I started programming when I was 12 and sadly my path to PHP looked something like this:

  QBasic -> Visual Basic -> HTML/CSS -> PHP

With what I know now (various bits of Java, C, bash, Python, OOP, etc), I wish so much that my path to PHP looked more like this:

  C -> Bash -> Java -> HTML/CSS -> PHP

Everyone who uses PHP professionally knows that it's extremely easy to write crappy PHP code. While PHP is easy for beginners to learn, it's equally as easy for them learn bad programming habits.

After 15 years, I'm finally putting in the time to learn the language I should have started with: C. I really wish it was the first language I learned because it would have made learning other languages so much easier (and learning those other languages would have made me a much better PHP programming when I started using it).

I believe every language has its uses and PHP is no different. While its a shame there is so much crappy PHP code out there, open-source projects like WordPress have shown it has its place. (If WordPress themes and plugins were not so easy for non-programmers to learn how to create and modify, I don't think WordPress would be where it is today.)