When there is no guarantee that your current job will still exist a few years from now, becoming a generalist is the only rational way forward.

If you found this post on the interwebs, you probably work in a field that is evolving quickly. And if you are in such a field, you will probably benefit more from being a generalist than from being a specialist.

What do I mean by that?

As a specialist, you compete on the depth of your knowledge and skills. This is a sensible bet to make if you are in a field where the fundamentals don’t change and where deeper knowledge leads to higher rewards.

As a generalist, you compete on your ability to adapt to new contexts quickly and transfer knowledge from one field to another. This is the right bet to make if change is the norm in your field.

Thanks to my friend Thomas Gläser for triggering this thought!