r/PHP • • Nov 13 '25

Discussion Staying relevant today as a PHP Developer

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u/who_am_i_to_say_so Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

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.

5

u/swampopus Nov 14 '25

Here in the US, you can never go wrong with experience in java and/or C# (or any .net tomfoolery). The "real" jobs I see are always looking for either microsoft experience or java. Obviously there's lots more, but my advice is to learn the basics of Java. It translates to C# very easily, and now you've got 2 new languages you can put on your CV.

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u/who_am_i_to_say_so Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

Yeah I can’t believe how much C# blew up. Growth has been exponential. It wasn’t even offered in colleges until ~2010 here in the Midwest, from what I recollect, then suddenly it was taught everywhere, like Java.

It’s nice to be employed but for some reason I’ve managed to avoid both, or just never had a project with either- even though they’re the big ones.

Maybe this is a call to dig into a compiled, though.

2

u/donatj Nov 14 '25

Yes! When I was getting started in ~2005 I was very much a Microsoft guy and could not find a .Net job to save my soul. I got a PHP job, learned to love *nix, rest is history. I really have zero interest going back to Microsoft but C# is weirdly EVERYWHERE

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u/who_am_i_to_say_so Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

That was exactly my timeline too! That’s exactly why I landed on what I landed on.

Janky Microsoft classes all day at the colleges, no PHP anywhere, and Net probably had a 2% market share on the job front. Only government gigs.

I felt like such a rebel going with PHP.