Career progression: Specialize or Jack-of-all-trades

[Torquey]

by default working in a large company you can specialize, in smaller companies you will have to be a jack of all trades but master of none.

 

in the interests of career progression, should you specialize in an area or be a generalist - know a bit of everything?

 

PS: sales profession not included because this is probably an area where the more things you can sell the merrier you will be.

 

The bottomline: which gets you further, being a specialist or a jack-of-all-trades?

[Little_prince]

depends on what route you wanna take ...

 

if you wanna go technical route... be a subject matter expert then specialise

 

if you wanna go management route... then be a jack of all trades

 

 

[Versatile]

jack of all trades.

 

"i might not be specialize with this technology but i'm willing to show the firm that i'm jack of all trades"

 

that's the quote i got into my current company.

[Kxbc]

at the start of the career, be a specialist but don't specialise until cannot find job.

 

then slowly branch out to be jack of all trades with a background in your specialist subject. all top management people started like that, unless it's their father's co then no need to say.

[Gearoil]

  On 11/11/2010 at 9:32 AM, Torquey said:

by default working in a large company you can specialize, in smaller companies you will have to be a jack of all trades but master of none.

 

in the interests of career progression, should you specialize in an area or be a generalist - know a bit of everything?

 

PS: sales profession not included because this is probably an area where the more things you can sell the merrier you will be.

 

The bottomline: which gets you further, being a specialist or a jack-of-all-trades?

 

In any career, it's not a question of specialization or JOAT.

 

It is how competent one is, at what he/she do.

 

You can be a surgeon in a specialised area but you kill your patients.

 

You can be a lawyer in general matters but you 'suck' in almost all your cases.

 

Or one can be a air con fridge repair man but you can handle any type of air con , fridges competently and his customers are very pleased with his skills and service.

 

Being what you do and do it very well, it what gets you that recognition and career success.

 

But Sinkie in generals, fail to understand such simple concepts ( as can be seen in this and many forums) as all they can think about is ..HOW MUCH CAN THEIR SALARY GO!

 

But they offer nothing in return, for being very competent in whatever they do!

 

 

[Sosaria]

"Jack of all trades" seems a better choice for the workplace of the future, where changes are sudden and frequent.

 

You can build up skills in various areas, and keep yourself relevant for a range of jobs. Got job means got pay, and therefore can continue to survive and thrive.

 

Even for an engineer in a typical company, for example, also has to be a good planner, organizer, negotiator, able to co-opt others to help, teacher, etc.

Edited November 11, 2010 by Sosaria

[Icedbs]

  On 11/11/2010 at 9:44 AM, Gearoil said:

In any career, it's not a question of specialization or JOAT.

 

It is how competent one is, at what he/she do.

 

You can be a surgeon in a specialised area but you kill your patients.

 

You can be a lawyer in general matters but you 'suck' in almost all your cases.

 

Or one can be a air con fridge repair man but you can handle any type of air con , fridges competently and his customers are very pleased with his skills and service.

 

Being what you do and do it very well, it what gets you that recognition and career success.

 

But Sinkie in generals, fail to understand such simple concepts ( as can be seen in this and many forums) as all they can think about is ..HOW MUCH CAN THEIR SALARY GO!

 

But they offer nothing in return, for being very competent in whatever they do!

 

well said.

[Torquey]

agreed, being competent in whatever you do is a valid consideration, i believe the incompetent would be more keen on shortcuts rather than long term career planning.

 

question was raised because i'm planning to move on after 10 years of doing marketing, operations and procurement. but all the potential employers have been telling me they want a specialist instead of a hybrid.

[Moredhel]

Last time companies looking for specialists.

 

Nnowadays I believe jack of all trades have stronger power as it's proven that a person willing to handle and learn many angles and aspects of the business would have more exploitability and can be easily moved from department to department.

 

If your PR is good, chances are that within a period of being the jack of all trades, you would get invited into low-level to mid management due to your 'experience' in handling a variety of issues and with the company's 'larger views' in mind.

 

However, chances are that an assistant technician in the company would end up a senior technician or junior engineer if he's too specialised in his work which limits his value to the company. At the very most, after upgrades, he would be a full engineer or if he's really lucky and skilled, he might end up senior engineer...taking his orders from the jack of all trades.....

 

Why do you think gold hairs and fts are lording it over the common folk in singapore? You think they have a masters in business management? It's because they are willing to learn and exploit the situation to their best advantage....

 

 

 

[Jamesc]

For career progression

 

I think BS helps alot.

 

Opps I mean PR.

 

Sorry type wrongly.

 

Well maybe both are important!

 

Its good to have both.

[Damienic]

specialise. at least that seems to be the situation in my industry.

[Icedbs]

  On 11/11/2010 at 10:18 AM, Torquey said:

agreed, being competent in whatever you do is a valid consideration, i believe the incompetent would be more keen on shortcuts rather than long term career planning.

 

question was raised because i'm planning to move on after 10 years of doing marketing, operations and procurement. but all the potential employers have been telling me they want a specialist instead of a hybrid.

 

Then you are either looking for the wrong job or the wrong employers.

 

As you move up the career ladder, you will realise that you need to move from hardskill to softskill.

 

Top management people are all JOAT. A CEO is also JOAT, only thing is that he focuses more on the P&L aspect of the business.

 

The other problem about being a specialist is that how long can you be one? Hardskills can be trained and learn, very soon a young punk (and probably a foreigner) will be able to do your job at half your cost.

 

So always move towards JOAT. Then look for opportunities to go into business development with people management roles. Prove yourself here and you will never fear you can't find another job because all businesses need someone with JOAT to grow their business. But I must warn you that business development and people management roles are some of the most stressful job around.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Torquey]

i gather that only selected industries rely on specialists to be in in top management.

 

i'm trying to understand the hiring trends and preferences. Not focusing on the individual's capacity eg. networking ability or competency as these are subjective and would be taken out of the equation.

 

thks for sharing.

Edited November 11, 2010 by Torquey

[Torquey]

  On 11/11/2010 at 2:42 PM, Icedbs said:

Then you are either looking for the wrong job or the wrong employers.

 

As you move up the career ladder, you will realise that you need to move from hardskill to softskill.

 

Top management people are all JOAT. A CEO is also JOAT, only thing is that he focuses more on the P&L aspect of the business.

 

The other problem about being a specialist is that how long can you be one? Hardskills can be trained and learn, very soon a young punk (and probably a foreigner) will be able to do your job at half your cost.

 

So always move towards JOAT. Then look for opportunities to go into business development with people management roles. Prove yourself here and you will never fear you can't find another job because all businesses need someone with JOAT to grow their business. But I must warn you that business development and people management roles are some of the most stressful job around.

 

Good luck.

 

well noted, i catch your drift