I think most of us, at one point or another, have fantasized about how our career will progress. Maybe you have some amazing plan to get you to where you want to be, or perhaps you just have a general idea of where you want to end up. Whatever you’re currently thinking, and wherever you currently are, there are some important choices you’ll have to make during your career. It’s crucial to decide, at some point, whether or not you want to start rounding out in your field, or if you want to focus on a specialization in a specific niche.
Specialization
I’ve said it before, but specializing is absolutely crucial for many types of careers. It usually comes with much higher pay and better opportunities. Even outside of your career, it is incredibly rewarding to focus on a specific skill and hone it until you can perform it at an abnormally high level. Likewise, it’s rewarding to accumulate a lot of specific knowledge on certain topics. So, if you really want to specialize in something, it’s perfectly normal and even ideal to drop some other things so that you have the time to focus on it.
IT is a common example I use (since I know it well). In the tech field it really helps to understand the fundamental concepts. The more you know about how everything works, the easier it is for you to do just about any job. Of course, it (literally) pays to specialize. So, learn the fundamentals, understand how things related to your job work, but finding your niche and focusing in on that until you become an expert can be a must if you want to rise to higher positions.
Rounding Out
With all of that said, there are certainly merits to being more well-rounded. I already mentioned how useful it is to have the fundamentals down. Well, if you’re well educated in several facets related to your job, that can also help you do your job better or open other doors. For example, in tech careers, if you’re a basic systems administrator, who then learns how to code and automate things, you can delve into the devops field – which pays quite well. It comes down to you and what your goals for your career are.
Specializing Can Be Easier
In some ways, specializing can be easier. Yes, many specializations are more complicated in terms of what you’re learning or doing, but the path is more well trodden. Often times, when you specialize instead of rounding out, you have a clearer path for your career – which means promotions can be easier to obtain. Obviously this isn’t always true, but well rounded in multiple disciplines can make your career path a bit more complicated, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Don’t Forget About Personal Satisfaction
Now, it’s important to keep in mind what may be “best” for your career, but you should make note of what you think would make you the happiest in the long run. One could bring a little more money, but it’s not necessarily worth it if it takes you down a path you hate doing. It’s important to consider all aspects of it, so you don’t hurt your overall satisfaction in the long run.
Job Security Isn’t Always Linked To Higher Pay
Here’s another factor at play that you need to consider. Let’s assume that specializing usually leads to higher salaries. That’s all well and dandy, but higher pay doesn’t mean your job is any more secure. In fact, specialized positions are more likely to get hit hard with layoffs or only work for temporary periods of time (e.g. a 10 month contract with an employer). This isn’t true of every niche in every industry, but it happens often enough that it’s wise to do your research and figure out what’s more important – or if there is even a significant difference between job security and pay given your options for your career.
Generalists Can Lend Themselves To More Positions
Another reason why the generalists have better job security is because they may be able to lend their skills to more positions. For example, usually there are more lower level (less specialized) staff than there are super specialized staff – so there are more openings for the lower level work. Beyond that, generalists can also probably perform multiple different jobs at comparable levels, opening even more doors. Whether those doors are better or not are up to you, but it’s at least worth noting – security can be a huge part of why people choose a specific career.
But What Are Employers Looking For?
Ultimately, employers are looking for both types of people. They love their specialists, but usually field fewer of them. They appreciate their generalists, and there are usually more openings with competitive salaries available to that group of people. Plus, as I’ve said, there are more varied positions that the generalists can hold which the specialists don’t always have the luxury of. So, again this isn’t true for every single field and niche, but people who are well rounded will have more openings available but the specialized workers will get a higher salary. At the end of the day, employers just want the best employee for any position, given that position’s pay scale.
Finding The Right Balance
It’s up to you to find the right balance between specializing and being more well rounded. Perhaps the job security from being a bit of a generalist appeals to you. Maybe the potential salary from focusing and specializing in one thing is what you’re looking for. Alternatively, you might like certain positions that are in between both – where you focus on more than just one thing, but aren’t completely well rounded (you still have those primary specialties). It just depends on your specific industry, your goals, as well as your personal enjoyment of different functions.
Conclusion
Hopefully understanding the pros and cons of specializing and rounding your skills out has helped you pick the best path forward for your own career. If you have any thoughts of your own, or tips on career progression, let us know in the comments!
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