), the transaction boundaries, and one race/failure you reproduced. AI can help scaffold a UI, but make sure you can write and explain the SQL yourself. Those concrete tradeoffs are far more useful to discuss in an interview than just saying you vibe-coded an app.
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u/JaceBearelen 2d ago
If you’re going down that route why didn’t you just ask your AI for some ideas? Although, if you need AI to come up with the ideas and do the work I don’t see why anyone would hire you.
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u/you_are_wrong_tho 2d ago
No one cares about projects for sql. You have to be able to talk about it and do it live
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u/whodiopolis 2d ago
Make a fully functioning airline simulation. Track pilots, airplanes, airport gates, prices, adjust traffic for holidays.
Make a database of all measurements of all cars. Year, color, dimensions, mpg, horse power. Let a user search by any one of those