The Run Geek Radio podcast, with host and PHP community member Adam Culp, has released its latest episode - Episode 003 – OpenWest Namebadges, Overtraining, Developer Salary and Freelance Rates, Saving Money.

Adam Culp talks about the awesome namebadges at the OpenWest conference, and how assembly was required using a soldering iron. Then shares symptoms, causes, and treatment for over-training while running. (mentions Tension Tamer tea, but intended to speak about Sleepy Time tea instead) Following this the subject of developers and money was covered. What should developers charge per hour, what should a freelance developer pay themselves, and what should developers do to save money for a rainy day.

You can listen to this latest episode either through the in-page audio player or by downloading the mp3 of the show. If you enjoy it, be sure to subscribe to the feed too for more shows in the future.

php[architect] magazine has just released their January 2015 issue - "Be The Boss". This issue includes articles talking about freelancing, the importance of communication in open source and the usual columns.

This month is a personal favorite of mine, as the theme is “Be the Boss”. It speaks to those who wish stop working as an employee and strike out on there own, something I’ve done twice in my life. In Get Off the Freelance Roller Coaster!, Yitzchok Willroth (@coderabbi) talks on the importance of not placing all of your eggs in one basket (or projects with one vendor). In Choose Your Own Adventure—Freelancer or Founder?, Joshua Warren talks about the two avenues that are open to those going it on their own, freelancer or business founder.

Articles in this month's edition include:

• Get Off the Freelance Roller Coaster! (Yitzchok Willroth)
• Choose Your Own Adventure - Freelancer or Founder? (Joshua Warren)
• PHP and OS Communication (Julien Pauli)
• An Introduction to NodeJS

The usual columns (Laravel Tips and Education Station) return once again as well as a a new one from David Stockton called "Leveling Up" to help you become a better developer. You can pick up your own copy from the php[architect] website.

Cal Evans has started up a new series of posts to his blog today, flipping things over from the usual developer-centric perspective most people take and looking at the client instead. In this first part of the series he looks at the first of six ways you can be a better client to your freelance developer.

You and you alone are the vision keeper for your project. You have to convey the problem that needs to be solved without specifying how it is to be solved. Work with your developer to make sure they understand you as you describe the problem. [...] Don’t assume that the developer will understand industry jargon or acronyms. Just because it’s clear to you doesn’t mean that it is clear to them.

Communication is a huge key when dealing with any developers, freelance or not and Cal's suggests that not only is everything laid out clearly, but there's also no stone unturned on things like features and goals for the project.

The Developer Tutorials Blog has a few helpful hints about getting yourself a freelance PHP job posted today:

The problem with PHP is this: in years gone by it was typically seen as an amateur, hobbyist language. The state of the language at the time didn't exactly either. [...] As a result, many (if not most) of the freelance PHP jobs out there today involve maintaining this code of yesteryear. It's mostly PHP 4, no OOP, terrible coding standards, no thought for best practices and so on.

The list reads more like a "back to fundamentals" listing - three things: practice, advertise and reach out. No tips about fancy resume or making the power moves to climb up and over the competition - it's just the basics of what you need to get started and get your foot wedged firmly in the door.

For a lot of developers, just finding good resources to look for a job is half the challenge. Sure, there's the big guys, but what if you need something a little more focused? The Developer Tutorials blog has a few suggestions you can try.

Many position-based boards are full of employers who don’t understand the value of quality code. [...] There are really only two ways to find a decent PHP job, then: find freelance projects from clients that will pay for your expertise, or get a full time job. Here are some good destinations for each.

Their suggestions are broken up into two different categories - freelance or waged. The freelance list includes Elance and PHP-Freelancers while their waged list includes the Zend Job Board and the PHPJobs.com website.

The Zend Developer Zone has posted some information about some freelancing work that the International Press Association is looking to have done.

If you’ve got spare cycles and want to help a brother out, read on. I received this from Leonard Rapoport of the International Press Association, (Disclaimer: Zend is a member of the IPA) The IPA is looking for some help. As you can see from the email below, they need a PHP programmer to help them out on some small projects and know of some larger projects they could turn you on it.

Any interested parties should contact Leonard via email and get things started.

The Zend Developer Zone has posted some information about some freelancing work that the International Press Association is looking to have done.

If you’ve got spare cycles and want to help a brother out, read on. I received this from Leonard Rapoport of the International Press Association, (Disclaimer: Zend is a member of the IPA) The IPA is looking for some help. As you can see from the email below, they need a PHP programmer to help them out on some small projects and know of some larger projects they could turn you on it.

Any interested parties should contact Leonard via email and get things started.

According to this post on Freelancejob.com.au, the results of a statistical analysis of the job postings from getafreelancer.com show a huge surge of PHP jobs being posted.

According to statistical analysis of the 27750 freelance projects on getafreelancer.com site most wanted types of job are PHP (40% of all projects), Web Design (31%), Graphic Design (16%) and Flash (14%).

They provide both the table of the stats generated and a graph clearly showing that PHP jobs are head and shoulders above the rest.

According to this post on Freelancejob.com.au, the results of a statistical analysis of the job postings from getafreelancer.com show a huge surge of PHP jobs being posted.

According to statistical analysis of the 27750 freelance projects on getafreelancer.com site most wanted types of job are PHP (40% of all projects), Web Design (31%), Graphic Design (16%) and Flash (14%).

They provide both the table of the stats generated and a graph clearly showing that PHP jobs are head and shoulders above the rest.