

Should you diversify or should you specialize? - dmd149
http://dalethoughts.com/2012/01/should-you-diversify-or-should-you-specialize/

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malux85
Specialize 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
As 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.

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GoldenMonkey
This 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>

