Which is better: a career as a PHP developer or as a Java developer?

My advise to you is don't choose language. Just take up a good company product or Startup where you can harness your skill. A good software developer/engineer keeps many tools (Computer language) in his tool box. All programming languages has their own pros and cons , you have to choose them wisely for a task. If you have a good understanding of computer science any company will hire you and at the same time you will enjoy your work. To get a good salary and job only concentrate on fundamentals of CS. Keep these books in your library and master them. Gangs of Four Design Patterns The clean Coder Structure and interpretation of computer Programs If you want to be a good programmer you must read The Art of Computer Programming

PHP will make you a bad programmer - of all languages used today, it is probably the crappiest. Java, there is a chance of improving your knowledge and it is backed by big business like IBM among others. Java is the better choice

Well, PHP is for web programming. Java/j2ee is for enterprise application programming. Now web programming means creating a shopping cart, creating a online reservation system etc. For a online commercial  product like these can easily be developed with php in  a little span of time & minimum investment. Where as for Java/j2ee is to develop heavy enterprise application online banking system, CRM,Insurance, Online trading application etc. So if you feel , web programming is your interest and passion then go with the php else Java . Now If you want to work in a IT service/support/product development industry  Java is the better option than PHP. Also a Java/j2ee developer earn good salary package based on his/her skills and domain knowledge.For Career growth Java is not bad! you can go with it.

As Mukesh suggested first we most be strong in programming then only developing. Finally choosing language is totally depends on your interest, I'll explain my experience in short.When I was in my academics I was decided that "in future I should work on Java", just deciding in not enough So, I've kept good amount of effort to learn Java but I got offer on PHP to work. After working with PHP, I've rejected even though I got offer to work on Java.Then coming to bad programming, even you can to do what so called bad programming with other languages, its not the fault with language, its fault with developer.If a student failed in exams then is it fault with student or with exam ? think...

If you are a graduate, then you should be applying for jobs at companies that will provide a great springboard for your career.  What technology they use is not so important - unless they are using outdated technology. If you are a good Java developer, with good server and enterprise skills, then you will be able to work anywhere in the world and get paid six-figures to do so.  I can't speak for PHP too much, but where I live, there are not as many PHP jobs as there are Java (or .NET) - so that would influence my choice a lot.

In my personal opinion, I suggest one as  a Java developer. Many big companies, inclusive of Google and Facebook prefer the use of Java rather than PHP. For facebook, please refer the top answer at : For Google : It is clear that Java is the prime language of choice at both these behemoth giant tech firms. However, it is more important that you harness yours skill in one language rather than question which language is better, since that is a subjective issue. Eventually, it will boil down to how you approach and solve a problem, rather than the choice of language itself.

I don't knwo about PHP. I will say my opinion about being a Java developer. Java is very vast. It's not enough if you just know Java. You need to be good at frameworks like spring, struts, hibernate etc.You also need to know about RESTful webservices, SOAP, Java parsers etc. These are all common need to know things. As everyone says number of project in Java is huge so is the scope of Java. But at the same time the number of Java developers available is also high. When you go for a Java interview, you can see hundreds of other people who came for the same interview. So when you attend interview in usual service based companies you cannot really expect a high salary because they can hire someone from the other hundreds of people who is OK for lesser salary. So you need to be really very very good knowing lot of things related to Java to get high salary. If you are very good then you can attend companies like PayPal, eBay, Oracle which can offer you a big salary. In addition to Java, if you know tools like Guidewire or if you know framework like Hadoop you can get a big salary. The number of Java developers with this knowledge is less. But one thing, Java is very vast. You can keep on learning something new. New frameworks are keep on coming. Last but not least, many people say that not to choose a particular language. But in my opinion it is tough to change the career path later. Hope this gives you some idea.

There is some great advice in some of these answers and I’d like to echo them.  While you have learned multiple languages, you have probably not mastered any.  This is especially true in real-world business situations.  Try to get your foot in the door with a good company and master these skills as you go.  This may take a few years but will be well worth it in the long run of your career.  Keep in mind – your career will span your life – trying to decide ‘PHP or Java’ right out of the gate might leave you dissatisfied 20 years from now.  As far as salary goes, both tend to trend closely on http://www.youworthapp.com/?utm_source=Quora&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Post+Answer, PHP is currently at $128k/ year and Java at $120k/year.  This is not to mention any bonus/incentive structure that a company may offer (see above about finding a GOOD company).  All this to say, you can do well with either but don’t try to limit yourself right off the bat.  This is the beginning of your career.  Keep your options open and build your skill set.  The time to reap will be in 10 years or so when you have a much better idea of the industry and what you want to do.  As mentioned, I pulled these numbers from http://www.youworthapp.com/?utm_source=Quora&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Post+Answer.  http://www.youworthapp.com/?utm_source=Quora&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Post+Answer is a free mobile app for both iOS and Android. Not only am I an ambassador for the product, but I use it myself. The app allows anyone to import skills being watched.  This is a great tool to use when looking into your own career and skill set for something like programming languages

AS a career you should be strong in data structure, database , most of companies do hire if your basics strength in these subjects . php & java are widely used in product based /service based companies like if i say about facebook its not dependent on php it take shares on technology like python , node js . technology is very wide if you want work for front end javascript is very powerful library (angular js) many companies do preffer it. i would say first build your ds logics then you can get good hikes, good companies technology doesnot matter.