IT generalist or specialist? Thrasher votes for specialist
- IT TOPICS:Careers
We're taught in school to be well-rounded. HR wants us to have a wide variety of skills. But IT management consultant Harwell Thrasher says that, in the business world, being a generalist is the ticket to mediocrity. "You’re much more likely to achieve career success if you get really good in one area than if you achieve moderate mastery in a number of different areas," he says in the latest edition of his newsletter. This could be considered either common sense -- if you agree -- or contrarian, given the spate of articles about the need for a broad mix of business and IT and soft skills.
If it's not already clear what you want to specialize in, Thrasher provides a step-by-step guide to help you figure that out.
Some examples of what he means by specialization:
- Building data centers, consolidating them, or optimizing their performance
- Designing human-engineered information systems for mobile service workers
- Planning and managing software development projects that implement a technology for the first time
- Finding and fixing software or system problems that other people have been unable to solve
- Designing e-commerce web sites for teenagers
- Putting together a highly-motivated team of competent software developers
- Understanding the needs of a particular kind of business and determining the best way to utilize IT talent to contribute to the business
----------
Related:
The IT worker of 2010 won't be a technology guru but rather a 'versatilist.'
Changes in IT careers
The IT generalist makes a comeback
Specialists vs. Generalists
IT Leaders Must Become Specialists in Multiple Technologies
Free Insider Guide