WITH RECURSIVE hierarchy AS (SELECT employee_id, manager_id, 1 AS level FROM employees WHERE employee_id = 1 UNION ALL SELECT e.employee_id, e.manager_id, h.level+1 FROM employees e JOIN hierarchy h ON e.manager_id = h.employee_id) SELECT * FROM hierarchy. **Anchor**: CEO...
This medium-level SQL question appears frequently in data engineering interviews at companies like JP Morgan. While less common, it tests deeper understanding that distinguishes strong candidates. Mastering the underlying concepts (join) will help you answer variations of this question confidently.
Break this problem into components. Identify the core trade-offs involved, then walk the interviewer through your reasoning step by step. Demonstrate awareness of edge cases and production considerations - this is what separates good answers from great ones.
WITH RECURSIVE hierarchy AS (SELECT employee_id, manager_id, 1 AS level FROM employees WHERE employee_id = 1 UNION ALL SELECT e.employee_id, e.manager_id, h.level+1 FROM employees e JOIN hierarchy h ON e.manager_id = h.employee_id) SELECT * FROM hierarchy. Anchor: CEO (id=1). Recurse: Join employees to current level. Cycles: Add cycle detection (path array). Limit: SET max_recursion (e.g., 100). Index: manager_id.
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Analyze My Answer — FreeAccording to DataEngPrep.tech, this is one of the most frequently asked SQL interview questions, reported at 1 company. DataEngPrep.tech maintains a curated database of 1,863+ real data engineering interview questions across 7 categories, verified by industry professionals.