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Should Developers Generalize or Specialize?
There’s a rule for balancing the two
I came across a tweet the other day asking this question. As expected, among the hundreds of comments it seemed to be a 50/50 split. It’s a hotly debated topic and there are great points to be made on both sides of the fence.
Many claim that you should specialize in a particular language and possibly even an associated framework. In doing so, you can position yourself as the expert and have a successful career. This is mostly true.
Others claim that this locks you into a language that may not stay in demand. Thus you should instead nail down programming concepts, learn to adapt to any language, and demonstrate your marketability by being a “jack of all trades.” This is also mostly true.
Both are important. And actually, both can be pursued.
How? By following one principle.
Developers should generalize concepts and specialize in languages.
This principle can help you contextualize both. Let’s discuss what it means.
Generalization
Being able to work with multiple programming languages and having the ability to adapt quickly to different environments has nothing to do with mastery. It has more to do…
