More valuable for what? Value doesn't exist as an absolute. Do you need a pianist? Get the world-class pianist. Do you need an assistant? Get the one that kno

More valuable for what? Value doesn't exist as an absolute. Do you need a pianist? Get the world-class pianist. Do you need an assistant? Get the one that knows the most things. If you have a particular need, you can always hire a specialist. I find in these discussions people tends to say whatever career they have chosen is best. I am a generalist, so I am biased. Sure, sometimes one needs a world-class COBOL engineer, but pretty much any startup or small-mid business needs a software engineer that can wear many hats. -- In simpler words. Which company sizes prefer which role? * Startup: generalist (fewer hires, better time-to-market) * Established tech company: specialist * Established non-tech company: generalist (means smaller tech budget) * Very large tech company/FAANG: generalist (in theory specialists are preferrable, but they use off-the-shelf or cutting edge tech that no one is truly specialised for). * Very large non-tech company: specialist (to run their Oracle databases, and they have large budgets)