C# or PHP, which one to learn to start of career?

M

Maxson_N

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2011
Messages
202
Hi, I'm currently doing BSc Informatics with UNISA, left with 2 semesters.. I intend to start looking for a software development job from December..

Just to check how things are in the job market, I browsed through few job portal sites including pnet and career junction.. I have noticed that almost all software development jobs posted there require C#.. Most of my programming modules are in C++ and I have learnt a little bit of PHP on my own.. I was planning to develop a little project for my portfolio this winter.. PHP was my language of choice, I was still deciding on whether to use CodeIgniter or Laravel framework..

But now I wonder if it's worth it to continue with PHP or just start learning C# to increase my chances of getting employment..

Any advice? And I'd also appreciate tips on things to do for my portfolio.. At the moment it has absolutely nothing in it or rather it's nonexistent..
 
biometrics

biometrics

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
71,858
C# pays more than PHP.

Edit: you can also consider Java as it's very similar to C#. Java also pays well.
 
Last edited:
B

Belatu

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
22
If you want a dead end career, PHP, If Not C#/Java


Seriously though, PHP is not worth it, learn C# or Java, If you know C++ they will be a breeze to get to know.

Secondly accept the fact that BSc Informatics prepares you to learn how to be a developer nothing more. Start you're first job with the right attitude (i.e. you are their to learn, and know almost nothing.) and you'll do well.

Try and get an internship, it's not going to pay the bills, but will help set your career on the right path, and the right internship will help you more than you can imagine.
 
Last edited:
Hamster

Hamster

Resident Rodent
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
42,928
Thor187 said:
Yes 80% of the Web runs php including Facebook
Click to expand...
The software industry is not limited to the web. Being able to configure WordPress dies not a developer make.

PHP is a dead end career wise. It is that language you pick up on the side or figure out on the job.

C#/Java is mainstream and that is what you want for a career start. Knowing C++ doesn't hurt either.
 
Thor

Thor

Honorary Master
Joined
Jun 5, 2014
Messages
44,236
Hamster said:
The software industry is not limited to the web. Being able to configure WordPress dies not a developer make.

PHP is a dead end career wise. It is that language you pick up on the side or figure out on the job.

C#/Java is mainstream and that is what you want for a career start. Knowing C++ doesn't hurt either.
Click to expand...
I thought he was talking about Web.

Yea php is useless for anything else.
 
B

Belatu

Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
22
Thor187 said:
Yes 80% of the Web runs php including Facebook
Click to expand...

The Facebook webpage yes, the back-end systems, which is 80% of the code, and employees 80% of the developers is built in C++, Java, Python and Erlang.
 
M

Maxson_N

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2011
Messages
202
Belatu said:
If you want a dead end career, PHP, If Not C#/Java


Seriously though, PHP is not worth it, learn C# or Java, If you know C++ they will be a breeze to get to know.

Secondly accept the fact that BSc Informatics prepares you to learn how to be a developer nothing more. Start you're first job with the right attitude (i.e. you are their to learn, and know almost nothing.) and you'll do well.

Try and get an internship, it's not going to pay the bills, but will help set your career on the right path, and the right internship will help you more than you can imagine.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that information.. I think I'll go with C#, I heard not so good things about java..
 
DA-LION-619

DA-LION-619

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Messages
13,777
Maxson_N said:
Thanks for all that information.. I think I'll go with C#, I heard not so good things about java..
Click to expand...

After a while you won't care about the language, you'll just care about how much you get paid to dev in it.
 
S

shauntir

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
457
Maxson_N said:
Hi, I'm currently doing BSc Informatics with UNISA, left with 2 semesters.. I intend to start looking for a software development job from December..

Just to check how things are in the job market, I browsed through few job portal sites including pnet and career junction.. I have noticed that almost all software development jobs posted there require C#.. Most of my programming modules are in C++ and I have learnt a little bit of PHP on my own.. I was planning to develop a little project for my portfolio this winter.. PHP was my language of choice, I was still deciding on whether to use CodeIgniter or Laravel framework..

But now I wonder if it's worth it to continue with PHP or just start learning C# to increase my chances of getting employment..

Any advice? And I'd also appreciate tips on things to do for my portfolio.. At the moment it has absolutely nothing in it or rather it's nonexistent..
Click to expand...

Everything entirely depends on your current and future goals. PHP is not dead! In South Africa, PHP jobs are a bit scarce. Compared to the rest of the world though, PHP is currently a mainstream language.

I moved from PHP to C# and could not be happier since my career prospects increased immensely. However, if I was still a PHP dev and moved to Aus or somewhere else, I could make lots of $$$ with PHP.
 
C

c10n3d_0r6

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
Messages
626
I don't think you should be looking at the language specifically. With some experience you should be able to learn a new language if you need to. I would rather look at what field in software development you enjoy the most and then begin learning the skills for that. I quite like Udacity (https://www.udacity.com). They have courses for free covering Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Web Development, Mobile Development etc. They have NanoDegrees which are paid for, but you can just select a NanoDegree to see which courses they are made up of, and then select to view those courses individually, which is free.

You still have time so I would start watching some video's from the different courses and then see what you like best. The courses also have advice for creating projects. Ideally create a project for something you enjoy, and try make it better than what the university requires. I got my first full time software development job largely because of the projects I had developed in my spare time compared to my actual qualification.
 
G

giggity

Expert Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
1,024
C# will land you a well-paying job sooner, but going for PHP might not be such a bad idea since it is in high demand (look at the salary of an experienced PHP developer - absolutely insane).

That said, the reason why it is in such high demand is because of how annoying can be to use; it has a problem retaining conventions, (which means you have to be constantly learning more things about newer versions of the language in order to stay up to scratch. Just about every framework uses different naming conventions, meaning changing from one to the other can be a task to learn. Most PHP developers will also be expected to be experts in some form of SQL databases, it seems.

If you're up for the challenge, PHP. If you want a decent job without 8 years' experience, C#.
 
F

freddster

Expert Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2013
Messages
2,470
giggity said:
C# will land you a well-paying job sooner, but going for PHP might not be such a bad idea since it is in high demand (look at the salary of an experienced PHP developer - absolutely insane).

That said, the reason why it is in such high demand is because of how annoying can be to use; it has a problem retaining conventions, (which means you have to be constantly learning more things about newer versions of the language in order to stay up to scratch. Just about every framework uses different naming conventions, meaning changing from one to the other can be a task to learn. Most PHP developers will also be expected to be experts in some form of SQL databases, it seems.

If you're up for the challenge, PHP. If you want a decent job without 8 years' experience, C#.
Click to expand...
Don't fall for that. thats just the problem, you won't have experience as a PHP. Its in demand for experienced, and young developers(yes it doesn't make sence) If you're a C#, and try to get over into PHP...companies are not gonna pay you what you earned as a C#.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top