I'm in a very similar position but rather I moved out of development a good few years ago however I still have the developer bug. My current work is still within IT but I sit more in a solution architecture role now utilising my broad knowledge to help integrate IT solutions into new and existing business environments.
With that being said, I spend a great deal of time working on my own personal projects whilst at home which invariably result in the picking "the right tool for the job" and learning something new. This has resulted in precisely what you describe, I know a bit of everything and I'm not afraid to jump into a new language, framework or concept if I think it is the right tool to use. This has led me on to learning and experiencing great products and services, I've learnt back end and front end work, dev ops and a good amount on security and enterprise set ups. I wouldn't trade any of this in for the world, whereas I used to be a purely c# .net developer who built web apps. I now have days working on automating server provisioning and program deployments with ansible, building out logging solutions using kappa architecture, catching up on vue.js and its fast front end development or quite happily working away at my next node.js app or python deep learning scripts whilst at home. When I'm at work (contractor) I utilise all of this knowledge daily because the clients rarely care about the latest trend, they want a working solution.
This broad knowledge has been a real asset and I consciously made the choice to switch my career in this direction as I hit a lot of self doubt in my c# days where I felt I would stay as a junior developer, never being able to learn "everything" to move high enough up the food chain (I was young and hungry for success). I decided to use the skills I had and the general interest I had in new technology to continue my career in the direction I am going right now. I have to say, sitting with various "IT roles" across the many organisations I've been able to now work on and talk shop at level of detail that shows I know what they are on about just as much as I am able to convey what I need from them has helped me out a great deal. Cutting through the product names that are thrown around by many tech heads and understanding what process they are discussing has allowed me as an architect to offer alternatives or to validate their thinking.
Even quite recently I ended up in a discussion around re-platforming my clients website away from Sitecore to what they felt would be better served with static files. One of the front end developers was hell bent on the new project being all in React and there was no one else there to question why other than at a high level. Due to "being a master of none" I was able to talk through with the relevant users and indeed the developers themselves what React was, it's history and it's alternatives. The pro's and con's from first hand "messing around" experience and whether I have seen other frameworks in the market which are emerging to play in the same space.
Don't ever doubt that a master of non is not a useful tool. You just play a different role in the organisation/your career than what you believe is the route you should be taking. The "Specialists" will always be better at their chosen subject, they will always know more about a deep aspect. That's why they get paid for their specialist knowledge, however for me, they are a weapon to be utilised and aren't the answer to every solution. Be comfortable in knowing that whilst the "market" may not appreciate your generalist skills, an employer will love them. The bang for the buck out of a generalist in the right role is way better than requiring numerous specialists if the tasks are varied.
It's worth pointing out your comment: "Should I just quit applying and focus on learning a narrow set of skills, or do companies hire learners like me?"
The world changes, markets change, the desired skills change. Someone who is capable of learning will never fail, they will adapt. I've been contracting now for 3 years and I often visit a contractor forum, especially a thread titled "state of the market". I see so many posts from people who have specialised in a particular skill that have sat on the bench for 6+ months unable to get a job, especially a job close to home because their skills are no longer in demand.
Sure, there's going to be a few die hard businesses out there who need a cobol or fortran developer but let's be realistic one day that need will vanish and the jobs with them. For someone who specialised in just this one area, they will need time and a lot of it to re-develop themselves. They will sit at the first rung of the ladder all over again where other "specialists" have been keeping up with new frameworks and have years of knowledge ahead of them.
The generalist has adapted and found a career where the generalist skills are best utilised, which for me is architecture but for you may be something else. But the important fact remains, you are a learner and have the drive to adapt. Do not paint yourself into a corner when others have no other choice but to do it, whilst it appears you have options.
I'm in a very similar position but rather I moved out of development a good few years ago however I still have the developer bug. My current work is still within IT but I sit more in a solution architecture role now utilising my broad knowledge to help integrate IT solutions into new and existing business environments.
With that being said, I spend a great deal of time working on my own personal projects whilst at home which invariably result in the picking "the right tool for the job" and learning something new. This has resulted in precisely what you describe, I know a bit of everything and I'm not afraid to jump into a new language, framework or concept if I think it is the right tool to use. This has led me on to learning and experiencing great products and services, I've learnt back end and front end work, dev ops and a good amount on security and enterprise set ups. I wouldn't trade any of this in for the world, whereas I used to be a purely c# .net developer who built web apps. I now have days working on automating server provisioning and program deployments with ansible, building out logging solutions using kappa architecture, catching up on vue.js and its fast front end development or quite happily working away at my next node.js app or python deep learning scripts whilst at home. When I'm at work (contractor) I utilise all of this knowledge daily because the clients rarely care about the latest trend, they want a working solution.
This broad knowledge has been a real asset and I consciously made the choice to switch my career in this direction as I hit a lot of self doubt in my c# days where I felt I would stay as a junior developer, never being able to learn "everything" to move high enough up the food chain (I was young and hungry for success). I decided to use the skills I had and the general interest I had in new technology to continue my career in the direction I am going right now. I have to say, sitting with various "IT roles" across the many organisations I've been able to now work on and talk shop at level of detail that shows I know what they are on about just as much as I am able to convey what I need from them has helped me out a great deal. Cutting through the product names that are thrown around by many tech heads and understanding what process they are discussing has allowed me as an architect to offer alternatives or to validate their thinking.
Even quite recently I ended up in a discussion around re-platforming my clients website away from Sitecore to what they felt would be better served with static files. One of the front end developers was hell bent on the new project being all in React and there was no one else there to question why other than at a high level. Due to "being a master of none" I was able to talk through with the relevant users and indeed the developers themselves what React was, it's history and it's alternatives. The pro's and con's from first hand "messing around" experience and whether I have seen other frameworks in the market which are emerging to play in the same space.
Don't ever doubt that a master of non is not a useful tool. You just play a different role in the organisation/your career than what you believe is the route you should be taking. The "Specialists" will always be better at their chosen subject, they will always know more about a deep aspect. That's why they get paid for their specialist knowledge, however for me, they are a weapon to be utilised and aren't the answer to every solution. Be comfortable in knowing that whilst the "market" may not appreciate your generalist skills, an employer will love them. The bang for the buck out of a generalist in the right role is way better than requiring numerous specialists if the tasks are varied.
This is quite encouraging! thank you!
It's worth pointing out your comment: "Should I just quit applying and focus on learning a narrow set of skills, or do companies hire learners like me?"
The world changes, markets change, the desired skills change. Someone who is capable of learning will never fail, they will adapt. I've been contracting now for 3 years and I often visit a contractor forum, especially a thread titled "state of the market". I see so many posts from people who have specialised in a particular skill that have sat on the bench for 6+ months unable to get a job, especially a job close to home because their skills are no longer in demand.
Sure, there's going to be a few die hard businesses out there who need a cobol or fortran developer but let's be realistic one day that need will vanish and the jobs with them. For someone who specialised in just this one area, they will need time and a lot of it to re-develop themselves. They will sit at the first rung of the ladder all over again where other "specialists" have been keeping up with new frameworks and have years of knowledge ahead of them.
The generalist has adapted and found a career where the generalist skills are best utilised, which for me is architecture but for you may be something else. But the important fact remains, you are a learner and have the drive to adapt. Do not paint yourself into a corner when others have no other choice but to do it, whilst it appears you have options.
I am wondering how to search for such a "generalist" positions, would they have any specific in role title?