Re: genral question

Dominic Willems wrote:

Although this is a general statement often used and probably a
truism, I don't think it necessarily increases your chances of
interesting employment. If you ask me, success lies in
specialization, not vast general experience, especially in the
informatics business.

It's become such a vast area that it is utterly impossible to master
all of it. If you are in the market for a sweat shop job, offering a
myriad of language skills might get you there. If you want something
more interesting, make sure your skills are rare. The language won't
matter all that much then. You might specialize in finance, medicine,
real-time processing, etc.

Anyhow, it depends what DA is after.

I've found the opposite. I'm a fan of constant learning and
professional development. On top of providing perspective, having a
wide (and some might argue, unfocused) skill set makes someone more
portable. Since they have more options, they have a better chance to
pick and choose the employment/contract/project that's most interesting
to them. Especially if they're competing for that work with people who
aren't quite as good a fit.

Specialisation is more risky. It can be profitable, but what happens
when that narrow niche goes away and you don't have anything to fall
back on?

Imagine a developer who knows Business Basic inside and out on the MAI
Basic Four MPx 8030 minicomputer in the plastic film (as in sheeting,
bags, etc...) industry. Imagine that minicomputer being replaced (by a
faster 486 DX66. seriously). How many employment options do you think
that developer has with that narrow skill set?

Stay in school, kids. Play with another language, take a night class,
attend a technical (not a marketing fluff) conference, go to (and maybe
speak at) one of the local user groups. Expand your horizons. If you
don't, someone else will, and they are your competition.

--
Regards,
Bruce McGee
Glooscap Software
.