Specialist vs. Generalist 1

[bradpa77]

My current work place has the habit of specializing their workers. They will pigeon hole you. It's very hard to expand your horizons into new territories when you're stuck doing the same thing all the time.

I work at a large company and I know that this is typical. What is life like in a smaller company. Are you more of a generalist than a specialist? Do you get more variety in your day to day tasks? Do you get involved in a larger variety of projects?

I sometimes think that I would like to have more variety in my work. Smaller companies are appealing to me for this reason. Is the grass truly greener on the other side?

For those of you working in smaller companies, how do you like it? Do you get a lot of variety in your work? What are some of the negatives to working in this type of environment?

Thanks.

 

[KENAT]

epoisses, I've rarely seen technical people in senior management and even rarer specialists.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[csd72]

Early on in your career it is good to have generalist jobs so that you get a broad perspective of the industry and also have the opportunity to figure out where your interest lies.

Later on in your career, specialising makes more sense. Particularly in an area that you find interesting.

Specialists often tend to earn a little more, but have fewer opportunities for employment.

That said, if you had good general experience at the beginning of your career, you should be able to switch specialties if you wish to.

csd

 

[Twoballcane]

Actually I have seen people take over departments that them selves have no experience in, but take it anyway to get the feather in their cap. My wife is going thru that right now. She has a manager that came from another company to run her department, but he has a different back ground speciaizing in somthing else except for the department he is running. A while back I was part of a group made up of RF Electricals and Mechanicals and the manger was a physics.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[whyun]

Maybe this has been written in previous threads but here it goes. I've seen variations of this also.

Specialists are ones who learn more and more about less and less and eventually end up knowing everything about nothing.

Generalists are ones who learn less and less about more and more and eventually end up knowing nothing about everything.

Version I know:
Specialist = Structural Engineers
Generalist = Architects

 

[Ashereng]

I had the opposite experience that you had.

At one of the largest EPCM companies in the world, I had an opportunity to move from role to role, and department to department - because they had resources to cycle people through the various roles and position.

At a smaller company, although you may do "everything", my experience is that most small companies only do one or two things. So while you may be doing project management, piping, cadding and procurement, you may be doing it on the same little well tie-in project over and over because that is all the small company does.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[IRstuff]

While being an expert is sometimes rewarding, note that when times are hard, a company is often more willing to get rid of the specialist in favor of someone who can wear multiple hats.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[HgTX]

I have a job that was created for me and that grew around my particular skill set. I love having my little niche. I like expanding my knowledge about what I consider relevant to my little niche. It's very satisfying.

It also makes job-hunting rather difficult if not impossible.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[pwtomlin]

I'm reminded of a book (Guns, Germs and Steel, if my memory serves) where the author described a well-known sculptor who still planted his own crops so he could eat. Specialization, in general, allows people to spend more time working to their strengths and less time on tasks they do poorly at, which should make everyone more productive. However, it can easily turn dull and may not fit your personality.

I work for a small company of ~200 people with 8 engineers. I wear a lot of hats and some days find myself doing little that is actually tied to my major (metallurgy). Like others have said, you get to do a lot of different things but you have to do a lot of things you don't particularly enjoy (true of most positions I imagine).

I would think (and this may be terribly naive) that being a specialist would earn you more money in the short term, but being a generalist would help advance your career more (depending on your career goals). But if corporate advancement is your goal I'm not sure going from a large company to a much smaller one is the right idea (which wasn't the question of the original poster).

 

[IRstuff]

Sure, from a management perspective, Zenger-Miller management courses not withstanding, someone who has a broader range of multidisciplinary experience ought to get the better management and IPT positions, since he's more likely to understand and deal with problems from a larger variety of people.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[gwynn]

To the OP, I work in a very small firm (<20 employees) and do have a wide variety of projects to work on. As noted by others, this is both good and bad over an extended period.

As for specialising, the senior engineers have specialties, in terms of project type, but nobody is specialised to the extent of doing a single part of any project. With the exception of drafting (sometimes), the odd large project and checking (always), one person handles the entire job from start to finish.

I would suggest any starting civil/structural who thinks they can hack it try to start with a smaller firm. Just be warned that unlike many large firms, there often is no shallow end.

 

[Gymmeh]

I agree with Asher,

I work as the only engineer at my manufacturing facility, the majority of my work is focused in one area, so I would say I am more specialized at one aspect of my job. Although I do just about everything, new product development, updating the CAD drawings and files, searching for new suppliers, improving the painting process...ect...(I have even cleaned...)

but I mainly do structural analysis and design, considering welds, different materials, how many bolts for a connection, ect...

I love the small company atmospher and learning a ton, but like I have posted on other threads, its anoying not having any engineers to ask for help.

Mainly I would assume that it depends on alot of factors, your boss, the company, your life style, the product...

Regards
JD