I have learned Object Oriented design approach and just learned how to use namespaces (new in PHP v5.3). I operate my own Ubuntu Web Server and I program for fun.

I’m 21 years old and I have been teaching myself how to program for over 4 years. I just recently started my own LLC and I’m looking for fun and exciting projects to take on.

I also have a lot of experience with JavaScript (AJAX, JSON, & jQuery).

I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks, Jeff

http://uk.crunchboard.com/ukcrunch.php

Talking of freelance, people I’ve met doing that all say they charge £300-£400/day so £25/day seems low.

That said for a lot of people it not all about the money. I think many techs would like to know they can work in a flexible environment where there ideas can be used, casual dress code, interesting projects etc. – though that’s probably more employees than contractors.

We do honestly interview students better than this bloke who expected a rate that is, to be honest, as much as we could support with what our customers pay (it seems to be the downside of the generally good flow of work we get). We have employed students who have required far less training than he would have done. In my opinion these are entry level ideas – things that we teach people in our one-week “learn to program” type course for novices

If other employers are paying £25 an hour for people who write such poor, unmaintainable code, then they really don’t understand what they’re doing (and people like us will probably end up rewriting it in a few years time when it has all turned to a pile of unreadable mush!

We’re not looking for someone with experience – they can learn on the job from the good developers we have. What we need is someone who has enough interest in their own career to have learnt how to do their job with some semblance of professionalism!

Admittedly I’ve been too busy reproducing to write any code over the last couple of years, but while I think we may have to find someone who can only be onsite part of the time, there should be some inexperienced but enthusiastic developers out there wanting to work and learn – we just have to find one!

Also, my experience from the other side with recruitment agencies has taught me that they really don’t know what they’re talking about most of the time, so it wasn’t my first choice to go through them!

I mentioned the one guy expecting 25/hour, and he would require more training I’d be prepared to give; coupling this with the messages I was getting back from recruitment consultants implied that it wouldn’t be easy to find someone – and most of the better programmers available would actually be PHP/Java/.Net programmers (where presumably PHP isn’t their primary focus). Perhaps I looked at the wrong agencies…

You’ve hinted at the fact that you might be looking to pay in the region of £25/hour, but you’ve not made it clear if this figure is stated in the communications you’ve sent out so far.

The good news is that people with the skills and experience you seek are out there – I have the good fortune to work alongside such people every day and would consider myself (as a long-term PHP contractor) to meet your criteria quite comfortably.

The bad news (in my opinion at least) is that the people you really want are likely to be in work already, and will be somewhat indifferent to a onsite rate of £25/hour, especially for a short-term commitment. A salaried job of £30k or a longer-term contract rate of £30+/hour is what most of your potential targets are likely to be looking for.

As you’ve discovered, there are plenty of “PHP developers” out there. You’ve also discovered that many of these don’t have the necessary skills or experience that you need. Whilst headline contract rates for PHP developers may look seductively low due to the supposed supply of talent, the reality is that the few genuinely skilled and experienced PHP people are fully aware of their niche status and only bother with employers/recruiters willing to pay a realistic rate/salary.

If you’re not currently broadcasting the rate you’re looking to pay, you might want to start doing so. Most job ads that offer “market rate” (or some other recruitment cliche) are looking to offer anything but – this tends to result in the good people simply skipping these ads and moving onto the next.

Sorry to cast a pessimistic slant on your situation – but I hope in one way or another that you’ll find my thoughts useful!

You could try and find an agency that specialise in PHP even if the agency aren’t local to you. I’ve been working with one who is trying with some success to become the place to go when you need a Python contractor. This benefits both his clients and the contractors. If the agent hasn’t been placing people with the skill set you’re after then they won’t have a list of people to call up and will be relying on job boards and therefore add no value to the process.

I would suggest casting your net a bit wider – are there national PHP boards/mailing lists that you could post to? Job boards would be another avenue which you could try. If you get really stuck and could do with the services of a sleep deprived Pythonista give me a shout.

I think I’ll just give up, and work weekends.

I agree with your comment David, about people opting for permanent roles – skilled developers could earn tonnes more money, but if they can get by on a slightly lower paid permanent role which offers stability, I know which I’d rather choose…