Sorry I forgot to mention one more useful reference for PHP, this is HERE

“Until u get a global certification on php-mysql, I think u can’t get proper offer on the same field”

IMO, things should go the other way around. People should get certified on products on which they have experience. Certifications without experience are usually not enough to get a job.

“Certifications without experience are usually not enough to get a job” thanks I am not the same guy without certifications !
a lot of experience can not accept without global certification. A human being may get experience after getting job and job can not offer without proper certification on the same field.
I entirely disagree with Carlosdl.

“a lot of experience can not accept without global certification. A human being may get experience after getting job and job can not offer without proper certification on the same field.”

Well, maybe things are different in this part of the world…

We have hired certified people without experience in the past, and sadly, many of them have been fired after some months, because they didn’t have the hands on experience needed to solve critical day-to-day issues in a timely manner.

Now, we prefer experience over certifications (if they have both, better), and I know many, many people that think this way.

Granted, it could be hard to find a [non entry-level] job without experience (and without certifications) but you could even offer to work as a volunteer if needed, which will give you the opportunity to get some real work experience.

In line with Carlos, There are numerous opportunities to get experience outside of a “structrued corporate” environment. There’s always adding some PHP forms to a local businesses website, maybe set-up some scripting for a local churches page, or something along those lines.

Any opportunity you can use your skills, while working towards those Professioanl Certifications, will only benefit you in the long run…

I agree with Carlosdl on this one. Certifications (of which I hold over 15 including the Microsoft Certified Master) are typically designed to show that you know how to use the production space, not that you have a grasp on the theory. I know the Microsoft certifications (speficially for SQL Server) the most so I’ll speak to those specifically.

Just about anyone could pass the basic entry level MCTS certifications by reading a book or two. Which is shown in the number of people that hold these certifications (tens of thousands world wide). Because of this, not much weight is put into these certifications. These certifications are designed to show that you have some basic knowledge of various parts of the application which you are being tested on.

The MCITP certifications are a bit harder, as they dive a little more into the application. You should be able to pass these exams after using the application or product for 2-3 years in the real world (not school). There ar boot camps that people go through in order to pass these exams, and in my opinion if you need to go through a boot camp in order to pass these certifications you probably shouldn’t be taking the exams. Each of the MCITP certs has a couple of thousand people that have passed them.

The MCM (Microsoft Certified Master) is damn hard (see my blog posts on the exam and lab). Most people who have been working with the product for 10+ years won’t be able to pass these exams, and that’s the way it should be. You have to know a lot about the internals of the product, and be really senior level in order to pass this certification. Currently there are something like 78 people that hold the MCM for SQL Server, 25 of which do not work for Microsoft.

The MCA (Microsoft Certified Architect) is even tougher with something like 10 people world wide holding this for SQL Server 2008.

Without real world knowledge the certification is meaningless as you have just read a book and passed a test. Anyone can do that. The real world is where you prove that you know how to actually use the product and that you have the troubleshooting skills to fix problems as they come up.

Mrdenny is right on subject. You need hand on experience with everything. Degrees and certification’s only mean you are book smart.

I think you could do one of two things – get a basic qualification in PHP or software development, which will help your chances of getting a job. Or write something of your own in PHP, such as an open-source program or contributing to another website. This could get you exposure to get a job in the future.

I would recommend downloading and installing Drupal, the open source content management platform at http://www.drupal.org, become familiar with Drupal which is written in PHP, stand up your own Drupal web site (even if only you can access the site from your home), and experiment with writing Drupal modules (functionality) or contributing to existing Drupal modules. It won’t be long before you have practical, hands-on PHP and Drupal experience that you can start to market yourself with.