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Posted by Jerry Stuckle on 05/16/06 18:33
TristaSD wrote:
> Point taken.
>
> I'm not looking to work my php magic on the next Yahoo! and make
> $75/hr, just looking for a job - $15-20/hr working on medium-complexity
> php+MySQL projects in the American Southwest.
>
> One of our British friends mentioned a good grounding in arrays,
> strings, regular expressions, file IO, classes and database packages,
> as well as an excellent knowledge of PHP syntax and the predefined
> superglobals. However, is there a universal level of php competency,
> say, like "if you know this, this, and this, you're in a good shape to
> get a job"? What level of complexity should one be able to tackle to
> be employable?
>
The problem is - without any formal schooling or experience, you're going to
have trouble getting *any* programming job. It's just like any other career -
employers will take people with formal training and/or experience ahead of those.
It's mainly because taking someone without those things is very much a crap
shoot. They may work out fine. But they may not be able to write one line of
code, may figure out after three months they really don't like this career, or
any of a number of reasons.
As for the $15-20/hr. There are two sides to that coin. If that's all you
think you're worth, why should I as an employer hire you? I need someone who
can produce. I'd rather pay someone $40/hr and get or four times the production.
But even then - the first year's salary isn't as important to an employer as
getting someone reliable. To replace a $40K/yr. employee can cost an employer
$30-40K, by the time you figure all the costs involved. And having to do it two
or three times for the same job gets real expensive real quickly. That's why
it's so hard to break into a new career - any new career.
It's why I suggested you leverage your accounting experience. Get into a medium
sized company and, once you're stable in that position, show interest in the IT
side of things. Actually, you can show interest from the start - but don't push
to get into it right away.
--
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Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
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