thinking about going back to school

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mike82

New member
Mar 3, 2007
121
0
0
Hey...

I've been thinking about going back to school to learn php and mysql, and get a certification for it. I went to an employment agency today and was in the IT sector.. there's hardly any web work for people that just know html and css like myself. She even said that the employers there usually look for people that know php/mysql. I have a university degree in business but that doesn't mean much these day, at least it seems.

My question to you is this. How hard is it to become really good at developing sites in php/mysql? Also, in high school, I sucked in math, I was in the 'advanced' courses but I still sucked, usually got low 60s... and I took a C++ course in university but dropped out of it after a couple weeks, because I hated it...and it wasn't making much sense to me.

So is it wrong for me to try and get a certification in php/mysql? How hard is it to become good in it if you suck at math?

Thanks.
 


I dont know about other PHP/MySQL developers but personally, I never use math... If I do, I get lazy and write code to solve it for me...Even then its always been basic math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.

I doubt you will find anyone that will tell you not to better yourself by getting certified in a certain expertise.

As far as learning PHP, I guess it depends on what kind of person you are, some people have the brain for and some dont, I dont mean that in a bad way, but some peoples brains work more logically and in a problem solver type of mode, like me, I can program pretty well Id like to think, however, dont ask me to do anything even halfway art related, I have no creativity or imagination. Some people on the other hand can make the most badass graphics ever but cant even begin to get their head around coding....

I never took C++ so I really dont know much about it, however, if I remember correctly PHP is loosely based off C.

I say go for it...
 
designers can usually fill in the html/css positions along with their grasp of graphic design so that 's no surprise. is there even a recognized certification for php? school should be a good motivation to learn as you have to work with others learning the same things.

if you want to start learning php/mysql right now, just start tinkering with your wordpress install. Put XAMPP on your PC, install wordpress and make it look like Yahoo or something. That will get you started fast.

If you want to get good, start an ambitious web project and code it yourself - make a big database-driven site, like your own delicious or ad-serving application or something. i personally believe hands-on learning from your own baby sites beats school any day of the week and you'll have a solid demo to slap on the resume.
 
php/mysql is easy to pick up on. I slept through math classes...well every class actually. I'm an artist also and can code my way around c++ pretty good and just started to pick up PHP 6 months ago. I also know javascript which was a nothing considering c++.
 
Firstly anything you do to improve your skill set, be it learning on your own or taking a class is always a plus. That said however if you had trouble with math and your C++ class made little sense, you may find that programming (PHP/MySQL or something else) might not be an easy as it would for other people.

Being a good programmer is less about the language you know and more about your ability to architect and construct good robust solutions for the problems presented to you with the tools you have.
To do this people with a more mathematical mind set will have an easier time thinking logically about the solutions and therefore generally find programming easier.

You might want to have a look at AJAX though. It's becoming huge in the Web 2.0 communities and relies heavily on the type of person that is a hybrid of designer and developer. Throw in some javascript and xml into your css and html skills and you will be a hot property.
 
I remember why I left my comp sci program at my college - I had to program a basic calculator to add or subtract numbers..... in GNU!!! (from what I remember pretty much a slightly higher form of binary... 0001100011.. it was like 12 pages of garbage like that and took a long time - ugh).

It was ridiculous and I left that program after that semester. I wish at the time they had a web based major, I used to be pretty good at C++, it was just too boring programming stupid math and engineering problems!
 
pick up a few books and teach yourself by writing a useful web application...you'll learn more by doing then than any class on php or sql could ever teach you.
 
mike,

i have the same dilemna...

I can make kick-ass websites and graphics. I know HTML/CSS (Dreamweaver and Photoshop and CSS is easy). But that doesn't seem to cut it these days. Even working for myself, people need php/mysql done when they request a site.
 
I agree with everyone. Here's how I first learned PHP...

I read some tutorials, a little bit of a book, and then spent a ton of time programming a database driven tutorial website. Now THAT was a learning experience. It took forever and I was constantly referencing tutorials, articles, books, etc...but it was a great feeling to have it done.

It's the type of thing I could code in a few days now, but it was that hands on experience that got me started. Once you get the ball rolling, nothing is stopping you from learning. You will be a pro in 6 months time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom