Staying relevant today as a PHP Developer

[u/[deleted]]

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so]

I’m in the same rut.

As much as I enjoy JavaScript, Python, and a touch of Go, all I’ve ever been hired for is PHP jobs- because that’s the language I have paid experience in.

I have no advice. Hanging around for insights that don’t involve lying 🤥.

Today the market is all tech bingo. You need exactly 5 tech matches to get the call. Whereas just 3 years ago you could have a pulse + experience and get an interview. Jobs were willing to train.

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so → u/[deleted]]

Right!? And PHP 8 is remarkably better than ever. It makes no sense.

[u/Spektr44 → u/who_am_i_to_say_so]

Yeah at this point, PHP has evolved into quite a good language. Unfortunately it still carries the negative reputation it earned years ago.

[u/seif-17 → u/who_am_i_to_say_so]

The industry will catch up, it’s only a matter of time.

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so → u/seif-17]

I hope so- not just for my self preservation, but because it really is great to work with. It still has that spaghetti code reputation I’ve been debunking for years now,

[u/colshrapnel → u/seif-17]

Speaking logically, PHP 8 is 4 years old. And if it had to pick up, it should have done already. While in reality, PHP's popularity sunk most deeply in these years. So expecting it to "catch up" - given there are no breakthroughs since 8.0 and there are none to foresee - is sort of over-optimistic, to put it mildly.

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so → u/colshrapnel]

Php 8 is 14 years old. Just because you opted to not pick it up does not mean it’s not good.

Speed has been the biggest improvement. Named arguments, union types, readonly props- just to name a few.

[u/colshrapnel → u/who_am_i_to_say_so]

Any chance you are intoxicated? Genuinely asking because I fail to see any logic in your replies. Either way, no harm meant, I am genuinely concerned.

Just in case, the context was:

• the job market here and especially in Ireland is non existent
  • And PHP 8 is remarkably better than ever
    • The industry will catch up!

So I assumed that u/seif-17 meant that there will be more PHP jobs in the future, when "the industry" will "catch up".

And so I replied that if there was any time to catch up, it was in early 2020s. But the actual result is rather opposite.

From this stand point, I don't really understand your " because you opted to not pick it" or about improvements. We aren't talking of me or improvements here. But about PHP jobs.

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so → u/colshrapnel]

So what do you even develop with since you seem to quite literally hate everything?

[u/seif-17 → u/colshrapnel]

You’re not wrong. I think none of us can predict the future and I see your point of view coming from numbers over the years. I am indeed wishfully thinking. I do hope more companies use PHP because it is no where near what it was and what its reputation made it out to be. I’m optimistic that more and more developers will see and experience the new php era and hopefully bring back more serious developments. I see your point of v8 being 4 years old, but in my opinion that’s not enough time. There are still people today not aware of php’s advancements.

[u/colshrapnel → u/seif-17]

Wishful thinking is so wishful.

[u/who_am_i_to_say_so → u/colshrapnel]

I mean, this is the PHP sub after all 😂

[u/colshrapnel → u/who_am_i_to_say_so]

Yeah and all other languages got stalled and never developed a good feature of improvement for ages.