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]

bradpa, take a look at some of the posts Twoballcane & I had on the subject in:

thread731-194524

My first place was small (UK defence) and I was very much the Jack of all trades and enjoyed it.

At my new place (Mid size US high tech) I've now fallen into an arguably non core Engineering role and it's not so much fun but my first year hear I was a designer but also had to do my own stress anlaysis (nothing too complex) etc. Although it was midsize the engineers were asigned to various business units and were split out so there were fewer specialists in mechanical engineering.

I've been led to believe, and from experience it seems it may be true, that the tendancy to specialize is stronger in the US than it was in the UK. Don't get me wrong, the UK did have specialists but less of them, the generalists were expected to do more I suppose.

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

 

[SomptingGuy]

My 2p (4c+ in today's money):

I worked for a large company as a student. I saw engineers who's been pigeon-holed for what seemed like all their lives (10 years is a long time when seen through the eyes of a 19 year old!).

When it was my time to find a long-term job I jumped at one that offered short project times and hugely varied work. And I'd probably do it again if I were a new graduate.

However, after a few years I felt like I was handle-turning. Repeating similar jobs for different clients. Something longer term was required. Something I could dive into really deeply.

My point is that being pigeon-holed isn't a bad thing when the time is right.

 

[IAAWVU05]

I am working for a smaller company, and we do EVERYTHING. Unlike the big guys, the smaller companies will take anything they can get contract wise, even if they don't have the resources for it. If they don't, they'll go under. Here is an example of working for a small company.

Boss: Do you have any experience with this?
Employee: No.
Boss: You do now, bids go out for this contract in 2 weeks, start learning.

Since my ONE Year of working there, I have learned the basics of AutoCAD ( I can now draw almost everything in ASME B16.5, and am amassing a parts library), passed the FE exam (fairly difficult considering I haven't had coursework in about 3 years), worked on high speed imaging and optical alignment (optics that are not diffraction limited is just straight lines anyway), written documents for the EPA, State fire Marshalls, and the US Coast Guard (Follow the CFR's to a tee), Re-structured and re-organized a database with over 18,000 records in it (find a mentor in database programming, and they will teach you more than you need to know), and am currently designing piping for multiphase flow studies.

I think I have a case of "grass is greener" syndrome, and would like to specialize in piping design. But I would also like to know a little bit about everything else too, but by nature of being in a small company, you have to wear many different hats.

 

[NCDesign]

I work for a small construction engineering firm (1 office 12 total employees doing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design) and I love it. My primary area is mechanical but I have been picking up electrical from the other PE's in the office. The projects vary greatly and you are involved in every aspect of them. Very rarely do I spend all day doing a single task. Also, being part of a small firm requires that you get more involved with developing the business.

A typical day for me might go something like this: oversee CAD work on a HVAC project while I am doing the electrical design on another, go to lunch with a client to try and land some additional work, do a plumbing installation inspection in the afternoon followed up by a walk down of a new renovation job that we've just gotten. It can make for some really hectic days but you are never bored and no two days are the same.

My only negative currently is the perpetual catch 22 we seem to be caught in when trying to get a new type of business, ie 1st high rise, 1st government job, etc. You invariably are always competing against other larger firms that have a least one person that has done that type of work before.

 

[geekEE]

When I worked at a small company, the advantages were that I got to do everything. The disadvantages were that I had to do everything.

I liked the fact that I got a wide variety of things to do, which included a lot of things that I liked. However, it also included doing a lot of things that I didn't like. I liked designing stuff, but I didn't care for going out on sales calls to support the sales people. But, it was all part of the job. Every small company is different and you may or may not have to build your own prototypes, find sources for all your parts, offer tech support, and unclog the toilets. Or maybe you enjoy some of that stuff.

I liked the variety, but eventually I worked my way to the top of the engineering food chain there and found that, while it was ok to have everyone coming to me with questions, I missed having other more experienced engineers to ask questions of. I was still learning new stuff on my own for various projects, but I find that now, in my new job, I can always find someone that knows more about some particular problem. And, although it's a huge company, the particular division that I work in is still run a bit like a small company.

So, in general, I'd say there's less pigeonholing in small companies, but really whether it fits your particular needs will depend on your personality and what you want to get out of it.

 

[271828]

I think the grass always seems greener.

Just the other day, one of my pals who is a structural designer was bemoaning how his job requires a tremendous breadth of knowledge, but not much depth. He feels like he barely knows dozens of subjects, but has no time to really dive in and learn anything thoroughly. That's about how I felt when I did that job too.

Some people like knowing every little thing about a narrow body of knowledge. Just depends on your preferences I guess.

 

[waskillywabbit]

I work at a relatively small P&V company, only a few engineers, we do other things as well, and you quickly learn the phrase "I don't know but I will find out". The work is the same but often varied, if that makes any sense. No two days/weeks are ever alike. The pay could be better if I worked at a large company with lots of engineers, but the extras like being 10 minutes from home, being able to take/pick up my boys from school, run errands when I need to, take off when I need to, etc are worth more to me than any amount of $$$ compensation.

Being pigeon-holed isn't all bad if you are a pigeon and like being one.



Brian

 

[calguy07]

they're pros and cons to every situation. my current situation is with a smaller company and as others have said, you're pretty much responsible for everything. the good thing is that you get to learn multiple aspects of the project and you can't get pigeon-holed. i do my own design and drafting, material ordering, etc...saves a lot of time. when you screw up, everyone knows but when you do well they notice as well (at least around here they do). situations like this apparently either works really well or really poorly. don't think i want to work for a bigger company anytime soon; so much to learn here.

 

[ewh]

The grass always seems greener on the other side until you get over there and look down. Then you see the same old dirt.

 

[Twoballcane]

Being pigeon holed I feel is realy your fault and not the company's. Of course the company will keep the ideal person in the same position, well if it is making money, the company will not change a thing. If you want to come out of the pigeon hole, you have to learn new skils. Once the skills are some what achieved, you can start looking for new work or asking for other responsiblities. I did my round of exploring and found what I like to do. If you are not happy with what you are doing, maybe it is time to move on to somthing else.

Good luck!

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

 

[Twoballcane]

oh I heard this from some where...if you want stability (but less money) a generalist is the way to go, if you want to make more money (but less stable) then a specialist is the way to go...

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

 

[Twoballcane]

Now that Im thinking about it, being a specialist does not really mean you are pigeon holed. Even though my field is analysis and test, I still have a hand in proposals, cost, manufacturing, and design.

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

 

[IRstuff]

Pidgeonholing is usually self-induced. I've worked at both large (>60,000) and medium (>1,000) employee companies and have had no problems being a generalist. At the same time, a fellow co-worker is extremely specialized, and likewise has no problems.

A good manager takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of his team and assigns jobs accordingly. If you don't want to be pidgeonholed, you need to step and volunteer for jobs outside of your comfort zone.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[GregLocock]

I was pigeon holed for 5 years, asked for and got a change. Now I'm in a different, pigeonholed, role and like it.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[JStephen]

If you're a generalist at a small company, you don't have anyone else to ask when you don't know the answer. You don't have the prestige that comes with a larger company, probably don't have as many opportunities to do technical papers, get involved in technical societies, etc. If you go looking for a new job, you're not an "expert" at anything in particular, so harder to sell yourself.

 

[KENAT]

Jstephen, my experience wouldn't necessarily agree with you.

At my small company we did have a dedicated stress guy who was very good, which covered the majority of our analysis needs.

Also within the small company I specialized to some extent in a certain field (A/C stores) so while from an Engineering point of view I was a generalist, within the field of A/C stores, weapons integration I had some very marketable somewhat specialist skills (sadly not in the US till I get citizenship!)

If we didn't know we tried to find out, if we couldn't find out we'd hire a consultant or other external party but, importantly we'd try and learn it from them so that next time we could try and do it our selves.

As such I'm tempted to say I learnt more than I would have if we did have a specialist. For instance I actually did relatively little stress analysis because we had a dedicated stress guy, I now regret this.


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

 

[MedicineEng]

You can also be pigeonholed in small companies. In my two different companies, I was always in maintenance and industrial engineering field (total >9years). I had some incursions in HSE and quality but as cummulative functions. Now that I am finishing my contract, I do hope to change completely my functions, not because I am fed up, but more for intelectual and professional development. I believe that my personality is more towards a generalist than a specialist.
The problem is that is difficult that companies value experience in a completely different field, so if I really want to change I must expect a income cut, at least for the first year(s).
As some already pointed out, it all goes with your personality. Some like to do the same work for years, others like to try different things everyday.

 

[PSE]

My career has been within the very small <20 people to medium <1000 size companies and I would say that I specialize in general problem solving. At any one time I am involved in evaluating components, troubleshooting products, training operators, designing build/test equipment, and being part of new product projects. Overall I would say that I enjoy what I do and if I were to be pigeon holed, it would likely to be from a career promotion level. If you end up being too valuable in your current position you are likely to stay there quite a while (as others have already pointed out).

Regards,

 

[epoisses]

I think the REAL pigeonhole would be being a generalist in a large company but not good enough for senior management. These people usually get the least exciting jobs.