Be honest.
What was your immediate thought?
Hopefully, it was “Yeah right!”
I was cruising through the PHP groups I’m in this morning and I ran across someone pimping this. I clicked to see exactly what it was. And, it’s an ad for the “PHP Crash Course”.
3,317 students enrolled (supposedly).
Sigh.
I mean, who knows?
Could be a great course.
But, c’mon.
It’s a completely wrong-headed approach.
Today, I also got asked this question on Quora:
“How much time would it take to learn web development from scratch and start making some [muney] from it as a freelancer?”
Sigh (x2).
Can we stop with all this?
I mean, I get it. These are people that are probably working some job they hate or just about to graduate from college… and they want to get into a dev job fast. They can’t stand another day where they’re at now.
Or, are terrified of dropping 100Gs on a college degree…
Only to wind up at asking “Would you like fries with that?”
But, it’s NOT about speed.
To me, the bigger question is…
“Can you get hired for that freelance gig and actually deliver?”
Or…
“Can you get that tech job and actually perform?”
Cuz, you could learn PHP in 2 nano-seconds and get a job or a freelance gig… but if you build things that suck… you’ll be OUT of that job or gig in about 2 nano-seconds, as well.
I think you get it, though.
I know you’re smarter than this.
But, I also know this stuff can be tempting in your moments of weakness.
Just remember.
“Nothing worth having comes easy”.
Anyhoo, if you want a real PHP curriclum, you can get started with mine for nothing over on SkillShare. Here’s what’s in there:
- Beginner’s Guide to PHP
- Build Professional PHP Applications With OOP
- Create Secure, Session-Based Login Script In PHP
- Create a PHP Blogging Application
- Submit an HTML Form to MySQL AND Email
It’s about 19 hours of hard-core PHP training.
And, I dare say, you’ll learn more about PHP than most developers ever will. But, that’s my totally biased (and usually right) opinion. In any case, you can go here to start your 2-month, no-cost trial: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/johnmorris.
Take all those courses (and all my others).
Cancel anytime before the 2 months is up.
And, never pay a quarter.
If you’re looking to “learn PHP in 30 minutes”… then, this isn’t for you. But, if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, put in the work and spend the next few months grinding…
I believe you can master PHP in that time.
And, gain the confidence to KNOW…
That you can deliver when you do get hired.
And, to me, that’s worth a helluva lot more than some flash in the pan “crash course”. Buuuuut… to each their own.
Link is here if you want to roll with me: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/johnmorris
Later,
John