This question has been on my mind for some time.
I'm a Business Informatics student (first year) and was wondering what language should i learn for my specific goals. In the second year i will get introduced to c and c++ and in the third year to php and frond-end scripting languages and UI design.
My question, in accordance with my specific goals , is : what language would give me the highest chance to work remotely (internationally) for a USA/AUS/Canadian employer as a junior with no formal work experience? I'm refering to stable employment as a remote contractor for a company.
It is important to note that i live in Eastern Europe. I've done some reasearch on the legal part and concluded it will not be a problem as i do not plan to live in the USA and will be contracting or making my own limited company, i also plan (not set in stone) to work only for a few years [until that experience and savings will afford me the means to maybe start my own company (not limited) here]
I had two options in mind : php and
java (android-eclipse).
PHP because is the only language i've seen job ads for hiring junior devs internationally and i understand it takes less time to learn and be employable, though my perception is that the maket is saturated with php developers ...
I expect the field will be even more saturated until i will get enough experience to enter it. Another disadvatage is the low pay in comparison to desktop development (also apperent in my country).
In my view, the advantages of php are that you can work independently on a product , going through all the development cycles independently (alone) and thus the probability that i can work remotely is higher as i do not need to be part of an office team.
I do not want to use java (asides from android development) for just that reason. It's mostly used by big companies that use big teams and will only accept experience contractors provided by consulting firms.
My perceptions about android development is that there is more demand than supply on this market , you can , again go through the development cycles alone and that it has a higher entry barrier (java is harder and is harder to become a java dev. without formal education, it takes more time to learn etc.), making it less saturated.
The data i have from 2012 suggests a huge demand for mobile devs , though it does not differentiate between technologies and i do not know if the data is still valid today , as the mobile market is a volatile one.
A thing i do not know is if it's practiced by app developing companies/employers in general to hire junior devs remotely , long-term and i wonder about the future of apps.:
How much math would i need to know to be a android developer ? I assume it's mostly used in 3D and physics engine , though i do not know if the future will become 3d oriented as far as games go. I'm not a big fan of math, so i need to know how much math will i be getting into. I plan to do mostly 2d development (if that's possible).
The last questions are about time and experience.
How much time will it require for me to become an employable (remote) entry-level php developer and likewise a entry level android developer?
How much difference is between chances of employment as a entry level php dev vs an entry level android dev for employers using those technologies?
I'm scared that the companies that usually hire android devs want people who already had some formal job for some time (1-2-3 years) [it's that way for java], like i said the only (very few) jobs that accepted entry-level people remotely where php jobs.
You are welcome to suggest any language, but please discuss the reasoning .
Sorry for the amount of info and questions, but this has been on my mind for some time now and i decided , based on some lurking and recommandations that this is the place that can help me in this regard.
Thanks in advance.