Understanding Subqueries and CTEs in SQL

After getting comfortable with joins and window functions, I’m now diving into more advanced query structuring techniques. Subqueries felt like a natural extension of filtering and aggregation. CTEs, on the other hand, introduced a cleaner way of breaking down complex logic into readable, step-by-step components. This guide provides a practical comparison of both concepts using a simple student exam results dataset, highlighting when and why to choose one over the other. What is a Subquery? A su