Today I want to talk about a tough choice I faced 2 years into my career and one that I’ve talked to many people to see how they think about this — deciding whether to become a specialist. At the end of this post, I share a mind map I’ve created for myself to help me understand how to navigate this 🕸️
Often by the time you arrive at this decision point, you’ve accomplished many things - You’ve landed the job. You’ve survived the actual onboarding. You’ve navigated the sea of new names. And likely finished your first big project.
And then comes the question, sometimes from your manager, but more often from yourself: What now? What kind of contributor do I want to be?
I found myself asking this question in my second year in my career. I looked around my company and could identify two distinct types of people. There's the specialist kind - the Product Manager who is the undisputed expert on payment processing, or the Customer Success Manager who knows every single edge case of your Salesforce integration. They’re the go-to person for one critical thing.
Then there’s the generalist kind - that engineer who can jump from a React frontend to a Go microservice, or the product person at a startup who writes specs, runs user interviews, and pulls their own data with SQL.
This is likely the first major fork in your career path, and choosing a direction felt paralyzing to me, and I’m sure it did to many others as well. So break it down 👇
The Allure of the Specialist
The specialist trades breadth for depth. They commit to a niche and aim to become one of the best in that specific domain.
The Upside:
High Demand: True experts are rare and highly sought after. This often translates to higher pay and better job security, as long as the specialty is in demand.
Clear Impact: It's easy to point to your value. "I reduced churn in our enterprise segment by 15% by redesigning our renewal strategy." Your contributions are specific and measurable.
Intellectual Mastery: You get the deep satisfaction of mastering a complex subject, pushing its boundaries, and becoming a true authority.
The Downside:
Risk of Obsolescence: If your expertise is in a feature that gets sunset, or a market segment your company leaves, your value can decrease overnight.
Getting Pigeonholed: You can become the "monetization PM" and find it difficult to get staffed on core product work. It can make pivoting your career much harder.
Boredom: For some, working on the same type of problem for years can lead to burnout and feeling stuck.
The Freedom of the Generalist
The generalist trades depth for breadth. They value flexibility and the ability to connect disparate parts of the business.
The Upside:
Adaptability: The generalist is a Swiss Army knife. They thrive in ambiguity and change, making them invaluable at startups where roles are fluid.
Leadership Path: Seeing the big picture is a prerequisite for leadership. Generalists often have an easier path to roles like Head of Product, VP of Customer Success, or CTO because they understand how all the pieces fit together.
More Options: You’re not tied to a single domain, giving you a wider range of companies and roles to explore throughout your career.
The Downside:
"Master of None": In your early years, it can be hard to demonstrate deep, impactful work. You might feel like you know a little bit about everything but aren't truly an expert in anything.
Competition: There are a lot of generalists. It can be harder to stand out in a crowded field without a defining skill.
Lower Initial Ceiling: A specialist in a hot field (like an AI Product Manager) might command a higher starting salary than a generalist right out of school.
So, How Do You Choose?
Forget the pressure of a permanent choice. The best framework isn't about picking one forever, but about choosing one for now. Ask yourself three questions:
1️⃣ What Energizes You? Do you get a thrill from solving a single, incredibly difficult customer problem over weeks? Or do you love the variety of jumping between different projects, teams, and challenges throughout the day? Pay attention to what gives you energy versus what drains it.
2️⃣ What Environment Do You Prefer? Large, established companies (Big Tech) often have well-defined roles that favor specialists. Small, fast-moving startups need generalists who can wear multiple hats to survive.
3️⃣ What's Your Long-Term Ambition? This is tough to know early on, but give it a thought. Do you dream of being a Chief Product Officer, managing a diverse portfolio (generalist)? Or a world-renowned expert on user-centric AI ethics (specialist)?
My Mind Map About This: Become T-Shaped
My insight is that the specialist vs. generalist debate is a false dichotomy. The goal isn't to be one or the other. The goal is to become T-shaped.
Think of the letter 'T':
The horizontal bar represents your breadth of knowledge. For a PM, it's understanding engineering constraints, sales cycles, and marketing. For a CSM, it's knowing the product roadmap, the basics of the tech stack, and the sales process.
The vertical stem represents your depth. This is your specialty - the one area where you go deep. For a CSM, this could be mastering the enterprise customer segment. For a PM, it could be becoming the go-to expert on user onboarding.
For your first 1-2 years, your goal should be building the horizontal bar of your T. Be a generalist within your function. Say "yes" to projects that scare you. If you're in CS, work with both small and large customers. If you're a PM, try a project on a different part of the product. Expose yourself to as much as possible.
Then, around the 2-3 year mark, something will click. You'll find an area that you're not only good at, but that you genuinely love. That’s when you start digging your vertical stem. You double down, read the books, and seek out projects that build that deep expertise.
📝 HQ Tip: The key here is to also continue trying a couple of new things regularly - so when you find something else you like, you can dig deeper in that later on in your career.
I found that this approach gives you the best of both worlds: the flexibility of a generalist and the authority of a specialist.
This isn't a decision you make once. It's a process of exploration followed by intentional focus. You’re not locked in. You're just choosing your next move.
First roam the fields, a view so wide 🌾,
Then dig one well with patient stride 🚶,
Where breadth and depth can both reside 🌊.
That's it for today! Reach out to me about how you are planning to navigate this by replying to this email or in the comments – we can all learn from each other's experiences!
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I wish you a great week! 🙏
Until next time,
Sonika
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