Jack of all or master of one?

Designer, Art Worker, Digital Design, Print, Production are all career avenues Graphic Design graduates are asked to choose to ‘specialise’ in. But is it fair that young, passionate and driven students are made to pick their role for life before they’ve even set foot into the work environment? Which begs the question should they master one craft or dip their toe into more? In an ever changing industry is it a risk to be a specialist or should we be embracing the generalist?

The Specialist

There’s a certain smugness that comes with being the expert in your field, you’ve learned, trained, practiced and mastered your art through discipline and are rewarded with specialised projects with a high price tag. There is always a place for the specialists, the ones who know the detail and thrive in the perfect conditions, they work in a similar way on similar projects daily to consistently deliver the best results.

But in the ever changing design landscape where job roles and specs are constantly evolving and shifting, can a specialist keep up? Are companies now more than ever looking for employees who can move with more fluidity and offer a broader range of skills?

The Generalist

Generalists dabble across many functions adapting and evolving as they go, seeing the bigger picture and have the ability to think outside of the box because of their vast knowledge and appreciation of those disciplines. They need to utilise this broader approach to projects as they’ll work with multiple partners and therefore have more transferable skills to offer. The beauty of being a ‘generalist’ is that you know when you need to enlist the help of a ‘specialist’.

Generalists and specialists are both desirable within any business and are essential to the team dynamic. Many generalists are experts on particular topics but have learnt to generalise their skill set to fit into a number of job roles, it’s this strength which most business owners and leaders possess. The further up the ladder you go the more of a generalist you become.

Freelance employment works in a similar way where designers must be able to switch their focus to a variety of skills to keep themselves busy and appeal to clients.

‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ is a phrase we hear less and less in the workplace as the value of knowing a little bit about a lot, backed with expert knowledge within specific topics means more fulfilment and more prospects to the next generation of designers.