Switching from C++ to PHP?

Question

PHP

Hello!
I’ve been writing freelance in C++/Qt for almost two years now, during this time I managed to work with a bunch of small projects and two large projects, one even turned into a remote worker (for 6 months), but the raspberries ended and I had to look for orders again :) to say on the crosses is getting smaller, and I want stability or something, so I decided to go to the office. There are very few vacancies in C ++, and those for middles / seniors, but in my city there are none at all. There is no possibility of moving, so I decided to choose from what I have: PHP, Front End (+ Node.js), and Java. I threw Jawa away almost immediately, because I just don’t want to enter the enterprise. I only ran into the frontend once, I remember that I was crazy about the technology zoo, but now it seems to be in demand. With PHP, I have a little more experience, when I wrote a small corporate site for friends.
Lately I’ve been leaning towards PHP: like a good ecosystem (a lot of good frameworks), 7.1, a lot of vacancies, there are also a lot of robots on freelance (if it’s really a problem), well, at least some stability in terms of the technology stack compared to the same front .
Therefore, I ask for advice, is it worth going into PHP development? Will it be promising in the future (since I'm just leaving the pros for this reason)?

Answer 1

It's not entirely clear why you should leave C++. Specialists in C ++ earn much more than professionals in other languages, because the entry threshold is very high and there is a shortage of staff. If you continue to develop in this direction, then there will be no problems either with money or with employment (although you will most likely have to work in the office or partially remotely).
If we talk about PHP, then you will master it at an average level in a week.
Z.Y. The web developer

Answer 2

The advantage of PHP is obvious - there is a large amount of work and the edge is not visible to it. In any case, I advise you to start with it. As you work, if and when it starts to lose popularity, you will definitely notice it and you will have a fairly large amount of time to learn something new. But if you study what is "gaining popularity", "well, it will definitely be promising" - you can only lose time and eventually get a dummy.

Answer 3

Therefore, I ask for advice, is it worth going into PHP development?

Definitely worth it.
In my opinion, the most promising options for freelancing now are:
1. JavaScript . Very in demand in any stack: front-end is always needed. You can also make a backend, but it has its own specifics, this is already a niche solution.
2.PHP . _ The most mature back-end technology in freelancing.
3. Ruby . The smallest entry threshold due to the lack of fragmentation, you can start earning well the fastest. Exclusively for international freelancing.

Answer 4

In fact, there is enough work in any language, not to mention C ++. In a single city, it may not be, but if you have the Internet, this is not particularly important. Another thing is that it is not so easy to find it as a freelancer, and among techies, not very many know how to properly sell their skills directly to the customer.

Answer 5

I would suggest ruby/rails or python for the following reasons:
1) C# (.NET) and Java are a fierce enterprise that I personally can't stand.
2) PHP is a rather poor language, and almost everyone writes in it. As a result, they don't pay much for it, and you will constantly face the problem: "Why should I pay you, even if you are a professional, I'd rather pay five times less for an undereducated schoolboy and he will somehow cheat"
3) PHP is only web development, python and ruby ​​are universal languages, ruby ​​has server applications (puppet for example) there is a lot of everything in python, and data processing along with R has switched to it. data.
4) I myself have been writing in C++ for 6 years at a research institute, but I don’t consider myself either a foreign minister or a senior, since I am self-taught without serious commercial projects. For a year and a half on the rails, I began to earn quite well, and at the same time I enjoy my work. So I recommend =)

Answer 6

It's not for me to give advice, but
look at ASP.NET - a compiled language with strong typing and cross-like syntax, a mature backend technology, there are many vacancies in the Russian Federation.
Anything nicer than PHP will be

Answer 7

I will allow myself a little maxim:
the stages of learning any tool: Google (the ability to grasp ready-made recipes) > beginner > pro > expert
if you know C ++ to the level of "pro", then (IMHO) knowledge of PHP to the level will take you 2-3 weeks to the level of "beginner +", which will allow you to decide whether you like it or not (it's "like" and not "it turns out"). If "the process has begun" (like it!), then go ahead and with the song - master PHP in parallel and you will be happy (there are a lot of works for PHP). The most important thing is that you like the instrument. And if you like it, then success will be)).

Answer 8

Enough work for the next 10 years, move on. But you will have to master the front-end at least to some extent, because far from everywhere there is a separate person involved in layout + js programming.

Answer 9

I am slowly migrating from PHP to JavaScript, it turns out to be closer to me. Recently, I needed to translate some code back from JavaScript to PHP, and I experienced a lot of indescribable sensations, I'm so used to JS-style coding. The code turned out 2 times more, and much less readable.

Answer 10

PHP is the last century. Now all development creeps on the client. Whole web applications are being written. And there is JS. On the server, also JS (node.js + express, etc).
What about php? Well, it's full of schoolchildren who are willing to work for food. They are full of orders. In companies, it's common to support shitty legacy code. Yes, and php itself is poor, more than completely. Do you need it? JS specialists are in great demand now and will continue to be, only more. You definitely won't be without a job.

Answer 11

The low threshold of entry and the popularity of the PHP language is such a problem when looking for a customer. Firstly, among PHP-shnikov there will always be someone who, on crutches, will do it faster and cheaper. Secondly, few customers understand how important it is not to save money on programmers so that the application does not fail later. As a result, tons of legacy code and strapped crutches, and you are trying to fix it all.
PHP is mostly a server-side solution for web pages, while JavaScript is capable of both server-side and client-side technologies. Plus for JavaScript.
If I were you, I would look towards Go. Promising, according to reports. The range of applications is wide - from console server applications to the same websites, albeit narrow niche ones. Helps large companies save money by optimizing code and reducing server costs. Well, and closer to you: static typing, threads. The transition won't be as painful, I think.