How I first learned PHP (Part 2/2)

The Demo

While practicing PHP, I had given myself a project to work on. This was necessary because some job ads asked for a portfolio or work sample. In the absence of any actual work done, I reasoned that a working demo on my laptop would do just as well.

But what kind of site could I make? The answer came swiftly. I love football (well OK, I love watching football). I love making websites. Make a football website!

As luck would have it, a call arrived from the boss of a tiny web development firm, and he asked for a work sample. This time, I was ready. After he viewed the screenshots, we arranged for an interview. Coincidentally, this workplace was a block away from the girlfriend's apartment. She made me promise that if I landed the job, I'd go to her place every evening and eat her tomato and scrambled eggs for dinner. (Scrub your filthy minds, I was referring to an actual dish!)

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The Interview

The technical portion went well. I was quizzed on web development concepts, not PHP specifically. Those questions were easy enough and went without a hitch. He was testing my foundation, and I was responding like a pro.

The trickier part came when he asked me how long I would take to write a login sequence. This sounded like a trick question. A login sequence? I was fairly sure it could be done in maybe 15 minutes, but didn't want to look overconfident. Therefore, I carefully replied, "If I took my own sweet time, maybe 45 minutes?"

His response startled me. "Excellent. When can you start work?"

That was it? My befuddlement must have shown, because he went on to explain that the other candidates he'd interviewed had given their answers in days, not minutes, and this, in his mind, showed that they didn't know PHP as well as they claimed. The irony of the moment was not lost on me. Shit, I didn't know PHP as well as I claimed.

Negotiation

We went on to talk about money. He didn't want to pay what I was asking for. Fair enough, I was trying my luck anyway. But he named me a ridiculously low figure. I laughed. He then promised to raise it after my probationary period. This made me laugh harder. I stood up, exchanged a handshake with him and said, "Thanks for your time. I appreciate it, and I'll certainly consider your kind offer."

The tone of my voice made it quite apparent that I would not be considering any such thing.

With that, I left and put this interview behind me, mentally preparing myself to go back to the metaphorical drawing board. Outwardly I appeared unconcerned, but inwardly I was wondering if I should have simply swallowed my pride and accepted.

Four hours later, he called back and raised his offer by 25%. And told me the condition was that I had to start on Monday. In other words, ASAP. I was only too glad to oblige.

The Takeaways

Up to this point, if I had harbored any doubts whatsoever about my ability to get back on my feet, they were banished once and for all. No income for ten months straight? No marketable relevant skillset? Cry me a river, sunshine. When the alternative is to roll over and die (or worse), you'll be surprised at the actions you're willing to take in order to achieve your goal.

Once I formulated that plan to learn PHP, no possibility of failure was entertained. There was nothing to fall back on other than desktop support, and it was determined early on that this was not a viable option. With clarity of purpose, I was able to focus on the various little milestones I had set, ie.get a server up, get some sample code working, and develop a sample  PHP website for showcasing purposes. And meanwhile, keep sending out my CV. The plan was simple enough, the goals achievable enough. I couldn't control market forces, but I could certainly work with them.

Patience. It'll come.

The greatest lesson learned during this time was probably this - patience.

I had stopped putting pressure on myself to ace every interview. In fact, I took every interview as good practice for the next one. And there was always a next one. When the pressure's off, you naturally get better. The anxiety and air of desperation were no longer there. In my case, I even found the audacity to simply walk away during negotiations when the terms were unfavorable.

Patience.

Belief that I was on the right track, faith that I would eventually make it, and security in the knowledge that success would not be an overnight thing. I had gone ten months without income. And before that, I had squandered five years of my life on desktop support. What was another week? Another month?

Epilogue

As it turned out, this wasn't a bad place to work. Sure, the surroundings were sleazy and the building was old. Sure, the pay had a nasty habit of arriving late. Sure, I was working 12 hours a day, almost 7 days a week, public holidays included. The girlfriend was less than thrilled, and eventually called time on our relationship.

But I was getting paid. And I was learning. The boss turned out to be a database guru. He taught me how to optimize my queries, make them leaner and faster. And from my colleagues, my CSS got bumped up another level. I taught myself to AJAX my code. Learned a bit about SEO. Since this was such a tiny set-up, occasionally I was tasked with door-to-door sales and client meetings. The time I spent here was rife with opportunities to learn.

Eventually, I left the job for greener pastures. But landing this job was a good memory, and gave me a world of confidence. My journey was still far from done, but it was good, solid career progress.

Oh dear, this story got a bit long, didn't it? Here, have some patience!
T___T