Getting THAT first PHP gig

[scriptcat]

I'm trying to get my first PHP job, after being made redundant from my
current place.
Just wondering about how others got into getting 'paid' for working
with PHP?

Any stories, tips and advice would be nice to hear.

scriptcat

[Steven]

I suppose it depends on your programming experience. If you're relatively new to PHP, or programming in general, then I'd recommend making http://php.net/ your bible for the next couple of months and study up on Object Oriented PHP5. Studying OOP concepts in general would also be a good idea.

Also, it's likely that you would be required to have knowledge of how to interface your PHP code with a database, so you wouldn't go far wrong if you have a good knowledge of MySQL or another RDBMS. Having wicked CSS and mark-up skills would be an asset too.

I got into paid development through an "internship". I did a work placement year as part of a university sandwich course and moved to France to work in Paris for a year. It was a great experience and got me off on a great start in the web development industry. If you have little PHP experience right now, just start desigining and building small applications and reading up on the important topics (like security and oop).

Good luck! =]
Steven

[scriptcat]

Perhaps, I should have put more info up when I started this thread,
but I was in a bit of a hurry.
So now I have a bit more time I'll append to that original post.

I work in IT management for a small company up north but due to a
recent take over (i.e. the company I work for) my position has been
made defunct, so its back to the job sites looking for work.
Originally, I put focus on my general IT skills, but after 20 or so
calls from recruitment agancies offering jobs in the Windows admin
industry, I thought I'd rewrite the old CV to lure more attention from
PHP recruiters. I've had about 10 calls and completed 1 PHP test
(something I've never done before, I'm still waiting to see how that
went) and have my first interview soon.
What has been getting me, is that the jobs specs often include PHP,
JavaScript, Ajax, Ruby, Java, JSP, Flex, Oracle, mySQL, MSSQL etc as
'desired' skills. I'm thinking,

"how the hell can I learn all of those techs? how the hell
can anyone learn all of those techs? and be good at them"

So I've tried to be completely and brutally honest about my skills
when speaking to agents, eg. i dont know what SOAP is but give me a
bit of time and I'll have it nailed.

I can say that PHP.net IS my bible! As are the 1000+ books on all
manner of things "web-developpy" and OOP is something I'm definately
trying to get my head around [side note - theres alot of literature
still using PHP4 for its basis! Which dont help no Scriptcat write
good code! Even Rasmus' book is outta date!] I'm also battling with
SimpleTest, Design Patterns and Smarty (as well as mySQL, Apache,
Linux and constant abuse form Java developers telling me that PHP is a
'wannabe' language!) etc.
Which brings me to another point - Linux. I was asked about my
favourite OS.
Personally, I dont care really, Windows I find more easy to use, but I
felt like such a pariah or cheat when I said that I use Windows over
Linux simply for ease of use. Is being a Linux zealot really a
prerequisite for being a coder (yes I know that Linux is more secure
and therefore more suitable for Web Servers - but the term 'Servers'
seems apparent in that case).
Anyway, I hope that I do get that first PHP gig, I'd love to get paid
for doing what I love doing squirreled away in the attic each nite and
had I been several years younger with no kids, then I definately would
go for an internship or to Uni.
Fingers crossed eh?

Scriptcat

[Steven]

First off, good luck with the interview, I hope you get it.

As far as "desired" skills, I would say that you should definitely have Javascript (with AJAX) and MySQL tucked firmly under your belt. MySQL is quite possibly _the_ most used RDBMS with PHP. Honesty during interviews will always be a good thing (in my opinion). So long as you admit when you're lacking knowledge in an area, but show you're more than willing to get up to speed on it, you'll come across well.

Linux. I think most web developers are using Windows, but personally, I use linux (the only windows install I have is on a virtual host to have access to photoshop and flash). I've found that I'm miles faster and more efficient in a linux environment. Fortunately, if I have to work in a windows environment, I've found a couple of little apps for windows that help in that area. Winmover and Katmouse. Brilliant. I don't think you have to worry about your personal preference as far as Operating Systems go.

Again, best of luck!

Steven

[AdrianH]

On 6 Aug, 22:53, scriptcat <da...@inca-internet.com> wrote:
> What has been getting me, is that the jobs specs often include PHP,
> JavaScript, Ajax, Ruby, Java, JSP, Flex, Oracle, mySQL, MSSQL etc as
> 'desired' skills. I'm thinking,
>
>            "how the hell can I learn all of those techs? how the hell
> can anyone learn all of those techs? and be good at them"

Would I be right in thinking that those companies want all of that for
£22,000 too? It's just laziness/cutting corners on the recruiting
company's part. They want you to do everything and they want it at
bargain basement prices. Ignore those adverts - they're a waste of
time. Good employers will value people who do one thing very well. I
can't imagine someone employing a DBA who can also do their tax
returns, why should you be any different?

> Which brings me to another point - Linux. I was asked about my
> favourite OS.
> Personally, I dont care really, Windows I find more easy to use, but I
> felt like such a pariah or cheat when I said that I use Windows over
> Linux simply for ease of use. Is being a Linux zealot really a
> prerequisite for being a coder (yes I know that Linux is more secure
> and therefore more suitable for Web Servers - but the term 'Servers'
> seems apparent in that case).

Depending on your market, you can expect 95% of your client base to be
using windows, so it makes sense for you too work in Windows. If
you're working exclusively under Linux and a client says "This site
doesn't work properly in IE 7" , you've got limited options for
responses:
1. "OMG use Firefox n00b"
2. "I tend to develop in Konquerer..."
3. "It looks fine under IE7 - but I'm running that through Wine..."

None of which are particularly "client-friendly".

So, If you're more comfortable using windows, then continue to do so.
But, don't get reliant on Windows as a server environment. Ditch that
copy of WAMP and set up a virtual machine. Take a look at virtualbox
or vmware player. Administering a Linux server is so much more
straight forward these days with that internet thing and "yum", and
using a VM makes it virtually impossible to ruin your host machine!

Hope some of this is helpful,

Adrian

[Jeremy Coates]

AdrianH wrote:
> Depending on your market, you can expect 95% of your client base to be
> using windows, so it makes sense for you too work in Windows. If
> you're working exclusively under Linux and a client says "This site
> doesn't work properly in IE 7" , you've got limited options for
> responses:
> 1. "OMG use Firefox n00b"
> 2. "I tend to develop in Konquerer..."
> 3. "It looks fine under IE7 - but I'm running that through Wine..."
>

4. "We've checked in IE5.5, 6 & 7" - they don't need to know you're
running that in a virtual machine version of XP / Vista using VMware or
Xen from your lovely Linux dev environment ;)

Jeremy

[Barry Crosby]

scriptcat wrote:

> Which brings me to another point - Linux. I was asked about my
> favourite OS.
> Personally, I dont care really, Windows I find more easy to use, but I
> felt like such a pariah or cheat when I said that I use Windows over
> Linux simply for ease of use. Is being a Linux zealot really a
> prerequisite for being a coder (yes I know that Linux is more secure
> and therefore more suitable for Web Servers - but the term 'Servers'
> seems apparent in that case).

My own personal opinion is use whatever tool fits *you* best - or get
used to the tool provided. I personally find all OSes (I'm talking
about Windows, Linux and OSX) lacking in some areas, whilst the best in
some.

You're bound to get heckled for using any OS you've paid for, as that's
the nature of the industry - ironically coders want to be paid for their
work but refuse to pay for others' - so OSX and Windows both fail here.
Linux.. well, it's not exactly bulletproof as an end user, but neither
are the other two in my experience. I do find the free tools available
on Linux (and by extension, OSX) for developing very good and this is
where I found Windows lacking unless you're wanting to pay top dollar.

Windows and OSX are very intuitive at times and warrant the money, but
when you get experience on all platforms you'll notice they all do
things *differently*.. and to this end, Linux has come on leaps and
bounds since I first tried and failed to install a distro back in 2000
at University.

I'd reckon that experience of *nix is a prerequisite for anyone doing
web work but I'd not say you need be an expert. If you achieve too much
expertise in *nix you tend to start arguing about which distro you
should use. Then which text editor..

From speaking to my friends, most larger companies will have a policy
that the machines supplied will run the corporate OS of choice - be that
Microsoft or Sun, or whatever - so, tough. Smaller companies might be
more lenient to personal choice, but might not be too comfortable with
you being the only one on an OS as your machine becomes a support liability.

In short, never say never, but never say nothing at all.

And for those interested:

- Windows XP on my browsing machine (running Debian and Mandriva as boot
choices) at home;
- I tried Vista for 3 months as a work machine and gave up after having
to create my fourth new username;
- Fedora at work (with VMware Windows XP);
- I used OS9 (original iMac) to learn to code back in the day at Sixth Form;
- I used Sun Solaris stations at University;
- OSX (PowerBook) for years as a work laptop.

~lunus

[David Goodwin]

>
> Depending on your market, you can expect 95% of your client base to be
> using windows, so it makes sense for you too work in Windows. If
> you're working exclusively under Linux and a client says "This site
> doesn't work properly in IE 7" , you've got limited options for
> responses:
> 1. "OMG use Firefox n00b"
> 2. "I tend to develop in Konquerer..."
> 3. "It looks fine under IE7 - but I'm running that through Wine..."
>

We run various Windows versions under a shard vmware server.
We prefer (as developers/users) to work under Linux.
We also have the Microsoft partner pack thing (100-200? quid a year for
all the latest ms software).

If you're happier running everything under Windows, then do so. It isn't
going to make any difference to the code you write; although you can
argue you may be more productive under one than the other.

David.

[AdrianH]

> If you're happier running everything under Windows, then do so. It isn't
> going to make any difference to the code you write; although you can
> argue you may be more productive under one than the other.
>

Sorry to bump this thread, but I've just remembered the single reason
as to why I develop on on a VM using Windows - TortoiseSVN. Without a
shadow of a doubt, that was the only reason I left my beloved gnome-
terminal behind. Believe me, that was a tough decision. I'm sure there
are alternatives, but last time I checked, they weren't anywhere near
in terms of complete solutions.

HTH

Adrian