When it comes to skills and expertise, HR and management people classify you into one of these three categories:
- I Person: Focused on just one skill (such as JavaScript, PHP, Node, CSS, Photoshop, HTML, etc.) to an expert level (the letter "I" indicates the depth of specialization in one field).
- T Person: Focused on one skill but still covers an entire broader area (such as backend programming, frontend design, database administration, micro-services, etc). The I part represents the focus, and the dash above represents the breadth or range.
- X Person: Has established enough reputation in a particular skill or skill range that s/he can guide other people and manage them. People like Guido, Linus, Rasmus, etc. might fall in this category.
So, what kind of person are you?
Edit
Though not officially acknowledged, there is also an M Person - the generalist who "specializes" in too many things such as the GP/MBBS Doctor or a Full Stack Developer.
Top comments (5)
T.
Life is short and a young hacker just can't get to the level of X (Guido, Linus are old enough). Without focus on one skill, I can't build anything that matter by myself. Also without broad understanding, I can't hack things that others build.
T is the only type of person can complete a freelance project solo. Even X person hardly does that - they often don't have to.
I think I'm a ⣫ person - skills scattered all over the place, no single focus, random bits missing.
Same here. I've learned most stuff piecemeal as I've needed it, so there are numerous gaps in my knowledge, but I've got a ridiculous breadth of that patchy knowledge.
T person
Something like "_-_"