What's next for a novice web developer

[qazplm114477]

I have spent months looking for web developing jobs but to no avail, I'm assuming the failure of my interviews and job applications are due to my lack of work experience and knowledge. So I am here to seek advice as to what should I do to help increase my chances at landing a job.

I know the basic stuff of web development like PHP, MySql, Javascript, HTML, and CSS. I mostly focus on PHP and I am fairly versed in the basics. Should I start learning php frameworks like CAKE or ZEND? if so can you recommend links on tutorials and such. Should I focus on just PHP and become an expert at that? or should I start learning a bit of everything?

I don't really know where to go from here. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance!

[vaibhav1983]

Hi Dear,

With PHP you can do web development for self, free lancing, etc. But PHP is not the kind of language that will land you into a very high-profile job.

If you wnat to be a very good engineer in teh IT industry, learn C++ or JAVA. I would prefer JAVA. Also some basic UNIX would be helpful.

IT industry is full of opportunities. When you are done, send me a private message :)

I'll forward your resume to a few places.

[Elihu5991]

You could always try Freelancing. vaibhav1983 is right. Learning the Frameworks would be good and get started with (Ruby) and especially Ruby On Rails - Twitter was made with it.

Private Message me, so I can see your Resume and what exactly you did in your interview.

Don't forget to create a portfolio of your work (if you haven't, do so and then show in your interview or when scoring a freelance job)

Good Luck - Hopefully this helps.

[jayreis]

You might want to try to get an internship with a local web development or IT company. I am not sure how old you are or where you live but there are usually a bunch of local technology companies that are willing to take in a newbie programmer on an internship basis.

This would be good for you as it would help you further develop your programming skills and also give you a professional reference to use in the future. Infact some companies even hire there interns after a few months if they prove to be hard working and dedicated.

The other suggestion I would say is think of a hobby project to build. Like if you like to cook make a php/mysql recipe database system or if you are into games make a text based php/mysql rpg. The goal is to give you an opportunity to practice your programming by making you spend more time programming.

Don't waste your time with learning frame works like Cake etc they are a crutch that will not enable you to become a really strong programmer. The best programmers can take a pencil and paper and start programming in php and sql and know the code will work. Using a framework although will let you create a system quickly it will also tech you nothing about programming.

Lastly if you can not think of some sort of hobby script to build why not offer your friends, family etc to build something in php/mysql free

Regards

[Elihu5991]

Awesome jayreis! Where can I learn all of this?