There is a large community of PHP developers in Vietnam and they’re an asset for web and software development. This article talks in detail about the hiring of PHP developers in Vietnam.
Introduction to PHP
PHP is a programming language that can be found all over the web. Some estimates say that 80% of the internet is sites running on PHP. WordPress plays a huge part of this statistic, but PHP has also played a major role in web software like Facebook, Wikipedia, Etsy and Mailchimp, plus Slack.
PHP has a lot of strengths. It’s open source, popular, well documented and can be used effectively for many purposes. PHP is flexible in its use and allows rapid development. However, perhaps because it’s so flexible and easy to learn, it is responsible for a large part of the “spaghetti code” that can be found on the internet and can suffer from a lack of security.
What does a PHP Developer do and know?
PHP developers are responsible for the development of applications and websites. Sometimes they’ll be referred to as software developers or web developers. They’ll write code for:
- Server-side scripting
- Interacting with databases
- User interfaces
- Functions like user registration, passwords, online forms, forums, Facebook integrations and so much more
- Communicating with other services using protocols such as LDAP, IMAP, SNMP, NNTP, POP3 and HTTP.
A PHP developer is generally responsible for writing clean code. In general, PHP developers will build back-end components (including plugins), connect with other web services and support the integration of their work to the application/website. They should resolve issues and document their work effectively.
A PHP developer should have knowledge of PHP (obviously) and should have experience with a range of frameworks such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Zend, Symfony or Yii. Laravel and CodeIgniter are for websites, while CakePHP and Zend are for applications. PHP Developers should also be able to work with a range of front-end languages, databases (often MySQL) and hosting options (including AWS).
Developers in Vietnam
PHP Developers are abundant in Vietnam, with a similar level of availability as Java, .NET and C/C# developers. Most PHP developers are skilled in PHP Version 5, and increasingly, Version 7. Knowledge of frameworks such as Laravel, CodeIgniter and Zend is common.
PHP developers in Vietnam will also typically have experience in Javascript, HTML and CSS. They are almost certain to have experience in SQL databases. Knowledge of CMS (including WordPress, Joomla and Drupal) and ecommerce platforms (including Magento and WooCommerce) is also common.
Hiring Developers in Vietnam
There are a range of considerations if you’re looking to build a hire a PHP developer or a team of PHP developers in Vietnam.
Salaries for PHP Developers in Vietnam
Salaries for PHP Developers vary considerably based on experience. As a guide, consider that:
- Junior developer’s gross monthly salary range will rarely exceed $800 USD.
- The gross monthly salary range for a mid will rarely exceed $800 – $1,500 USD.
- Senior developer’s gross monthly salary range will rarely exceed $1,300 – $2,500 USD.
However, salary expectations can be highly variable. Applicants will consider the attractiveness of the project or the company, the career progression opportunities, and the working location. A premium may be paid for high level of English or value-adding capabilities like project management, team leadership or software architecture.
Remember that salaries are subject to taxation and social insurance. There is also an expectation of a 13th month bonus and a range of employment benefits.
Sources of Applicants for PHP Developer Roles
There is a large pool of PHP developers in Vietnam. Various job listing sites exist, including ITViec, Stack Overflow and GitHub Jobs. There are many who work as freelancers: Upwork or Freelancer can be a good way to engage with this community.
Interview Questions for PHP Developers
In addition to technical coding questions, PHP developers should be able to offer a response to the following range of questions:
- Tell me about yourself and your programming experience.
- How do you keep up with latest changes to web and software development?
- Tell me something about your favorite project until now.
- What would you change about your least successful project?
- Do you find any difficulties in programming?
- How do you test your code?
- What is your preferred development environment?
- Have you ever worked directly with clients?
- Have you ever lead a team?
- What are your strongest ‘soft’ skills’?
- Why did you leave your previous role and what do you want from this role?
Of course, you may not have time to ask all of these, so be selective and match the questions to the role and seniority of the specific developer. You should also consider the balance between closed (yes/no) and open questions (how/why).
Interview Questions Asked by PHP Developers in Vietnam
Expect to answer some questions before a candidate will agree to be hired by your company. Consider your responses to questions from a PHP developer, such as:
- Tell me more about the company and the project.
- What are my responsibilities?
- Who will I report to?
- What tools and technologies does the team use?
- Is this team an Agile team?
- Who else is on the team?
- Where is your office located?
- What about salary and benefits?
- What about career path? Is training offered?
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