PHP Developer Career?

[Isengard]

I started learning PHP recently, I've already finished learning HTML/ CSS. I endeavored to learn PHP since I recently became interested in the idea of becoming a PHP developer as a career. I've made decent headway so far and hope to have a fundamental and practical understanding of it by the months end.

I also intend to go and write a PHP certification exam since I reckon it would look better on my CV than just being self taught.

My question is this. Am I wasting my time doing it this way? Could I actually find work with no experience and just a certification? Since all the junior position requirements I've seen state that you need at least 2 years PHP programming experience. So if I couldn't even get in as a junior PHP programmer how on earth would I get my foot in the door to get that 2 years experience?

Thanks for all the responses in advance.

 

[Yucca]

I started learning PHP recently, I've already finished learning HTML/ CSS. I endeavored to learn PHP since I recently became interested in the idea of becoming a PHP developer as a career. I've made decent headway so far and hope to have a fundamental and practical understanding of it by the months end.

I also intend to go and write a PHP certification exam since I reckon it would look better on my CV than just being self taught.

My question is this. Am I wasting my time doing it this way? Could I actually find work with no experience and just a certification? Since all the junior position requirements I've seen state that you need at least 2 years PHP programming experience. So if I couldn't even get in as a junior PHP programmer how on earth would I get my foot in the door to get that 2 years experience?

Thanks for all the responses in advance.

This is not abnormal MOST places require some experience and you should do some mock projects that you can present as a minimum on request. I too am self educated in Java and can't find work so I continue to study. Please be aware that PHP and mysql go hand in hand almost and you may be required to at least study some SQL as a minimum. Offer your services online at a low wage in exchange for work experience or broaden your skills coz juat knowing PHP aint gonna get u much.

 

[Isengard]

I forgot to mention that I am doing MySQL as well, since that is usually a requirement for most PHP dev jobs.

 

[dequadin]

I browse the Job forums every now and again, and there's always guys look for people with PHP skills. So there definitely is a demand.

Do you have any other IT related qualification? OR purely self taught PHP?

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Well I'm a PHP developer and found it super easy to get a job. Do not be put off by companies requirements as there are not enough developers to go around - personally I started off with zero experience 3yrs back. Did not even know how to do a SQL select statement.

PHP is a good scripting language to know, its even used extensively for back-end server applications.

To ad value to your employment possibilities, learn a few frameworks. Check out Symfony, ZEND, php Cake, Smarty.

Have fun and don't give up on your job hunt.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

This is not abnormal MOST places require some experience and you should do some mock projects that you can present as a minimum on request. I too am self educated in Java and can't find work so I continue to study. Please be aware that PHP and mysql go hand in hand almost and you may be required to at least study some SQL as a minimum. Offer your services online at a low wage in exchange for work experience or broaden your skills coz juat knowing PHP aint gonna get u much.

Good point but all developers need to know SQL (MySQL / PostgreSQL / even SQLite).

I laugh at so called experienced developers who cannot do SQL! Yet I also know well payed IT staff that cannot do a "Hello World" in C but know their SQL!

EDIT: Sorry, Microsoft Access is not considered SQL so it does not count

 

[Isengard]

Thanks guys, I will keep at it then. I will look into those suggestions. Over the weekend I setup an Apache server on Ubuntu 9.10 with PHP since I figured it couldn't hurt to get acquainted with how it's done on Linux. I've been using XAMPP lite mostly on Windows. As for qualifications, I've done my A+. This is my first foray into any sort of programming. I'm much more keen to get into the development side of IT than doing PC repairs.

 

[dequadin]

On an aside note, does anyone know any formal qualification you can do in PHP?

 

[guest2013-1]

PHP developer as a career is a bad career choice. I'd much rather work as a personal trainer or a fulltime barman.... even a strip-o-gram... perhaps sell my blood and sperm, deal crack cocaine to kids.... anything... programming is a dead career. will die out in the next 2 years when people realize what a waste of time this **** is and go back to using tools and being in nature and stuff.

 

[Isengard]

On an aside note, does anyone know any formal qualification you can do in PHP?

Here's a place in Cape Town called New Horizons that offers a 10 day certification course for PHP and MySQL. I plan to go and do that course in the next month or two. Unless I follow acidrazors advice and become a bar tender or personal trainer .

 

[guest2013-1]

You'll make more money and be happier in life. Programming is a soul sucking career that leaves you a shell of a man with all these ****ing leeches just taking from you and pushing you to the brink of insanity. Then they have the nerve to ask (as I throttle them to death) what has "gotten into me"

 

[CorneN]

Programming is a soul sucking career that leaves you a shell of a man

That can be said of ANY career.

Except professional beach bum, which something I have been considering for a while now. You get stress is about things that actually matters, like food. Not some report for some moron in a monkey suit.

 

[murraybiscuit]

@acid. you have issues. i think you may need professional help.

learning skills is one thing, but applying them is another.
i think coding should always be about what you really want to make at the end of the day, and what's the most profitable with the skills you have.
if there's a gazillion people that do phpmysql, chances are you're not going to get a lot of cash out of it.
sure, you can make cool stuff happen, but it's not where you want to end up.
if i were to do it all over, i'd learn the basics and then move to python and learn a framework like django.
this would give you the leverage to write mobile apps, which is really where the market and money is going in future.
that's just my 10c.

 

[Nod]

You can also contribute to some of the PHP applications out there, like Joomla, Drupal, etc.
Not only will you learn to code according to a standard, but also using good technique, etc.
People will also find your name in cvs logs for commits / comments, which is always good.

 

[dequadin]

Just came across this, might give you a better idea of what skills are required....

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

You'll make more money and be happier in life. Programming is a soul sucking career that leaves you a shell of a man with all these ****ing leeches just taking from you and pushing you to the brink of insanity. Then they have the nerve to ask (as I throttle them to death) what has "gotten into me"

The point that Acid is trying to make is that if you work for a k*k boss you will hate codeing ... work for an awesome company (like I do) and you live / breath code! I also do not code 100% at work and that makes a difference. I say I code about 30% of the time, 50% of the time is doing SQL related queries / insert / maintenance, and the remaining 20% general work stuff.

Codeing will never die out, but you need to expand your knowledge. Erlang developers are in demand as there are just not enough to go around!

 

[guest2013-1]

IT WILL DIE OUT WHEN I KILL ALL THE IDIOTS!!!!

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

IT WILL DIE OUT WHEN I KILL ALL THE IDIOTS!!!!

LOL ... Can I give you a few name to get you started

 

[vangend]

I did a few projects in PHP about 6-7 years ago. When I started looking for other work very few companies were looking for php developers, they just wanted something related to MS. Now there are plenty of oppertunities for php developers.

If you follow some of the advice given by other people and get to learn a few frameworks, coding standards etc. you will have a solid platform to have a career in development.

 

[Yucca]

Good point but all developers need to know SQL (MySQL / PostgreSQL / even SQLite).

I laugh at so called experienced developers who cannot do SQL! Yet I also know well payed IT staff that cannot do a "Hello World" in C but know their SQL!

EDIT: Sorry, Microsoft Access is not considered SQL so it does not count

Oh really ! I was unaware that mobile application developers could make use of SQL on handhelds and PDA's

Though there are truths in that, I can point out many situations where sql is not a requirement thanks to ORM tools like hibernate. But yes, you will need to know some SQL even if it's just for maintaining code or refactoring.