The codebase at my job is usually complex - Python, Ruby and Go, along with JavaScript/Typescript and a little bit of Java and R. I used to be in the "all prog

The codebase at my job is usually complex - Python, Ruby and Go, along with JavaScript/Typescript and a little bit of Java and R. I used to be in the "all programming languages are basically the same" camp but jumping back and forth between technologies has given me more appreciation for the details. Some knowledge I've wished I had at my fingertips: semantics of Go channels including all the edge cases, the scoping semantics of Ruby blocks, anything in the JavaScript standard library, the ecosystem of Java build tool and helper libraries. Having to stop and look up things lowers my development velocity compared to a specialist. In the other hand, as a generalist I can trace a request across component boundaries and go as deep as needed into a system to diagnose issues. So I think it depends on what kind of projects you are working on. A "serial generalist" that goes from one tech to the next is always going to be behind the curve, but that isn't really what I would think of as a full stack developer, either.