I'm very much a generalist, though not a software developer. I help out with problems that most engineers either hate, or that are disruptive to normal project

I'm very much a generalist, though not a software developer. I help out with problems that most engineers either hate, or that are disruptive to normal project planning. I can prototype anything. But... without being active as a production developer or designer in any of the engineering specialties, I'm not up to speed on their tools, meaning that they can run circles around me in project work. I think very much that moving up as a generalist requires developing "people" or "leadership" skills. If you're going to be thrust into ill defined or critical problems that can't be solved by any single specialty, there's also a much better than zero chance that you will also be dealing with the people who are affected by those problems, and with the specialists who will eventually need to be involved in order to implement a lasting solution. I also believe that one way to be a generalist is to specialize in things that are inherently general, like math and physics. My parents advised me that no matter how much technology changes, an understanding of math and science will serve me for a lifetime. They are both retired generalists.