Generalist versus Specialist

It is a very interesting question. Actually I think more and more jobs these days are generalist kind of jobs especially with the amount of trainings that are provided by companies these days. So as your rightly pointed out one aspect is that generalists are less expensive, but more importantly can be fit into multiple slots within the organization and with the amount of changes that organizations are undergoing it is absolutely necessary. But then there are certain areas where specialists are required, but as these are becoming less and less, the quality of the specialist has to be that much better!! Cheers! Ram

Perhaps we become more of a generalist over time by specializing in many fields to include areas that we work & study in. Over time, we can learn what our passions are and choose to specialize in a field with a general understanding of the many associated requirements such as budget, management, vision etc. that will allow for a better understanding of the Big Picture, so we can adapt and change ;)

I am kind of both. I know a lot about many subjects, but focus on things that are particularly interesting to me such as disability rights, politics, and social justice issues. I think it's better to be a little of each like I am. You know a lot about a bunch of things, but really focus on your special subject.

That's a tricky question. Normally, if a company wants to save money, they tend to prefer people with low scholarship, they pay less. If someone is good in several tasks.. companies can hire him to make him work in different tasks that before was only completed with the help of several "specialists". They pay only one person and they can accomplish the same result. I say that's tricky because, if someone wants the goal to be similar to perfect, they would hire different people specialized in the different departments, it would be almost flawless, more organized, efficient and within a short time rather than having only one or two to make the same thing. Nowadays, people are more egocentric, more selfish and want to live pretty well without having money problems. With this crisis, they need less workers, so they opt with generalist. Of course the result is not so good.. but they still want profit, they do everything to stay high. I am not a specialist nor a generalist. I am still in my first job, first time job is really difficult to get where I live. No one wants to spend time teaching, they want people who are already fit for the work. So I guess, that leaves me outside the big picture. It's really hard.

Its not always a matter of choice. Sometimes people just don't get the chance to specialise in anything, like me. If you do specialise then you should aim for a well paying speciality.

in my opinion, i think it depends upon the kind of company.. and what kind of worker do they need most.. having a worker with various skills can save the company from needing a lot of workers specialising on a certain task.. besides, not every area of the tasks are that much difficult to require an actual specialise to handle, sometimes, it can actually be done with some common senses.. of course, when it comes to the the core kind of work of the company, or some very crucial work or main jobs of the company, then they may require more specialise people.. and i think its more in the sciences and engineering fields when it comes to this.. i think a person can also be both a generalist as well as a specialise, they can be very specialise in one area while having some lower knowledge of another which is sufficiently enough for them to handle the job which is not too seriously deep.. as its not always that a problem can only be handled by a specialise.. unless you demand maximum quality and assurance in every case..