Be Jack or be master?

Dear Bob …

I am a software engineer with a couple of years of experience. The people around me call me “Jack-Of-All-Trades”. I guess this might because I know various technologies. I pretty much can work on any project in my software department, such as Java programming, perl, VB, PHP web programming, SQL Server/Oracle administration/programming, etc. I am not smart, but I am interested in any unknown new technologies and put a lot of effort into learning it and being able to use it effectively.

Now, I realize this is not actually good for me. I feel like I’m wasting my time. I did some research about the jobs posted on Monster and HotJobs. I found almost opportunity requires specialization in one particular skill, not a “Jack-Of-All-Trades” type at all. If I’d spent all my efforts in one area, by now I’d be VERY good in that area. I want to change my current situation. I’ve finally decided to focus on Java.

But since I know a lot of various technoloties, my boss tends to ask me to maintain and work on all kinds of short-term projects developed in various technologies, instead of letting me focus on one thing. On the other side, I have a colleague who only knows Java, and my boss gives all the Java project to him. Of course, he has gained a lot of experience in Java and is very good at it.

I still try to be focused and spend my limited spare time sharpening my Java skills, even though I don’t have much chance to work in Java at my job. Sometimes I even think about returning to school to get my PhD so I can focus on one area, even one subject, and accumulate my experience and become a guru in that particular subject

What is your recommendation?

– PathFinder

Dear PathFinder …

I’m not as big on specializing as you appear to be, so I’m not sure I’m the right person to give you advice. It’s like this: If you dig deep into a specialty you’re more likely to pass the Monster.com filters, but so what? Only one or two percent of all jobs are filled that way. Beyond that, my sense is that to an increasing extent, pure coding jobs are headed offshore. So specializing in a language … any language … is a pretty good strategy for competing head to head with programmers in Bangalore and St. Petersburg.

One thing the Jack-of-all-trades approach is probably giving you is more involvement in business analysis and design – perhaps informal, but nonetheless real. And that’s where the onshore opportunities are more likely to be: Understanding how the business does run and should run, then figuring out ways to make it happen.

I also don’t know how much a PhD will help you. The career gurus I’ve met rarely went that route. Some did get multiple masters degrees (for example, MBA and MS in engineering or computer science). There just isn’t that much need for PhD-level expertise in business, so unless your goal is academia – teaching and research – or you want the satisfaction of achieving this for its own sake, I think there are probably better places to invest your time.

Have you sat down with your manager to talk about your career? If not, you should. Lay your cards on the table, talk about what you’ve been doing and what you’d like to do, and see what he or she has to say.

As you do, keep this in mind: Increasingly, “career” means a series of varied assignments with gradually increasing responsbility and authority. The older notion of a linear path is less and less likely to happen.

Being versatile has its advantages.

– Bob

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