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SQL Query for 2nd Highest Salary without Using MAX()

SQLmedium0.5 min readPremium
Frequency
Low
Asked at 1 company
Category
487
questions in SQL
Difficulty Split
130E|271M|86H
in this category
Total Bank
1,863
across 7 categories
Asked at these companies
Persistent Systems
Key Concepts Tested
sql
Expert AnswerPremium
90 wordsInterview-ready
2nd highest without MAX: SELECT salary FROM employees e1 WHERE 1 = (SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT salary) FROM employees e2 WHERE e2.salary > e1.salary). Or: SELECT MIN(salary) FROM (SELECT salary FROM employees ORDER BY salary DESC LIMIT 2) t. Or DENSE_RANK: WITH r AS (SELECT salary, DENSE_RANK() OVER (ORDER BY salary DESC) rn FROM employees) SELECT salary FROM r WHERE rn=2. **Why it matters**: Design choices compound at scale—wrong approach can cause 100× overhead....
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