What PHP/Web technologies do I need to get up to speed ?

Question

After graduating in CS in the last century I have been running my own business for the better part of a decade. Now in my mid-thirties I am going to move countries and for the first time in a long time I need to look seriously at actually finding a formal position as a programmer.

I have developed and maintained several sizable websites over the years -- done all the in house IT -- but of course spend a great deal time of building and managing a company as well. As such my CV looks seriously out of date.

As I know PHP more or less inside out -- and my way around MySQL I figure that I study for qualifications in both (Zend Qualifications / MySQL Developer) as a proof that I know what I am talking about.

But what other frameworks, technologies, or theory will give me a leg up when interviewing for positions?

Answer 1

Read Yahoo's Performance Practices!

Answer 2

I've never worked for others besides freelancing but I would say Javascript / AJAX is a must nowadays.

CSS is kinda tricky with all the non standard browsers arround (cough IE cough) but it also pays out.

Answer 3

CSS3, XHTML and not using tables for layout. Oh and JQuery. Pretty cool stuff. Brush up on regular expressions. There are a lot of great tools for validation, but every now and then you'll need them. Familiarize yourself with some frameworks like Worspress, Drupal and joomla

Answer 4

I assume you are looking for a PHP position? I would say knowing OOP and really understand how you can program object oriented using the features of PHP 5 is a must. Stuff like common design patterns etc. Test driven development or at least unit testing per se is getting more and more attention, so understanding and having experience in these topics is very important.

Even though you are likely to apply for a backend developer position, having a solid javascript / AJAX knowledge can help you. Having used one of the common javascript frameworks (jQuery, YUI etc.) is probably a plus.

When working on web apps, CSS and XHTML are a must anyway.

If you are applying for a job in a webdevelopment agency, knowing one or more of the big PHP based CMS is also good. TYPO3 e. g. or Drupal or Joomla.

It is also good if you have experience in at least one of the common PHP frameworks like Zend Framework, Cake PHP, Symphony etc.

Having listed many technologies and frameworks, I think the most important: show that you can program and that you are smart. Smart developers can pick up any technology and any framework - that is what really matters. Technologies come and go.

EDIT: Around here it is not unlikely to expect that PHP developers have (at least basic) experience in some other language, mostly Java, sometimes Flash, depends on the company.

Answer 5

Really good IT folks are worth their weight in gold. Any successful web/platform company (not a simple website) will have really smart IT folks to help them manage their datacenters and deployment processes. Bonus if you understand issues around geo-distribution, CDNs, etc.

If that's the kind of IT person you are, don't worry about PHP, etc and focus on growing the skills you currently have. Folks with killer IT/network engineering skills shouldn't have trouble finding a rewarding position.