There is a middle ground. Everyone should know sql, but choose an ORM (micro-ORM) that doesn't have any abstractions, and gets data in and out. There are many

There is a middle ground. Everyone should know sql, but choose an ORM (micro-ORM) that doesn't have any abstractions, and gets data in and out. There are many solutions that offer you this without needing to write any SQL. https://github.com/CollaboratingPlatypus/PetaPoco https://github.com/CollaboratingPlatypus/PetaPoco https://github.com/ServiceStack/ServiceStack.OrmLite https://github.com/ServiceStack/ServiceStack.OrmLite Micro ORMs is where it's at. You're asking for trouble if you choose something that does WAY more than it should, like Entity Framework.