I absolutely hate Java and any model that's based on it. I don't have any particular reason and you can never convince me either. Of course I fiddle with Node.js but let's face the facts here, it is crap. JS in my opinion should be in the front end and should stay there. I currently am mastering Python which I feel should have been my first choice, but back when I started with PHP around 6/7 years ago Python wasn't *that* famous. The ease of deploying code to web applications was much harder back then in other languages iirc. I do most of my PHP projects with CodeIgniter and my company does have a PHP wing. However I'd be mostly given a front end job, they have some Unity devs too and also contribute to OSS, so my options seems fair.
If you are learning python now, then you can also look into LAMP based development. Your company develops on that too. The 'P' can be PHP or Python.
MVC is very common design pattern. Usually used in writing server side code for web based development projects. Its the main paradigm of a J2EE application.
Front end scripting using JS, JQuery is fine, but atleast one server side technology should be mastered. Can be Java/J2EE, ASP.NET or PHP.
PHP is the easiest to pick and from your posts, i assume you have mastered it. HTML5 knowledge is a huge plus. Its API's are extremely feature rich and useful for designing interactive front-end.
If you want to move into CRM, try salesforce and do a certification on it. It's a very popular CRM software these days, after SAP and Oracle Siebel.