So here I am trying to take the next step and learn SQL along with good database design, but learning these things through Postgres is really not appropriate for someone like me. I think I have to swallow my pride and start with Access or something.
You just download binary for your OS, create a db as described here (https://www.sqlite.org/quickstart.html) and then connect to it with dbeaver.
This is more the enough to get familiar with SQL.
I was in an industry with an absurd number of boilerplate forms that needed to be printed and the ability to create Access forms that automated all the manual filling out coworkers were doing felt like magic. Postgres doesn't really have an equivalent of that.
I know this much about frontend development too but I was sure that you still need a package manager to install your npm\yarn and other tools.
PS: Obviously you can live without one. Regardless of being backend\frontend developer.
PPS: and honestly, how can you be scared of postgresql and co. after webpack? If you can actually understand this crap postgres setup should be to easy for you.
Really the key thing here is that learning new things is hard, and anything that can be done to remove potential roadblocks is worthwhile. I've talked to so many people who were put off learning Python because they couldn't get to a working development environment on their own.
You can figure almost anything out if you spend enough time reading documentation and noodling with it. I'd still rather spend that time solving my actual problem.