Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#1

Post by nonasktell » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 3:35 AM UTC

I'm a fairly young SWE in my early twenties, and I've tried a bit of everything.

Fullstack web dev, a bit of cyber security, a bit of AI, mobile apps, all kind of automation/bots/mass scraping, growth hacking, small games, low level C...

And I'm starting to wonder if I should specialize.

I've always been interested by AI, but since it's such a large/complex field, I never really took the time to dedicate myself to it completely because I'm always interested by 10 things at the same time.

I have absolutely zero doubts about my employability, but I'm afraid to regret it long term if I don't specialize in an interesting field.

Do you regret being a generalist? Have you been one in the past and then changed? In that case what do you prefer? Do you regret it?

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#2

Post by sircastor » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:11 AM UTC

I don’t. And generalist is a flexible term. For my career it means frontend, or backend, team lead, or IC. There have been a few points where I thought “I don’t ever want to write browser code again” and “all I want to do is UI”. I’ve built shopping carts, government tax websites, worked in automotive, and now I build tools to manage robots. I suspect if I had been narrow in my field I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I’ve enjoyed.

I sometimes think a narrower, deep specialization might have yielded a bigger paycheck, but overall I think I’m happier being able to explore broader fields and concepts.

As a final note I’ll say that you’ve got plenty of time to generalize and then decide to specialize. Bring in your early twenties is far more time than it feels like right now.

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#3

Post by techdragon » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:17 AM UTC

Nope.

Mid thirties and being a generalist means that not only am I employable, my breadth of experience allows me to bring together things from places others would be unaware of.

I occasionally wish i was more of a specialist, but usually chalk it up to the sort of all pervading impostor syndrome that goes on in software development circles.

If someone wants to put me in a position based on my current skills where I end up becoming an expert and they pay for that time, then it will happen. Otherwise I'll just keep learning enough to be useful in dozens of smaller ways. From the browser's JS engine event handling at the bottom of Flux/Redux to how Kubernetes works and how to do useful stuff with it, to 3D printer firmware and how my drill press works.

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#4

Post by brailsafe » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:20 AM UTC

Why do you have no doubts about your employability? When I was in my early twenties I felt pretty much the same way, but then the rest of my twenties proved different

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#5

Post by eimrine » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:22 AM UTC

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#6

Post by dev_0 » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:23 AM UTC

Become a DevSecOps engineer. Your skills set are in demand because you understand all three important areas

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#7

Post by 23B1 » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:27 AM UTC

No. The demands for specialized roles shift from epoch to epoch, but being smart on negotiation, strategy, sales, marketing, and communication will never go away.

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#8

Post by paulcole » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:27 AM UTC

eimrine wrote: post #5

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

On the flip side, that’s a 50-year old quote and maybe times have changed?

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#9

Post by eyelidlessness » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:29 AM UTC

Not at all! Every time I think I might’ve doubted it I’m blessed to be able to continue generalizing out of whatever specialized corner my career seems to head towards, and to continue to be effective doing meaningful work.

Re: Ask HN: Do you regret being a generalist?

#10

Post by ipnon » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 4:32 AM UTC

Being a generalist certainly makes cocktail parties more interesting. Being a little good at everything makes you more employable as well, you don't get locked into 1 niche. The T-shaped person is the ideal. You should be great at 1 thing and decent at many other things, but always keep the T-shape. Keep an identity to center your varied experiences around. It will keep the main thing and the auxiliary things interesting in tandem.