starting as a back-end PHP developer?

Hi friends :smile:

I recently started to learn about PHP & MySQL and up until now I kind of did some small projects on my own and to be honest I do feel confident writing web applications.

However I'm now thinking about starting as a freelancer, do you think it's a good idea? Or is it still too early (since I've been coding for only a month till now)?

How long did it take you to become a proficient back-end developer? And how long do you think one should practice PHP before getting into freelancing?

Also I had the idea to start as a back-end developer by charging clients only $5/hour (since I'm a starter), is this a good idea (will I be able to get my first clients this way)?

As long as you're doing the freelance thing as a side hustle, you could go for it. Just take easier jobs as you gain more experience. I would maybe take some more classes on PHP since no coding language can be proficiently used after a month. At least in my case.

(06-19-2019, 11:46 AM)Drako Wrote:

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As long as you're doing the freelance thing as a side hustle, you could go for it. Just take easier jobs as you gain more experience. I would maybe take some more classes on PHP since no coding language can be proficiently used after a month. At least in my case.

I agree with you, and that is how I will actually start by first doing small projects and later on get into some more serious stuff.

Good job dude!

As long as you feel comfortable programming in PHP and you're sure that your code is secure, efficient and doesn't break (easily) you'll be able to do some freelance work on the side whilst you keep learning new things.
I'd also recommend eventually learning a framework like Laravel to make the development time for a project significantly shorter since it has everything built in from routing to authentication and mysql shit.

I've been working with PHP and MySQL now for over 3 years and still learn new things every day. It took me around 2 years (1 year studying from home in the evenings and 1 year of school) to be able to make anything I wanted in PHP so I really do recommend to keep learning.

About the rate. The freelance market is filled with Indians and Filipinos, these people work for an extremely low rate which is still higher than what they get if they work in their own county for a company. As long as you have something that they don't a company will hire you faster. Like, if you're proficient with English a company will hire you faster because they want to have good communication with the people that make their application.
You'll most definitely get clients by only charging $5/hour. Just be sure to increase the price when you become better and better. You don't want to be stuck on that $5/hour rate when you're a great programmer and have so much potential. Cheap rates also isn't always what a company is looking for.

I hope this information helped you out man!

(06-19-2019, 02:01 PM)CSS Wrote:

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Good job dude!

As long as you feel comfortable programming in PHP and you're sure that your code is secure, efficient and doesn't break (easily) you'll be able to do some freelance work on the side whilst you keep learning new things.
I'd also recommend eventually learning a framework like Laravel to make the development time for a project significantly shorter since it has everything built in from routing to authentication and mysql shit.

I've been working with PHP and MySQL now for over 3 years and still learn new things every day. It took me around 2 years (1 year studying from home in the evenings and 1 year of school) to be able to make anything I wanted in PHP so I really do recommend to keep learning.

About the rate. The freelance market is filled with Indians and Filipinos, these people work for an extremely low rate which is still higher than what they get if they work in their own county for a company. As long as you have something that they don't a company will hire you faster. Like, if you're proficient with English a company will hire you faster because they want to have good communication with the people that make their application.
You'll most definitely get clients by only charging $5/hour. Just be sure to increase the price when you become better and better. You don't want to be stuck on that $5/hour rate when you're a great programmer and have so much potential. Cheap rates also isn't always what a company is looking for.

I hope this information helped you out man!

Thanks for your post, well yes eventually the price rate will be increased I don't want to be stuck at $5/hour, that would be not enough for me to pay my stuff I'd rather become a burger flipper at that point.

(06-19-2019, 09:28 PM)SneakyBit Wrote:

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(06-19-2019, 02:01 PM)CSS Wrote:

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Good job dude!

As long as you feel comfortable programming in PHP and you're sure that your code is secure, efficient and doesn't break (easily) you'll be able to do some freelance work on the side whilst you keep learning new things.
I'd also recommend eventually learning a framework like Laravel to make the development time for a project significantly shorter since it has everything built in from routing to authentication and mysql shit.

I've been working with PHP and MySQL now for over 3 years and still learn new things every day. It took me around 2 years (1 year studying from home in the evenings and 1 year of school) to be able to make anything I wanted in PHP so I really do recommend to keep learning.

About the rate. The freelance market is filled with Indians and Filipinos, these people work for an extremely low rate which is still higher than what they get if they work in their own county for a company. As long as you have something that they don't a company will hire you faster. Like, if you're proficient with English a company will hire you faster because they want to have good communication with the people that make their application.
You'll most definitely get clients by only charging $5/hour. Just be sure to increase the price when you become better and better. You don't want to be stuck on that $5/hour rate when you're a great programmer and have so much potential. Cheap rates also isn't always what a company is looking for.

I hope this information helped you out man!

Thanks for your post, well yes eventually the price rate will be increased I don't want to be stuck at $5/hour, that would be not enough for me to pay my stuff I'd rather become a burger flipper at that point.

No worries. Take it from me, as long as you're significantly better at communicating than a cheap Indian, companies will pay you way way more.

Also, forgot to add this.
Don't be nervous or shy when asking for a large sum of money for a project. If you really think the project is worth that much and you can give a good reason for it the project manager will most likely agree with you and give you the project.

(06-19-2019, 09:41 PM)CSS Wrote:

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(06-19-2019, 09:28 PM)SneakyBit Wrote:

[To see links please register here]

(06-19-2019, 02:01 PM)CSS Wrote:

[To see links please register here]

Good job dude!

As long as you feel comfortable programming in PHP and you're sure that your code is secure, efficient and doesn't break (easily) you'll be able to do some freelance work on the side whilst you keep learning new things.
I'd also recommend eventually learning a framework like Laravel to make the development time for a project significantly shorter since it has everything built in from routing to authentication and mysql shit.

I've been working with PHP and MySQL now for over 3 years and still learn new things every day. It took me around 2 years (1 year studying from home in the evenings and 1 year of school) to be able to make anything I wanted in PHP so I really do recommend to keep learning.

About the rate. The freelance market is filled with Indians and Filipinos, these people work for an extremely low rate which is still higher than what they get if they work in their own county for a company. As long as you have something that they don't a company will hire you faster. Like, if you're proficient with English a company will hire you faster because they want to have good communication with the people that make their application.
You'll most definitely get clients by only charging $5/hour. Just be sure to increase the price when you become better and better. You don't want to be stuck on that $5/hour rate when you're a great programmer and have so much potential. Cheap rates also isn't always what a company is looking for.

I hope this information helped you out man!

Thanks for your post, well yes eventually the price rate will be increased I don't want to be stuck at $5/hour, that would be not enough for me to pay my stuff I'd rather become a burger flipper at that point.

No worries. Take it from me, as long as you're significantly better at communicating than a cheap Indian, companies will pay you way way more.

Also, forgot to add this.
Don't be nervous or shy when asking for a large sum of money for a project. If you really think the project is worth that much and you can give a good reason for it the project manager will most likely agree with you and give you the project.

Thanks for the good advice you've given me

(06-19-2019, 09:41 PM)CSS Wrote:

[To see links please register here]

(06-19-2019, 09:28 PM)SneakyBit Wrote:

[To see links please register here]

(06-19-2019, 02:01 PM)CSS Wrote:

[To see links please register here]

Good job dude!

As long as you feel comfortable programming in PHP and you're sure that your code is secure, efficient and doesn't break (easily) you'll be able to do some freelance work on the side whilst you keep learning new things.
I'd also recommend eventually learning a framework like Laravel to make the development time for a project significantly shorter since it has everything built in from routing to authentication and mysql shit.

I've been working with PHP and MySQL now for over 3 years and still learn new things every day. It took me around 2 years (1 year studying from home in the evenings and 1 year of school) to be able to make anything I wanted in PHP so I really do recommend to keep learning.

About the rate. The freelance market is filled with Indians and Filipinos, these people work for an extremely low rate which is still higher than what they get if they work in their own county for a company. As long as you have something that they don't a company will hire you faster. Like, if you're proficient with English a company will hire you faster because they want to have good communication with the people that make their application.
You'll most definitely get clients by only charging $5/hour. Just be sure to increase the price when you become better and better. You don't want to be stuck on that $5/hour rate when you're a great programmer and have so much potential. Cheap rates also isn't always what a company is looking for.

I hope this information helped you out man!

Thanks for your post, well yes eventually the price rate will be increased I don't want to be stuck at $5/hour, that would be not enough for me to pay my stuff I'd rather become a burger flipper at that point.

No worries. Take it from me, as long as you're significantly better at communicating than a cheap Indian, companies will pay you way way more.

Also, forgot to add this.
Don't be nervous or shy when asking for a large sum of money for a project. If you really think the project is worth that much and you can give a good reason for it the project manager will most likely agree with you and give you the project.

Couldn't agree more with this sentiment. You HAVE to ask for what you're worth. EVERYONE wants you to work for free and will blatantly tell you to your face they want you to work for free. If someone isn't willing to even negotiate from a nominal standpoint, without shortcutting you, walk away cause they weren't going to give you a dime in the first place.
They might even ask, "What's so damn hard about what you're doing?" Feel free to explain to these clients in the most verbose and obtuse terms you can precisely what it is you need to do to diagnose, AND THEN fix the problem. Diagnosis and surgery do not come as a single charge. And being complex and concise with your wording will let them know exactly how much experience you have and they absolutely do not.
It sounds kind of like a dick move, but it's simply letting the client know they don't know shit about what you know without actually saying, "You don't know shit about shit and should be quiet as soon as humanly possible."
You're worth the work you're doing.