Each of the below learning paths prescribe a recommended set of tasks, books, courses, etc. to help you put together a plan to make this happen. Remember the Break Diver's Creed: No Rules. No Excuses. No Regrets. Go make it happen!
 

Beginner


  • Find learning materials that teach the basics of PHP. You can start by visiting our “resources” section for PHP and looking at each of the “beginner” resources.

  • Set up your PHP development environment on your local machine and start practicing.

  • Familiarize yourself with the syntax.

  • Work on exercises and assignments by following tutorials. Start creating small applications to get more hands-on experience with PHP.

  • Make sure to practice with every concept you learn. The more practice you do, the easier it will be to recall the concept. Plus, practice makes perfect!

  • Create a study plan that you can follow consistently each week. A little each week is better than trying to do a whole lot every day, and then failing and giving up.

 

Intermediate


  • By the intermediate stage, you should be able to understand MVC patterns and PHP classes. 

  • Build your own basic PHP app using a framework of your choice like Laravel or PHPCake and launch it live to Heroku, Digital Ocean, AWS Lightsail, or something similar.

  • Don’t give up---it’s often in the middle of the program (or right before you start) that you can easily lose momentum, confidence, and enthusiasm.  Keep up the good work!

  • Be sure to review all of our “intermediate” resources in this handbook.

  • Join the Break Diving community and share your dreams and thoughts with friends!

 

Advanced


  • By this stage, you should be very familiar with (if not a master) of PHP documentation. You should be able to comfortably review the documentation for various unknown methods to quickly and easily get a grasp of what they do.  

  • Start focusing on optimization and performance. The goal is not just to code something that works, but something that works both correctly and efficiently.

  • It's time to refactor---find old code you have written and see if there is a faster/ more efficient way of making it happen.

  • Visit our “resources” section for PHP and review each of the “advanced” resources.

  • Join the Break Diving community and share your dreams and thoughts with friends (if you haven’t done so already)!