I'm not really debating which PHP framework to use as much as I'm trying to understand if it is feasible to expect to learn PHP and Yii simultaneously. I've worked a lot with ASP Classic, VBA/Access, and VB6 so I have programming experience but little to no experience real programming - OOP, PHP, or frameworks.
I often see people recommending that you have several years of experience with PHP and OOP before you learn Yii.
I have a fair-sized web app project coming up which should really be built in PHP/MySQL. I'm just trying to get a better handle on whether I need to hire someone, take private training, or whether I should plan to be in development for 15 years or until bankruptcy, whichever occurs first. :-)