PHP Certifications?

[ShoeLace1291]

So, I've been developing websites with PHP as an amateur for about 5 years now, and decided that I want to do so as a career.  College really isn't for me... I've tried it a couple of times and flunked out.  My friend who is in Iraq as an IT help desk administrator for an army base suggested that I get a PHP certification from Zend and then a Zend Framework certification.  I was wondering... how much would getting this certification actually help me?  He said that PHP/MySQL programmers make $300k/year over there with those credentials, but I find that hard to believe...  although, he said he makes around $200k/year doing his IT thing without any college education.  Would it be worth it to get Zend certifications?  Are there other PHP certifications out there that are more credible?

[Jessica]

Just goes to show how much money our government wastes.  :

 

From one college dropout to another - the Zend certification is really difficult. About 1/3 of it is stuff that I have never once used or seen in (*counts in head*) about 7 or 8 years of PHP development, 5 of which I have been doing professionally. Maybe others will have seen it, my point is just that you can certainly make a good living without knowing that subset of skills that the certification emphasizes.

 

I do get recruiters calling/emailing every day looking for people with PHP/MySQL skills, so it's definitely in demand still, and I've only had about 10% of them even ask if I have the Zend cert. No one has cared that I don't have it.

 

Set up your resume on LinkedIn, add some recruiters, and you'll get calls. If after a few months you haven't gotten anywhere, you can either take community college courses on PHP, or go for the certification. I personally think the certification has little real world relevance so I wouldn't waste (any more of) my money on it.

[.josh]

Businesses still like seeing people who graduate from a traditional/accredited college.  "Bachelors in Computer Science" means something to them. 

 

Failing that, a lot of businesses are willing to look at portfolios and projects you've done, previous clients you've had (job history).  Something to show what you've done, that they can evaluate, means something to them.

 

"Zend Certified" means little to nothing to the average HR person or client looking to hire someone (full time or freelance).  But you probably stand to learn the most from it, as far as web development is concerned.  Though as jesirose mentioned...one downside is that they do like to stick it to you as far as forcing you to learn the more arcane things, in order to pass.  They do have a variety of "courses" and "certifications" you can take but...yeah...they can really stand to tone it down a bit. Working knowledge on how to find and learn the things that obscure, once in a life time situations might call for, is a lot more practical than forcing people to actually learn that shit.

 

Anyways, point is, Zend Certification certainly won't hurt your situations, and it may certainly help you, you never know. If you insist on going the "certification" route, I can't think of a better one to go for.  They are, after all, directly connected to the core php development team.  But if you are looking to maximize chances and minimize investment in finding a job...my advice is to skip it.  Especially if you are looking to be a freelancer (vs. full time).

 

In fact, if you are looking to be a freelancer/independent consultant...you should probably focus on a business degree instead, because it's more about marketing and selling yourself than anything.  A lot of freelancers fail because they fail to realize that. 

[Monkuar]

Lol'd @ a PHP Certificate.  No job would gives a rat ass for one, lol

[Jessica]

Businesses still like seeing people who graduate from a traditional/accredited college.  "Bachelors in Computer Science" means something to them. 

 

Given the influx of people I see complaining that they can't get a job because they're "overqualified" and the people complaining about student debt without a job - I have to disagree. In this economy,

 

I've asked coworkers for years what their degree was in. Not a single one of the Americans had a degree in computer anything. Architecture, business, arts, religion, etc.

 

Yes, I tend to be the odd one out in offices with not having a degree of any kind, but I'm also usually the youngest (I'm 26). When my coworkers were graduating and getting their first job, the economy and work force was MUCH different.

But all I hear lately from people my age is how they can't get a job like the university promised them they would. They are desperate for any job and they get told they are overqualified (a company doesn't want to hire a programmer to flip burgers because they know as soon as a "real job" is available, you're gone". But the "real jobs" aren't hiring [this is what they say, I've never had trouble and I don't have a degree]).

 

Also by traditional do you mean not a community college, or are you including that in there? Because you can easily do 2 years at community, then finish at a university and save a lot of money, plus cut out a lot of the crap courses.

 

 

I am personally a big advocate for trade schools and community college. My husband learned a trade and has never had trouble finding work. Same for me. We are not going to pay for college for our kids because for 90% of people it's a waste of money and time. If you're one of the 10% for whom it's valuable, that's great.

 

 

I do agree that a business degree is probably the most useful if you're going to go that route.

[.josh]

Jesirose,

 

McJobs require a different skillset than what a ______ degree at ____ college/university offers, so I don't really see how one can accurately claim they are "over qualified" for the job, based on that.  But that's just word gaming, not the reality of the situation.

 

I dunno about you, but I've had a lot of experience in the food industry when I was younger, including being the guy that hires people.  In my experience, McJobs actually preferred hiring the "over qualified" people.  There's short tenure at McJobs regardless.  The average lifespan of a McJob minion is anywhere from 1-3 months.  That's just the nature of the beast. 

 

Given the choice of spending that 1-3 months begging, pleading, bribing and/or threatening some teenager to come in to work (and be sober), instead of going out and being a teenager, vs. some "over qualified" college graduate desperate to pay their bills and put food on the table, who is likely to be much better at learning the job and behaving responsibly on the job...the latter wins every time.  So it is not a matter of being "over qualifed" at all... it's a matter of there being too many people trying to bang down the door for a job, because as you pointed out, the economy sucks right now. 

 

Also, for clarification, I do in my head include community college in my definition of "traditional."  What I do not include are a lot of these "get your degree online" colleges institutions universities businesses claiming to be "educational facilities" that are basically out there trying to sucker people out of what little money they have.  They take advantage of people in bad financial situations who are trying to make an effort to get out of their rut.  They are predators who IMO are a large part of the problem of why there are so many people out there in debt and "over qualified" to begin with. 

 

I am personally a big advocate for trade schools and community college. My husband learned a trade and has never had trouble finding work. Same for me. We are not going to pay for college for our kids because for 90% of people it's a waste of money and time. If you're one of the 10% for whom it's valuable, that's great.

 

I agree.  If you are looking for a full time job in the white collar industries, I believe trade schools and community colleges are the way to go.  They are cheap, established, and accredited. 

 

 

 

 

[Jessica]

Jesirose,

 

McJobs require a different skillset than what a ______ degree at ____ college/university offers, so I don't really see how one can accurately claim they are "over qualified" for the job, based on that.  But that's just word gaming, not the reality of the situation.

 

I'm saying they get turned down and are told they are overqualified. Not that the job seekers are saying they are over qualified, that they are rejected on the basis of them being over qualified.

 

Edit: I personally think some of these people would rather collect unemployment than take something they feel is beneath them, or work at all, because that's what my generation wants - money for nothing. I'm just reporting what I've been told.