I create things by typing nonsense into a computer. Some call this programming. Senior Engineer @PlayStation. Creator of msngr.js and http://BinaryIdiot.com
The "Jack of all trades but a master of none" phrase is a misnomer. It's bullshit.
Originally "Jack" or "Jack of all trades" was used as a saying for someone who was a generalist. Someone who didn't have expert level knowledge of thing things but lots of general knowledge of multiple topics. The "master of none" was later added just to turn it into an insult. So the first thing here is to drop the "master of none" as it serves no purpose but to be insulting to yourself.
Having said that, here's the rub: a "Jack of all trades" doesn't specify a depth of knowledge for each "trade" it references. Software development is incredibly complex and almost no one has what I would consider "full depth" on a topic. There are just too many abstractions. So what you may consider shallow enough to be a generalist, someone else may consider deep enough to be a specialist in a specific topic. It's a vague phrase attempting to be applied to an area of immense complexity.
It just doesn't work.
Something else to consider is a "Jack of all trades" likely knows enough to be a Master or Expert at picking the correct tool or at integration whereas someone who is, say, an Expert in JavaScript may want to use JavaScript for every single job even when it's inappropriate / not a good fit.
There's also something to be said for new perspectives - every language/technology I've picked up has taught me things that apply to all of them. The quirks of each can shift your perspective enough to make something clear that was previously foggy. Even after I abandon something that's no longer relevant (cough...actionscript) - I know I got something out of learning it.
You can pick at the author's choice of phrasing, but there is a real danger to anyone's career that he's speaking to.
I did this for most of my early career - focusing on one shiny thing after another, never really developing any depth in any one topic. This way lies madness, because you'll look up after a great many years and think "What have I actually accomplished?"
Depends on how one perceive things. For some people, it might be a win-win situation for working over a large number of technologies while others may think of it as a hold back to their careers.
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The "Jack of all trades but a master of none" phrase is a misnomer. It's bullshit.
Originally "Jack" or "Jack of all trades" was used as a saying for someone who was a generalist. Someone who didn't have expert level knowledge of thing things but lots of general knowledge of multiple topics. The "master of none" was later added just to turn it into an insult. So the first thing here is to drop the "master of none" as it serves no purpose but to be insulting to yourself.
Having said that, here's the rub: a "Jack of all trades" doesn't specify a depth of knowledge for each "trade" it references. Software development is incredibly complex and almost no one has what I would consider "full depth" on a topic. There are just too many abstractions. So what you may consider shallow enough to be a generalist, someone else may consider deep enough to be a specialist in a specific topic. It's a vague phrase attempting to be applied to an area of immense complexity.
It just doesn't work.
Something else to consider is a "Jack of all trades" likely knows enough to be a Master or Expert at picking the correct tool or at integration whereas someone who is, say, an Expert in JavaScript may want to use JavaScript for every single job even when it's inappropriate / not a good fit.
There's also something to be said for new perspectives - every language/technology I've picked up has taught me things that apply to all of them. The quirks of each can shift your perspective enough to make something clear that was previously foggy. Even after I abandon something that's no longer relevant (cough...actionscript) - I know I got something out of learning it.
You can pick at the author's choice of phrasing, but there is a real danger to anyone's career that he's speaking to.
I did this for most of my early career - focusing on one shiny thing after another, never really developing any depth in any one topic. This way lies madness, because you'll look up after a great many years and think "What have I actually accomplished?"
Depends on how one perceive things. For some people, it might be a win-win situation for working over a large number of technologies while others may think of it as a hold back to their careers.