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Should you diversify or should you specialize?
- malux85 15y agoSpecialize in one thing, but stay diverse enough to be broad minded and nimble enough to switch. I was hired as a PHP developer in my current role 3 months ago. I have spent the last 7 years specializing in PHP, but also learning Java, C++, C#, Pyton and Javascript. A month later our iOS developer left in a hurry. I was able to pick up the language and be commercially productive in 2 weeks. I was a hero. A month later Google approached us wanting a project in Python. All of our PHP devs shrugged. I completed the project in Django (Python), we kept Google as a happy client. I was a hero. You WONT have time to learn everything before you'll need it. One day you'll be tested with very short notice, and those generalists who were nimble enough to change diet quickly, will get the $
- dmd149 15y agoAs I was writing the blog post I kept thinking about how specializing one thing may, counter intuitively, lead you down another series of diverse paths that relate only somewhat to the original specialization. In the road race coordinator example from the post, it's possible that specialization in that area may lead to other opportunities in event planning unrelated to road races. Perhaps it even leads to a book deal about planning sports events. Since I haven't specialized in anything yet I'm not sure I'm qualified to speak about it but I have a hunch specialization actually broadens opportunities.
- GoldenMonkey 15y agoThis brings to mind a fantastic article about how to thrive as a knowledge worker. 'My Life as a Knowledge Worker' by Peter Drucker: http://www.inc.com/magazine/19970201/1169.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/19970201/1169.html