Maybe it pays to be a Generalist, after all.
Having a diverse skill set can be an asset in today’s economy, not just for us Web-workers but for many professions. That specialized expertise you built up through the years in a seemingly secure field can suddenly seem to be not such a sure thing after all if that field finds itself among those suddenly rendered obsolete through the “creative destruction” of innovation, or even if the field simply suffers a temporary downturn due to the recession.
Scott Hepburn at Media Emerging posted today about the struggles that journalists find themselves in these days. With the overall economy the way it is, and traditional media facing challenges from online competition, offshore outsourcing, and well, you know, bloggers, the profession and its members find themselves at somewhat of a crossroads. Among the recommendations in Scott’s Journalist’s Survival Guide was this one which struck a bit of a chord with me:
…You can’t be just one thing anymore. You have to hedge your bets. Sure, be a journalist, but be a news reporter AND a columnist/blogger. Do some PR work, too. And freelance writing. And…whatever. You’ll need multiple income streams to survive in a decentralized information economy.
What he’s talking about here, about journalists needing to branch out and use their core skills not only as “journalists,” but also in innovative and diverse ways applies to those of us in the Web profession as well. While it may well be worthwhile to become ever-more-the-expert in your core discipline, there’s no telling when and where the ax might swing next. Being well-versed in and promoting a diverse range of related skills could prove the difference between a quick job search and a long, exhausting slog to find just that right fit. While a gig you land in a related but not-quite-your field may seem like a diversion from your One True Path, if you keep your eyes, ears, and options open, that sidetrack could very well function instead as a path to where you want to be.
For example, I once took a job as a technical writer. Although at first I didn’t see myself as either qualified for or even interested in a techwriting gig, the fact that I had previously spend a number of years working closely with a group of tech writers had exposed me to enough of the work and issues that I was able to pretty quickly learn what I needed to become competent. That got me in the door; once it became known that I also had design chops, more and more little design assignments started coming my way and before long, I had become “their” designer.
Image: “dodo bird at the Field Museum” by Jeremy Burgin on Flickr
