**Method 1 (Subquery)**: SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees). **Method 2 (LIMIT/OFFSET)**: SELECT DISTINCT salary FROM employees ORDER BY salary DESC LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1—single value; ties pick one. **Method 3 (Window)**: SELECT salary FROM (SELECT salary, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY salary DESC) rn FROM employees) t WHERE rn = 2....
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