No one wants a Jack of All Trades

Ok - I just wrote a long rambling intro to this blog but then erased it (you're welcome). Instead, let's get right to the point.

I don't know how it is for every career, but in IT you have a broad range of areas in which to work. For years I prided myself as a generalist. I could write code (but not well), manage projects (little ones), handle customer support ("did you try turning it off and on again?"), etc. But there was nothing that I was an expert at.

And now I'm finally seeing this as a problem. As you get older, no one wants a generalist. They want people who are really good at something.

So here's my advice. When you get out of college, go ahead and be a generalist. Learn as much about your field as possible. But only do this for 3 to 5 years. By the time you get to the 5 year mark, you need to choose a focus or two. And make sure that it's something that you really like because you're gonna be doing it for the next 40+ years.

My focus is going to be IT Management and Business Analysis. I want to either become a CIO, or a business consultant.

Now that being said, at this point I'd take just about any job that will pay me more than unemployment rates.

(NOTE: I'm not actually unemployed right now. But it's looming over head)