Are you a specialist?

[Churchill]

I just get the job done.

Sometimes I

Others I'm a

Occasionally I have to

It helps pay the bills

[BlasterBates]

Steer clear of product specialism. I can see SAP aint too bad, but on the whole you end up in an ever declining niche.

I used to be a product specialist, though that was permie, I wouldn't do it again, you end up identifying too closely with it, and then when they screw up you get screwed as well.

Best to have a general skill like Java or C++ and then perhaps specialise in a domain, like finance or telecomms.

[sasguru]

Apart from my rare and technical specialised skills and strategic nous, I'm a master of corporate politics and hence completely un-bobable.

[NotAllThere]

I've rather a niche skill, but I get a higher rate, not because the skill is incredibly rare, but because I'm value for money, and recognised as such. I get things done far more quickly, and what I develop general works, is robust and easy to enhance.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Talk about lack of options. I guess I am AndyW.

[alreadypacked]

I've rather a niche skill, but I get a higher rate, not because the skill is incredibly rare, but because I'm value for money, and recognised as such. I get things done far more quickly, and what I develop general works, is robust and easy to enhance.

WHS

[realityhack]

Bit of a mix - I have some very niche skills that I capitalise on whenever possible - as well as a general knowledge that allows me to adapt in challenging market situations.

You can visualise skills/knowledge as deep or broad - some highly specialised people I know have little breadth but more depth than anyone - so find work for £££££££££ but really struggle when the market is poor.

Those with little depth but a wide breadth usually don't get the top rates unless their political intelligence is high - and risk being rubbish management/strategy types unless they have some depth, or a lot of luck.

There's probably only ~20 people who have the equivalent depth of knowledge as me in niche areas, in this country, but I have a working end-to-end knowledge of the design lifecycle, and have played some part in each stage personally, so at least I can appreciate the input required into the other teams' areas, and how it should look as an operating model.

So, I'm a specialist when all's well, and can fall back to another discipline (e.g. visual design) if the market bombs.