Ask HN: Career advice for an overly versatile profile?

7 points by bluewalt 2 years ago | 5 comments

I'm a 35 years old Software Engineer with multiple experiences in startups. I think I'm average (or good) in many areas, but almost nowhere an expert. I dabble in everything: back, front, devops, and even outside of the web, I started a business, I have some product skills (UI, UX), marketing, business, etc.

And I actually liked this polyvalence, until now, because it became very difficult to find a new job that takes advantage of my versatility. The profiles sought are always specialized in established companies. Almost no one is looking for a "jack of all trades."

I would probably be a good fit being the co-founder of a new startup, but I can't afford not being paid for many months right now.

At this stage of my life, I am starting to regret my versatility while I sincerely thought it was a strength.

What would you do?

johnjago 2 years ago |

When hiring software engineers, I look for people who can take in context from different areas to make good decisions. Some people only care about the technical merits of a solution, but it’s a load off my shoulders if an engineer also considers the constraints of other areas.

You can present yourself as someone with good software engineering fundamentals that also understands the business context. Someone out there is looking for exactly that and it’s hard for them to find it.

Also showing that you’re able to pick up new skills quickly—yes, it’s cliché—is competitive. In my experience, someone who can understand well the fundamentals of one area will follow a similar approach to understand another, so if you can show that, you can convince someone that you can settle into a more specialized position despite not having the skills right now.

ano88888 2 years ago |

your best fit is product manager. Actually the best is not to get another job if you have some savings but to start another business again. I am 35 too and just quit my job. I no longer want to participate in the rat race. I no longer want to sell my time/freedom. I want to create products that I can leverage. I want to work for my own vision and equity. I live in a country with low cost so I can probably last 3 to 5 years with my current savings.

eurticket 2 years ago |

As a generalist myself, focusing and increasing your proficiency, in less areas really helps. It's excellent to be well rounded and be able to grab ideas that connect from a bunch of different places due to being so versatile, but sometimes it takes a mental toll.

As another poster said, product management seems like a good fit. Don't need to be an expert of one thing, as you should be managing the experts.

If you ever do start a new startup, I would be interested in working with you.

ymc9 2 years ago |

To be honest, I feel you'll be a great asset to any startup with a small team. It's probably hard to find a good match in this economic downturn, but all the best!

mooreds 2 years ago |

Create a resume for each type of job you are pursuing. When I was last looking, I had a devops, dev, and devrel resume. It was tedious to do this, but you can definitely tilt your accomplishments toward a given role.

Also, you might be interested in this: https://www.generalist.world/ (they have a free newsletter I subscribe to; I'm not a member of the community).