How would I find the second largest salary from the employee table? [closed]

Answer 1

Try something like:

SELECT TOP 1 compensation FROM (
  SELECT TOP 2 compensation FROM employees
  ORDER BY compensation DESC
) AS em ORDER BY compensation ASC

Essentially:

• Find the top 2 salaries in descending order.
• Of those 2, find the top salary in ascending order.
• The selected value is the second-highest salary.

If the salaries aren't distinct, you can use SELECT DISTINCT TOP ... instead.