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Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#31

Post by anonytrary »

caymanjim wrote: post #28

Consider consulting. I like the variety of roles, and changing clients periodically keeps things fresh and exposes me to a lot of technology. I prefer working for a company so I don't have to find my own clients, and get benefits and a steady paycheck. If you can manage your own network, you can potentially earn more, but it's a lot of work finding a steady stream of clients on your own.

People are finally starting to realize that benefits are orthogonal to the mission of the company and should be replaced with increased base salaries instead. If the company spends $X on processing your $Y benefit for a year, your salary would increase by $X + $Y, and you would just (optionally) sign up into whatever programs are available to you, without much of a UX change.

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#32

Post by snickell »

ineedasername wrote: post #10

Good solid "jack of all trades" folks, if they want to move up, need to do 1 of 2 things: (there may be others, these are the ones that jump out at me) 1) Specialize in at least one thing. This will make you an expert in one thing, while still being the person everyone goes to for other things as well. This will help advance to senior developer. 2) If you have a good grasp of the logistics of how pieces of a project…

In my experience, both personally and as a mentor to a number of "jack of all trades", (1) is good practical advice for jr generalists.

The OP appears to have significant experience already, and it does seem suboptimal to masquerade as a specialist in all job hunts, when that's not the real value you bring to the table.

Its leaning on the third clause of the full text of the quote: "jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one"... in other words, become a stronger specialist at one thing than most of the specialists in that area. That's great, and some of us can do it, but we're still not as strong as a specialist of our strength. It means you always interview as if you're a couple weight classes below where you actually are.

That's a practical compromise for a person starting out, but like the OP, with enough seniority, and the tremendous value that an experienced generalist provides, it feels bad to lean on that leg in all interview situations!

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#34

Post by altdatathrow »

badlucklottery wrote: post #26
chadcmulligan wrote: post #19

Most jack of all trades jobs are at small companies in my experience, I've found most small places advertise themselves, not through agencies, so you can get a jack of all trades job there. They don't pay as well though, it's the trade off imho, interesting work that keeps you busy, or specialise and become a corporate consultant - lots of money but boring af. Other alternatives: - move into management - found your o…

>Most jack of all trades jobs are at small companies in my experience Yup. I'd add public sector work to that list (mostly because it's chronically understaffed and heavily siloed so you have to fill in a lot of roles). BigCos tend to like specialization because of consistency/efficiency. They might have a skunkworks where you can be a jack of all trades but it's hard to get hired into those roles.

> I'd add public sector work to that list

Unfortunately, working your ass off for $40k and a questionably managed pension doesn't put food on the table.

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#35

Post by jrumbut »

snickell wrote: post #8

I'm in the same boat, inside any given org I can tangibly feel that "jack of all trades" is in huge demand... and I find myself working long hours due to internal demand for this role inside companies. Like you, in my 20 years doing this type of role (wearing a large variety of different title hats) I've never been HIRED to the role. This feels odd, given playing the role always keeps me in high demand internally to…

I think references play a stromg role here. Every reference may be positive but there can be a noticeable difference between positively describing someome who knows everything and someone who does everything.

Also for jack-of-all trades looking to perform well in interviews, my advice is to engage context specific memory. If it's a Python role set up a past Python project on your computer and dig into it a little bit in the minutes before getting on the phone. Your Python mind will come back a little bit.

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#36

Post by jacktradesthrow »

altdatathrow wrote: post #34
badlucklottery wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Most jack of all trades jobs are at small companies in my experience Yup. I'd add public sector work to that list (mostly because it's chronically understaffed and heavily siloed so you have to fill in a lot of roles). BigCos tend to like specialization because of consistency/efficiency. They might have a skunkworks where you can be a jack of all trades but it's hard to get hired into those roles.

> I'd add public sector work to that list Unfortunately, working your ass off for $40k and a questionably managed pension doesn't put food on the table.

public sector work might pay a little below market, but it's nothing like $40K. this is an extreme exaggeration.

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#37

Post by Shared404 »

yobert wrote: post #16

I've had really good luck going for what is now called DevOps. You end up working with every team, doing all sorts of strange tasks, and building strange glue to make strange systems work together. Any time there is a problem, you're involved in the fix. Almost any computer skill you have will be used at some point, at least in my experience.

Any advice on getting into DevOps?

Re: Ask HN: How to find “senior” jack of all trades jobs?

#40

Post by jacktradesthrow »

kinda stating the obvious but it's hard to find a jack of all trades role because typically, if you need to hire for three roles, you look for three distinct individuals.

if you're looking for the rare individual who transcends categorization, you don't do it through job ads or an HR department. it's hard enough to find a person who can do one role well.

so, if you're a jack of all trades, look for a job fulfilling one of your many possible roles, in a place where you will be able to fulfill the others as well. it sounds like that's exactly how you got the job you have.

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