future and present of LAMP in INDIA

Hi,

    I am a LAMP programmer and i am working for 4 yrs now. I was happy all these yrs untill i got to know what i was getting payed was peanuts when compared to other technologies.

My question is straight. Whats the value for LAMP professionals as of now in INDIA and in near future. I see in INDIA that not many companies are using PHP except yahoo and some few companies.

Hi,

    I am a LAMP programmer and i am working for 4 yrs now. I was happy all these yrs untill i got to know what i was getting payed was peanuts when compared to other technologies.

 

My question is straight. Whats the value for LAMP professionals as of now in INDIA and in near future. I see in INDIA that not many companies are using PHP except yahoo and some few companies.

 

Historically, PHP lagged behind ASP and Java developers for a long time, but as it has hit critical mass in the last few year, PHP salaries have gained parity as demand has skyrocketed.  Unfortunately the IT industry in the country in which you live is predicated on low pay in comparison to western countries, as a way to attract out sourcing dollars from European and US companies.

I can assure you that top notch PHP skills are in high demand, however, PHP also suffers somewhat of the same issue that visual basic use to suffer, which is that there is a low barrier to entry, since it's such an easy language to pick up the basics in, and there are is subsequently a glut of entry level developers.  It has taken time for companies to learn that these developers often can not transition to senior level skills, and require a lot of senior level mentoring.

You can differentiate yourself by earning certifications from Zend, MySQL and some of the big frameworks like ZF or Symfony.  Purely chasing dollars, Java with Oracle is a lucrative market, but of course you are going to need to develop significant skills.  Not unlike PHP, often the thing that will get you a job is your expertise in a particular niche, and java is no different.  For example, if they are using Spring, and you don't have spring experience,  you're not going to get the job.  In PHP if the shop is using Zend Framework and you don't know it, you probably also will not be considered.

If you are otherwise happy, gaining certifications and approaching them about promotion to a more senior level is one way to attack the problem of a low salary.  If your company simply is not interested in your advancement you may have to leave, but that is simply a reality of the modern world. 

I would also like to point out (from a more general perspective) that comparing your salary to others' around the world isn't exactly fair in many cases, as there is a huge cost-of-living difference between many countries.  For instance, I hear lots of people around the world live off of a few american dollars a day...well, living off a few dollars a day isn't really possible in america.  Your strongest asset is your low cost-of-living.  Focus on being able to communicate with others around the world and you will always have the advantage, because you can afford to work for cheaper.