Posted by Willem Bogaerts on 09/12/07 07:14

> How do I become a professional PHP Developer in the UK?

Get a job as a PHP programmer. Seriously, there is no school like
practice. No theory can teach you the real world with real customers.

> It covered lots of good stuff like XHTML/CSS/Javascript and various
> scripting languages such as ColdFusion/ASP (not dot net) using
> VBScript/PHP and SQL with loads of standards stuff and much more.

Good. Know where you can find the standards when you look up something.
A fine set of colleagues to ask questions to or discuss things with get
you even further.

> I have also been using PHP as a 'serious' hobby for the last few years
> and trying my best to learn all I can about the language, even though
> I've only just started learning OOP stuff in the last month or so.

Learning OOP is good. Where I come from (not the UK), almost every PHP
job "requires" object oriented skills, but do not put it into practice.
Companies just ask it. They probably like the buzzword.

> The thing is, the more i read, the more i find that i 'should' know
> but I dont, such as loads of Design Patterns and Frameworks and such.

You will never get over it. As a programmer, and especially a web
programmer, there is an awful lot to know. You will never be finished
learning.

> What i would like advice on is how much am I really expected to know
> when first starting out? Should i know all about design patterns/
> frameworks/PEAR extensions etc or do you pick this stuff up along the
> way?

Pick them up along the way. Some patterns and frameworks seem so
complicated that doing it the quick and dirty way first can help to see
the advantages.

> What I would like is any advice of what I should and shoulnt be doing
> in order to get my first PHP dev job. Or what i should definately
> know, and not bother with?

I can only recommend that you read a book about security in web
programming, since you seem to have some basis in the programming and
web standards.

> What routes do you guys come from?

I started as a technical draftsman, became a Lisp programmer, switched
to Visual Basic, then PHP, ASP(VB) .NET and came back screaming to PHP.

> Surely if I go for a 'Junior PHP Developer' position, they cant expect
> me to know "everything" right? or do they?

Off course not. And do not be ashamed to learn. A colleague who is
willing to learn is worth more than ten who think they know it all.

Good luck,
--
Willem Bogaerts

Application smith
Kratz B.V.
http://www.kratz.nl/

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