From medical doctors to lawyers, therapists to graphic designers, the inevitable question of whether to focus on a niche expertise or be a jack-of-all-trades is a serious decision that all professionals must face.
Long list of graphic designer job requirements from one Craigslist posting.
Graphic designers specifically have a challenging time with this decision, due to the plethora of skills they are expected to have in today’s shrinking market. Just looking at the job requirements for graphic designers on the San Francisco Bay Area Craigslist posts, it becomes clear that businesses, now more than ever, are seeking brilliant graphic designers AND excellent web programmers all wrapped up into one shiny package of a person. These are two totally separate career functions requiring years of training. Yet, increasingly graphic designers are expected to have both skill sets. Thus, designers are being pushed in the direction of career generalists.
But at what costs?
As a generalist: Yes, you have a huge pool of potential customers and sources of income, but are you setting yourself up to be mediocre by not honing your skills in one particular area? And if you’re not an expert, how will you stand out and differentiate yourself from the competition?
On the LinkedIn AIGA discussion board, over fifty graphic designers from all over the country have written in expressing their extreme frustrations and concerns with this shift in today’s job market.
In fact, some designers have revolted against this generalist trend. David Airey, a talented logo designer from Northern Ireland has branded himself a logo design expert. By creating a widely popular blog devoted solely to his expertise in logo design, David has successfully carved a name for himself in an oversaturated market.
But are there pitfalls for the specialist, as well?
As an expert: Are you shutting out potential customers and sources of income? Will there be enough variety in your career if you focus on one element or will it lead to a career of boredom and stagnation?
Being a generalist or specialist each has its pros and cons that every professional must weigh for him or herself. But before making the pros and cons list, the best place to begin the decision making process is by asking yourself, what do I want to do with my career? What will bring me the most happiness? If you know you love working on a wide variety of different projects and you’re willing to put in the time and effort to learn the necessary skills, then maybe a generalist is absolutely the right path for you. But if you hate web design or some other aspect, but feel you “should” learn it because “that’s where the money is,” you’re going to be miserable and probably churn out some seriously mediocre work. So make an informed decision – inform yourself on what you would love to do. Start from there and you can’t go wrong.
(originally appeared in SF Examiner 3/23/09)