

Ask HN - need some advice, I'm stuck - throwaway657

Been a PHP dev for a 5-6 years, and a couple of years before that in Java.<p>Bored with corporate jobs,  but I feel stuck.  Last week I went to a job fair (though I have a job currently), I couldn&#x27;t find many companies working in PHP.  Some who spoke to me
intially, smirked after I told them I&#x27;m a PHP dev.  I&#x27;d like to learn something new, like Android or Rails, but I&#x27;m afraid I wouldn&#x27;t be employable for a while (which
I can&#x27;t afford). I also thoroughly enjoy non programming tasks like market research, data analysis, product design etc.  But don&#x27;t have any &quot;real world&quot; experience to show in these
areas. Also, in my mid thirties, not sure how much that&#x27;d work against me.<p>Anyone in this situation tried something new? Did it work out for you?
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buckofalltrades
I started my career as a developer by learning PHP over a decade ago, it's
still the language I know best, and I was even Zend certified at one point,
but I don't describe myself as a "PHP dev," and neither should you. You're a
developer, and most of your experience is in PHP. It's a subtle, but important
difference.

I'm going to advise you to diversify your skillset, but first, if you really
want to stay within the PHP world, find an agency (or start your own) that
does a lot of work with either Drupal or Wordpress. They're not corporate, and
there are plenty of them.

If you really want to get "unstuck," learn something new. Here's what you're
going to do: find a hackathon that takes place a month from now (see
[http://www.hackathon.io/](http://www.hackathon.io/) or ask Uncle Google), and
register for it. Then spend the next month learning Android, AngularJS,
Backbone.js, Python, Rails, or whatever your hackathon is based on, and then
go to the event and use it.

Given that you already have a job as a developer, there's no reason for you to
be unemployable, ever. If you have a corporate job now, I have a hard time
imagining that you don't have some slack in your day that you could devote to
trying out Android or AngularJS, as julianpye suggested; or Backbone.js, or
Python, or Rails, or whatever. If you can't find the time at work, throw your
TV off the roof of your house/apartment building and spend an hour or two on
it at night.

Come back next month and if you're still stuck, post again and we'll talk.
(But I'm pretty sure you won't be stuck.)

~~~
throwaway657
Thanks, sounds like good advice.

How do I approach the agencies (for PHP or non-PHP)? Cold emailing won't work,
no?

~~~
buckofalltrades
Google for a list of web design/development agencies in your area, and they
should have jobs listed on their sites, which will let you know who's looking.
Ignore the instructions for applying online and try to meet someone from the
firms you're interested in, maybe at a meetup/drinkup/etc. If you want to be
really guerilla, set up shop in a coffee shop near their offices for a couple
of days and see if you can spot a couple of their employees, then strike up a
conversation.

A portfolio will really help here. If you can put together a small site that
shows what you've done before, that will help. The Drupal agencies (the better
ones, anyway) will also probably want to see some activity on Drupal.org, but
that's not necessarily a deal-breaker. If you do want to work on Drupal, go to
some Drupal meetups, and make it your goal to be ready to apply for a Drupal
job at the next DrupalCon in Austin next year (Drupal has a learning curve,
you will need the time).

~~~
throwaway657
Thank you for the advice. Been in the corporate world too long, I guess. Need
to work on the portfolio.

I'll also try to get out of PHP. It would be nice to do something different
for a change.

~~~
Domenic_S
> _I 'll also try to get out of PHP_

That escalated quickly. :)

If you didn't know, Drupal's written in PHP, and the upcoming Drupal 8 uses
the Symfony framework. I always recommend learning new languages, but there's
no pressing need for you to get out of PHP to move forward!

------
xauronx
If someone smirked at me for knowing PHP, I'd gladly walk away from the
conversation. Knowing a programming language (actually, knowing _anything_ )
is a positive thing. PHP isn't glamorous but it is widely used, popular, and
effective at solving a goal.

That being said, I was a Delphi developer for 5 years out of school. There's a
random little used language for you. I spent a year teaching myself iOS,
brushing up on my PHP and javascript. I then tweaked my resume depending on
the job I was applying to, regarding the order I listed the languages. Get
someone on the phone/interview and explain to them how great you are from
there.

Of course, in your mid thirties you might have less freedom to take an entry
level job.

------
julianpye
You do have Java expertise, so Android would be a logical step. Try out
Jetbrain's and Google's new Android Studio to leapfrog over the Eclipse
experience. Alternatively learn AngularJS or a similar JS framework and use
PHP to serve JSON to state-of-the-art single-page type apps. You can run such
PHP scripts on the new Appengine for PHP, so you end up with a highly scalable
solution that is also not bad in performance. I think the best way to progress
is take something that you know and combine it with state-of-the-art practises
or tech. Be glad that you didn't learn some of the technologies that developed
over the past years (Rails for example is starting to get out of fashion since
it is not so useful/overkill for JS apps) and leapfrog to the new ones.

------
gesman
PHP is perfect to develop and sell your own web-related products (extensions,
plugins, themes, integrations).

------
antonio-R
You can start some side projects in other language like Python or Ruby, do
some coding, work on freelance gigs, and earn some experience. That way you
will have something to use in a future interview.

