When looking for a job, most of us struggle to categorize our capabilities. We often fear being a generalist is too vague, ambiguous or obtuse. However, classified as a specialist, our hyper-focus may narrow the opportunities for many jobs we’d actually love, enjoy and be the perfect fit.

GENERALISTS have a basic knowledge of many IT disciplines and often serve in a number of corporate departments like sales, marketing, manufacturing, accounting and the executive suite.

SPECIALISTS are experts in a singular technology segment. With in-depth training of their chosen specialty, these experts are in high-demand as consultants.

Recently, the demand has been shifting to GENERALISTS-with-FOCUS, These generalists are well-educated, well-rounded talent with training and knowledge of a particular function in the information technology space. Often hired for a specific project or department by large companies, their willingness to be flexible and to serve the company in a multitude of disciplines make them ideal candidates for management positions with their depth of knowledge and the knowledge of what specialties are required for today’s complex IT departments.