Find the second highest salary

Correct Answer

SELECT MAX(salary) AS second_highest_salary
FROM employees
WHERE salary < (
  SELECT MAX(salary)
  FROM employees
);

Explanation

The subquery finds the overall highest salary. The outer query then finds the maximum salary below that value, which handles ties at the top.

Common Mistakes

• Using ORDER BY with an offset without considering duplicate top salaries.
• Using MIN instead of MAX in the outer query.
• Comparing salary <= maximum salary, which returns the top salary again.