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Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

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Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#1
I'm currently going through a bit of a struggle with what I do. I've been programming for over 20 years now and in that time I've explored a lot of corners of software development and computers in general.

I started with C/C++ and wrote games and played around with game engines. I learned PHP and SQL to generate basic "dynamic" sites. I learned Python and wrote commandline tools and Qt applications. Moved to Flask/Django to create websites and extended my knowledge with JS, React, and learned how to set up servers. I played around with security, reverse engineering, exploit development, web hacking, and malware analysis. I'm learning Elixir now. I've dicked around with arduinos, raspis, and simple circuitry. I've put in place devops processes and tools where I work. I dabbled with image processing, VR, and interactive experiences. Yet I wouldn't consider myself particularly knowledgeable in any one of those things.

There's people who find their niche and they learn more about it each day and never tire of it, but I can't seem to find that thing myself. At work I often do a number of different things, so again, I'm not solely focused on one thing.

The biggest issue is that it makes looking for work difficult as I can't say I'm an expert in say micro services, or I'm a React pro, nor that I am an expert Python developer.

Apart from saying you're a "generalist", how do you best sell yourself when you don't have a specialisation or a specific area you are focused on?

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#2
Yes, this is fine. Just list your projects in the application, hiring people will ask you questions about them and you can share stories about the kind of things you did. Don't downplay your experiences. Most people spend their free time on their phone or in the TV. They wish they were like you, but they don't have the drive to do so.

Interested people are interesting. Talk about the things you tinker on with a shine in your eyes.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#3
Nobody has a "thing," it's all branding. As soon as the wave crests on a certain piece of hype, very suddenly it's nobody's thing anymore.

What we all do is we omit a ton of stuff from our resume and narrative to make it sound like we fit better into these artificially small roles. If you get bored with a single role, work in a early startup where you can wear a lot of hats.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#4
As a “generalist”, the way I’ve been able to “sell myself” is to develop a reputation for:

- Distinct talent in problem identification/discovery (i.e. see problems other people miss before they cause pain)

- Consistently producing designs that address the core problem in a general but extensible/flexible way (i.e. design to solve a class of problems rather than a particular one)

- Deliver [r]evolutionary value (i.e. produce solutions which amplify/multiply the value the rest of the team can deliver)

- Being confident out of the spotlight (i.e. trusting that my contributions will be valued and recognized by my peers and leadership even if it doesn’t show up in end user release notes or investor decks)

All of that adds up to my career increasingly being focused on library development, process optimization, tooling, plumbing, etc. It’s personally more gratifying to me than a lot of shiny feature work, and it improves the lives of my teammates and in turn the work they can produce.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#5
You'd be surprised how many of us sit in the same boat. I'm constantly asking myself the same question — all the time. Years ago, I wanted to work for Amazon — eventually I got there (I'm here now) and although I do love it, I'm still asking myself: "what's next?" Coming from a networking administration background, building packet processing devices for AWS has been nothing short of a dream.

But again, I'm still asking myself: what's next?

As I write this, I don't think I'll ever have it all figured out. Don't know if I will ever figure it. However, it's part of the journey and along the way, I found a lot of comfort is Susan Fowler's post: https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/21/life-without-a-d...

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#6

As a “generalist”, the way I’ve been able to “sell myself” is to develop a reputation for: - Distinct talent in problem identification/discovery (i.e. see problems other people miss before they cause pain) - Consistently producing designs that address the core problem in a general but extensible/flexible way (i.e. design to solve a class of problems rather than a particular one) - Deliver [r]evolutionary value (i.e.…

I’ll add that being able and willing to communicate these is crucial for job seeking. It’s been years since my resume included a list of responsibilities or products; instead I list achievements and the value they provided/enabled/enhanced.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#7
I'd stop looking at the tech you use as your "thing", and look more at what you have built. Are there common threads behind the problems you have solved? The industries you have worked in? As your career progresses, those are your niche, not the specific tech you used on a project or two.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#8

As a “generalist”, the way I’ve been able to “sell myself” is to develop a reputation for: - Distinct talent in problem identification/discovery (i.e. see problems other people miss before they cause pain) - Consistently producing designs that address the core problem in a general but extensible/flexible way (i.e. design to solve a class of problems rather than a particular one) - Deliver [r]evolutionary value (i.e.…

Thanks. It is really helpful to see the generalist skills described in these ways. I've never been very confident and hated "selling" myself on a CV because I could never saw what I've done as particularly sellable.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#9

You'd be surprised how many of us sit in the same boat. I'm constantly asking myself the same question — all the time. Years ago, I wanted to work for Amazon — eventually I got there (I'm here now) and although I do love it, I'm still asking myself: "what's next?" Coming from a networking administration background, building packet processing devices for AWS has been nothing short of a dream. But again, I'm still aski…

Sounds relatable, thanks. I've given the linked article a cursory glance and I'll definitely read this when I have time to digest it properly.

Re: Ask HN: Is it OK to not have a “thing”?

#10

Yes, this is fine. Just list your projects in the application, hiring people will ask you questions about them and you can share stories about the kind of things you did. Don't downplay your experiences. Most people spend their free time on their phone or in the TV. They wish they were like you, but they don't have the drive to do so. Interested people are interesting. Talk about the things you tinker on with a shine…

Not downplaying experiences is probably something I need to practice and get better at. I've interviewed people that have made simple and mundane things sound interesting and amazing. And it's true, there's nothing more infectious than enthusiasm. Thanks for the helpful reply
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