Hunting for professional php developers

These days php is "hot" and everyone wants a piece of php. The only problem is that there aren't many "Certified Zend Php Developers" or ZCE's out there.

When I look at the Belgian Zend Yellow Pages, only 24 (today's count) certified php developers are out there, but by pure guesswork I estimate there's a need of at least 100 certified engineers.

Where can you find them ? And how can you persuade them into getting certified ? I'm not a recruiter, but I know lot's of people who are ready to hire them instantly.

I already got my certifications (php 4 and php 5) and it feels good to be part of an elite but small group of professional php developers. And let's be honest, who doesn't want to receive credits for their work ?!?

If you want to know more about this certification path, I can lay it out for you quite simple (just repeating Zend Certification php page):

• Go to the Zend homesite and register yourself for an account
• Purchase a Zend PHP Certification Voucher.
• Schedule to take the exam at one of over 3500+ Testing Centers.
• Study for the exam using the Zend PHP Certification Study Guide, Zend PHP 5 Certification Online Practice Test, or get a bit of extra help with the Zend PHP 5 Certification Training.
• Pass the exam! Your name and credentials will be published in the Yellow Pages for PHP Professionals. Download the ZCE Logo and add it to your resume or link it to your ZCE authentication page from your website.

If you wonder if you can pass the exam, Zend has also an example exam ready for you.

For further questions, feel free to contact me or any other ZCE mentioned on the Yellow Pages for PHP Professionals.

Good luck and maybe we'll be working together...

Added: I just found out that International Php Magazine has posted a message for joining up professional php developers over at phpclasses.com.